Teesland Advantage Property swings to 2007 pre-tax loss

Listed UK commercial property investment company Teesland Advantage Property Income Trust (TAP) said it swung into the red in 2007 with a pre-tax loss of £18.46mln (EUR 23.4mln) compared with a profit of £23.8mln in 2006. The trust said it would could continue to take a defensive stance, with its portfolio positioned to generate higher income and capture gains presented by asset management initiatives.

'The commercial property market expectations are for a likely stabilisation in the investment markets in 2008 following recent price falls and volatility and some measured improvement in the discount to NAV as sentiment recovers and the underlying fundamentals of the property market are reflected in share prices,' company chairman Christopher Fish said in a statement.

The company also said revenues rose last year to £16.57mln from £15.07mln a year earlier. It said its final net asset value per share as of 31 December 2007 was 97.8 pence and noted that it witnessed a portfolio net initial yield of 6.13%, an increase of 52 basis points on end-December 2006. TAP said it had also seen a 0.62% growth in property assets to £260.8mln as of 31 December 2007.