UK-listed Impact Healthcare said today it was deferring the announcement of its 2019 preliminary results in line with regulator guidance.
At the start of this week the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Reporting Council said public companies should delay the announcement of their results for two weeks in order to give themselves more time to ensure the challenges caused by the coronavirus are fully reflected in their reporting.
The care home fund said it now it expects to publish its audited results on 8 April.
Two more UK listed prop-cos, Regional REIT and PRS REIT are also pushing back results.
In practice, many listed property companies are issuing trading updates to keep shareholders informed about the effect of the coronavirus on their businesses. British Land said today that it was deferring £40 mln of Q2 rents and spreading repayment over six quarters from September 2020.
It has also paused work on its City development sites and is temporarily suspending dividend payments.
Intu revealed in an update that it only received 29% of rents due on yesterday's UK rental quarter day.
Impact Healthcare said its investment manager has met all its 10 tenants in the last three weeks and that those tenants are playing ‘a critical role in helping to provide care to vulnerable elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic.’
It added: ‘In addition to the detailed monthly operating and financial data the investment manager receives from all tenants at the end of each quarter, the group has asked its tenants to provide weekly occupancy data for the duration of the pandemic, along with a situation report on how the pandemic is affecting their operations.
‘So far this year the number of occupied beds in the company’s portfolio has been stable, with 3,848 beds occupied on 3 January 2020, and 3,886 beds occupied on 20 March 2020.
‘A number of the group’s tenants are in discussions with the NHS about making beds available in order to relieve pressure on hospitals.’
While a concern is ensuring the homes have adequate staff to provide care, some of Impact’s tenants are reporting a higher than normal number of job applications.
The company, which leases all its properties on 20-25 year terms linked to RPI and has very low gearing and available undrawn credit, raised more than £100 mln of equity last May in a significantly oversubscribed placing.
It has recently exchanged on a portfolio of nine homes in Scotland let to Holmes Care for £47.5 mln and a forward funding in Hartlepool, both of which it expects to complete, taking the portfolio to 104 properties.
