LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Derwent London plc (DLN.L) reported Tuesday that its fiscal 2018 profit before tax declined to 221.6 million pounds from last year's 314.8 million pounds. Earnings per share were 198.91 pence, down from 281.12 pence last year.
EPRA earnings were 113.1p per share, up 20% from 94.2p in 2017, including surrender premiums and non-recurring property income. Underlying earnings were 99.1p per share, up 5.1% from 94.2p last year.
Gross property and other income grew to 228.0 million pounds from 202.6 million pounds last year. Net property and other income was 185.9 million pounds, up 12.8% from 164.8 million pounds in 2017.
Further, the company proposed raising the final dividend by 10.3% to 46.75p per share, taking the full year's dividend to 65.85p per share, an increase of 10.2%.
For 2019, the company expects the dividend to grow at a similar rate.
Assuming demand is maintained, the company said it expects the London office market will follow a similar pattern to last year so, for 2019, it estimated ERV growth at +1% to -2%, with stable investment yields.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX