Irish Residential Properties REIT, Ireland's largest private residential landlord, has reported "strong" revenue growth of 3.5% for the year to the end of December, on the back of 99.4% occupancy levels in its properties.
I-RES REIT said its revenues amounted to €87.9m for the year, boosted by the full year impact of new supply in 2022 and organic rental growth across the existing portfolio.
It reported Net Rental Income (NRI) of €67.9m, an increase of 3.3% on 2022, while its adjusted EBITDA grew by 3.3% to €56m.
I-RES REIT's portfolio was valued at €1.27 billion at the end of 2023, down 15% year on year, partly due to the company's disposal of some assets.
That resulted in the company reporting a loss of €116m for 2023, compared to a loss of €11.8m for 2022.
The I-RES REIT board said it intends to declare a dividend of two cents per share for the period ended 31 December 2023, which will bring the total dividend for 2023 to 4.45 cents per share in line with the requirements of Irish REIT legislation and the company's dividend policy.
Last week shareholders of I-RES REIT rejected proposals from Canadian activist shareholder Vision Capital to remove five directors from the board and to pursue a strategic review that could have led to the sale of the company or some of its assets.
The result was a major boost for the embattled board of the business which owns 3,734 units around Dublin, following several months of pressure.
It said today that it had incurred significant cost and use of management time during the year responding to the actions of Vision Capital.
As previously announced on January 8, I-RES REIT said it was starting a strategic review which will comprise a comprehensive consideration of all strategic options to maximise value for shareholders.
The strategic review will be led by a Board Committee comprised of newly appointed Chair Hugh Scott-Barrett and non-executive directors Denise Turner and Phillip Burns.
It will be supported by property advisory firm Savills, in conjunction with the company's existing international financial advisors and brokers.
Margaret Sweeney, I-RES REIT's chief executive, said that 2023 was an important period for the business - the first full year following the internalisation of operations and the deployment of an operational management platform.
"Against that backdrop, the core and enduring strengths of the business continued to deliver revenue growth, strong operating and financial performance and stable cash flows despite the continuing challenging environment in 2023," the CEO added.
Ms Sweeney said the company successfully delivered a €96.5m asset recycling programme in 2023 despite a challenging transaction environment overall for real estate in Ireland.
"Disposals were completed at relevant book value, representing an attractive return on original cost, were broadly neutral to our earnings profile, and the proceeds were used to strengthen our balance sheet by retiring higher cost debt," she said.
"We are confident in our continuing focus and progress on optimising our portfolio through asset recycling, including demand for individual units at accretive values, as well as maintaining operational excellence and cost management, and improving the sustainability credentials of our assets," she said.
"We also continue to be focused on leveraging our platform for ancillary revenue, as well as maximising revenue from our existing assets," she added.
As previously announced, Ms Sweeney is stepping down as CEO in April.
I-RES REIT shares ended lower in Dublin trade today.
