Empiric Student Property PLC Trading Update (9516P)
February 14 2019 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMESP
RNS Number : 9516P
Empiric Student Property PLC
14 February 2019
14 February 2019
Empiric Student Property plc
("Empiric" or the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries,
the "Group")
TRADING UPDATE
The Board of Empiric Student Property plc (ticker: ESP) (the
"Board"), the owner and operator of premium student accommodation
across the UK, is pleased to provide the following update ahead of
the publication of the Company's results for the year ended 31
December 2018, which are expected to be announced on 20 March
2019.
The Group continues to make good progress on delivering
financial and operational improvements across the business. For the
year ended 31 December 2018, the Board expects the Group will
deliver significant improvements in the following key financial
metrics in line with previously announced management expectations:
a gross margin above 61% (2017: 57%); administration costs below
GBP10 million (2017: GBP13.5 million); and the dividend to be at
least 60% (2017: 33%) covered by adjusted earnings.
The unaudited like-for-like property portfolio valuation
increase between 31 December 2017 and 31 December 2018 is expected
to be in excess of 4.5%.
The Company remains on track to meet its aggregate dividend
target of 5.0 pence per share for the year ended 31 December 2018,
payable quarterly, of which 3.75 pence per share has been paid for
the nine months ended 30 September 2018.
The programme of bringing all facilities management in-house in
stages by 1 April 2019 remains on track and bookings for the
2019/20 academic year are progressing in line with expectations.
The Board continues to be confident in the outlook for the
business.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT:
Empiric Student Property plc (via Maitland/AMO below)
Tim Attlee (Chief Executive Officer)
Lynne Fennah (Chief Financial &
Operating Officer)
Jefferies International Limited Tel: 020 7029 8000
Gary Gould
Stuart Klein
Maitland/AMO (Communications Adviser) Tel: 020 7379 5151
James Benjamin Email: empiric-maitland@maitland.co.uk
The Company's LEI is 213800FPF38IBPRFPU87.
Further information on Empiric can be found on the Company's
website at www.empiric.co.uk.
Notes:
Empiric Student Property plc is a leading provider and operator
of modern, direct-let, nominated or leased student accommodation
across the UK. Investing in both operating and development assets,
Empiric is a multi-niche student property company focused on, (i)
providing good quality first year accommodation managed through its
Hello Student(R) operating platform in partnership with
universities, (ii) offering a variety of second and third year
purpose-built accommodation options for individual students and
those wanting a group living environment, and (iii) continuing to
expand the Group's existing premium, studio-led accommodation
portfolio which is attractive to international and postgraduate
students.
The Company, an internally managed real estate investment trust
("REIT") incorporated in England and Wales, listed on the premium
listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct
Authority and was admitted to trading on the main market for listed
securities of the London Stock Exchange in June 2014.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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