The country's largest private residential landlord, Irish Residential Properties REIT, has today reported "strong" revenue growth for the six months to the end of June and said it was seeing occupancy levels of 99.5%.
Irish Res REIT said its half yearly revenues rose by 5.2% to €44.3m, on the back of the delivery of new assets and organic rental growth across the existing portfolio.
Irish Residential Properties REIT has a portfolio of about 4,000 homes, mainly in Dublin but also in Cork.
In today's results statement, the company said it delivered Net Rental Income (NRI) of €34.3m, an increase of 5.1% on the same time last year.
This drove a 6.9% increase in adjusted EBITDA to €28.7m, it added.
As at the end of June, I-RES REIT said its portfolio had a total value of €1.426 billion at a gross yield of 6.2%.
It said this represents a further yield expansion of 0.3% since the end of December, resulting in an IFRS NAV per share of 149.2 cents, down from 160 cents in 2022.
This yield expansion resulted in a non-cash charge of €56.5m, which resulted in a loss before tax of €42.1m, it added.
Irish RES REIT said its board intends to declare a dividend of 2.45 cents per share for the first half of 2023, representing a 6.5% increase on the interim dividend the same time last year.
The company also said today it has agreed to sell 194 residential units in West Dublin for a total consideration of about €72.06m to Tuath Housing.
In April, the company had announced a €100m asset disposal programme, as part of its capital optimisation and shareholder value strategy.
The deal includes the sale of 91 units in Hansfield Wood for a total consideration of €38.12m (including VAT but excluding other transaction costs). The deal is set to be wrapped up by the end of the month.
It also includes the sale of 103 apartments, which includes Piper's Court, and a small eight unit apartment building in Hansfield Wood, for a total consideration of €33.94m (including VAT but excluding other transaction costs).
The company said this sale has a number of conditions yet to be satisfied and is expected to close before the end of this year.
Margaret Sweeney, the company's chief executive, it delivered another strong operational and financial performance for the first half of the year.
The CEO said the latest reporting period has demonstrated the benefits of a new internalised platform, with the company delivering cost reduction initiatives and operating efficiencies.
"Despite our resilient financial and operational performance, we have not been immune to the wider recalibration of real estate sector values and our portfolio value fell in the first half of the year," Margaret Sweeney said.
"This non-cash revaluation of our assets reflects sector yield shifts and weakening in values across the real estate sector in response to wider macroeconomic conditions," she said.
"While uncertain conditions may persist, our performance illustrates the resilience of our high-quality assets and efficient operating model. By maintaining our focus on performance, prudent financial management and operational excellence, I am confident in our ability to continue generating attractive long-term returns for shareholders," she added.
