CHAMWE KAIRA
Oryx Properties Limited anticipates profit for the year ended 30 June 2024 and earnings per share to be substantially higher (more than 30%) than the corresponding period, whilst headline earnings and distributable income is expected to be materially higher (between 10% and 30%) than the corresponding period.
The company’s premium retail properties include the regional centre Maerual Mall Retail and Gustav Voigts Retail Centre. The company aims to attract and retain quality tenants with a vacancy rate of 5.91% across commercial properties and 11.19% for residential complexes.
In a trading statement, Oryx said distribution per linked unit is expected to be significantly lower (less than 10%) than the previous period as a result of the higher number of linked units in issue (2024: 114,325,868 linked units) from the corresponding period (2023: 87,378,835 linked units). The audited results for the year ended 30 June 2024 are expected to be published on 13 September.
The company’s 2025 strategy aims to expand its portfolio in the country to the value of N$4.5 billion by the year 2025.
A vital component of the strategy is to reduce Oryx’s overall exposure to risk, particularly its reliance on the Maerua Mall. Accordingly, the company has identified a quality asset, the Dunes Mall in Walvis Bay, and successfully raised 49% of the capital for its acquisition through equity, and 51% through new debt.
The Dunes Mall was completed at an initial purchase price of N$628.5 million (9.5% yield), inclusive of additional land next to the asset.
One of the objectives set out in the 2025 Strategy is to establish an unlisted fund. One of the highlights of 2023 was the awarding to Oryx of an N$800 million tender to establish an unlisted property fund on behalf of the Government Institutions Pensions Fund (GIPF).
Oryx believes that the unlisted vehicle will allow for the formation of a portfolio of assets that can be matured and, when the fund eventually closes, transitioned into the listed Oryx vehicle through the implementation of an exit strategy.
Despite ongoing challenges, the group posted a solid performance in 2023, with total comprehensive income increasing by 80% to N$191 million.
The highlights for 2023 were the N$200 million ABSA development facility for the Maerua revitalisation project was concluded.
The value of properties exceeded the N$3 billion mark for the first time in Oryx’s history, being valued at N$3.095 billion (2022: N$2.840 billion)
