JSE-listed real estate investment trustStor-Age increased its divided by 10% year-on-year to R88.05 in the year ended March 31, and is expecting 9% to 10% dividend growth in the current financial year.
The company noted that its results were driven by a strong trading performance across the portfolio and the successful completion of the Storage RSA acquisition in February.
CEO Gavin Lucas noted that the self- storage market was holding steady in contrast to other property subsectors in South Africa.
During the year under review, Stor-Age’s occupancy, excluding Storage RSA, increased by 4 000 m2.
Including Storage RSA, the increase in occupancy was 37 700 m2, and the closing rental rate grew by 12.7% to R86.
The company achieved a 9.4% increase in the average rental rate achieved for the year.
Meanwhile, the Storage RSA acquisition had extended Stor-Age’s gross lettable area, while also offering a development opportunity in Bryanston for which town planning approvals are in hand.
Further bolstering the group’s geographical footprint, Stor-Age opened three new Stor-Age branded properties in Durban and Johannesburg in its managed portfolio.
Stor-Age is in the second year of its defined five-year growth plan to 2020 and is currently ahead of growth targets, Lucas noted.
He stated that the company’s short-term focus was on bedding down recent acquisitions to maintain consistent group standards and unlock maximum value.
