Spanish REIT Hispania saw net profit rise 35% in the first six months of the year to €185 mln, boosted by rental growth and acquisitions.
The strong first-half result lifted total returns for the 12 months to end-June by 27% to €15.12 per share, the company said in a press release.
Earlier this week, Hispania took the next step in its strategy to become a top hospitality landlord in Spain following the flotation of its €790 mln joint venture with hotelier Grupo Barceló on the Madrid Stock Exchange. The joint venture, Bay Hotels & Leisure, is also structured as a Socimi, or the Spanish version of a real estate investment trust.
With 39 hotels and a total of more than 11,200 keys, Hispania claims to be the largest hotel owner in Spain.
The Madrid-listed company also owns 25 office buildings with a total surface of 153,000 m2 which it has put up for sale as well a land plot where two additional buildings will be built with a total surface of 33,000 m2. Spanish investors including Hispania’s larger peer Colonial Inmobiliare are believed to be eyeing the company’s office portfolio which has been put on the market with a price tag of around €520 mln.
So far the company has already sold one office building, Aurelio Menendez for a total of €37.5 mln. The sales price represented a 39% increase over December’s valuation (including pending capex) and a capital gain over investment of 60%.
Hispania also owns five residential buildings with close to 730 flats. It is also selling off these properties and divested a total of 25 units in Isla del Cielo y Sanchinarro over the period for a net capital gain of 35%.
In a press release, Hispania said it has continued to benefit from the positive tourism evolution in Spain during the first months of 2017, where the number of tourists has grown by 11%. Average occupancy of Hispania’s hotels during the first half reached 83% while net rents increased 9% year-on-year.
At end-June, the value of the portfolio stood at €2.3 bn, marking a 9% increase compared with end-December 2016.
