Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Vicinity Centres (VCX) reported a statutory net loss after tax of $258 million for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2021
- The company won’t provide FY22 guidance due to COVID-related uncertainty
- Despite the loss, Vicinity CEO Grant Kelley says it saw positive momentum in FY21
- Occupancy across the portfolio was 98.2 per cent with the the weighted average lease expiry across the portfolio by income was 3.3 years
- Shares in Vicinity are up 1.27 per cent to $1.59 at 2:00 pm AEST
Shopping centre landlord Vicinity Centres (VCX) reported a statutory net loss after tax of $258 million for the fiscal year ending June 30 2021 and it won’t provide FY22 guidance due to COVID-related uncertainty.
The loss included $558.8 million in funds from operations (FFO) and a $642.7 million non-cash net property value loss.
Despite the loss, Vicinity CEO Grant Kelley said the company saw positive momentum in FY21, especially in regards to asset valuations which the company said was progressing towards stabilisation.
“Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, Vicinity has allocated more than $230 million in the form of financial support to retail tenants, around 90% of which was via outright rental forgiveness,” he said.
“This is in addition to the significant investment made to implement a wide range of COVID-safe measures across our centres nationwide.”
Occupancy across the portfolio was 98.2 per cent. However despite negotiating 1257 leases, the weighted average lease expiry across the portfolio by income was 3.3 years.
In the second half of FY21, cash receipts improved with Vicinity collecting 84 per cent of gross rental billings in FY21. Ninety-three per cent of billings were paid net of waivers.
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact, FFO was 7.4 per cent higher than that in FY20 owing to net property income (NPI) growth of 8.7 per cent to $743.4 million.
To combat a rise in online shopping and a flight to quality, Vicinity is planning to leverage its assets “more effectively to deliver new income streams and greater value for securityholders”.
While adjacencies such as solar, media and vehicle parking currently performing well, Vicinity said there was a potential to explore new goods and services in the areas of logistics, data, automation, artificial intelligence and energy.
To service this opportunity, Vicinity announced an investment with Taronga Ventures, a technology and innovation investor in Asia.
Vicinity is also progressing its mixed-use development agenda with town planning approvals received for 12 projects with two further applications lodged.
“Our expanded strategy will see us stabilise and grow the engine of our business, namely retail property ownership and management, whilst pursuing the transformational opportunities that arise from our existing asset base and organisational capabilities,” Mr Kelley.
Vicinity distributed 10 cents per security in FY21, accounting for 93.7 per cent of adjusted FFO.
Shares in Vicinity were up 1.27 per cent to $1.59 at 2:00 pm AEST.
