Listed Property Trusts

[lakeside]

Yes Colin I think they are just under the radar.

YOU HEARD IT FIRST ON SHARE TRADER!... well I have't heard it anywhere else!

They do report on the NZX site as STL because of their capital notes.

They remind me of Capital Properties or Infratil having stock at a low price building up heaps of value leveraging off fixed interest notes which return more cash short term. Also KFL. All NZ investor focused. Nice mix of all sorts of commercial and subdivision property, rural property and finance with lots of freedom to move - in fact they keep cards close to their chest. I wouldn't be surprised to see more marketing from STL.

Maybe as they are not strictly stock SLPF capital gain is taxable? They didn't seem to get a boost off PIE / Budget.

There will be heaps of Capital Gain anyway - last year they were $1.20 so after another 30% gain $1.35 is not unreasonable and still 8% dividends.

[lakeside]

Hooray - some coverage for STL.

Has any one else seen Bob Deys website or get his e mails? They seem to give a thorough coverage esp of Auckland Property.

http://www.bdcentral.co.nz

Published 25 May 2007
St Laurence Ltd increased its net after-tax surplus by 181% to $15.2 million in the March year. Subsidiary company St Laurence Property & Finance Ltd increased its surplus by 15.8% to $6.2 million, and by 5.8% to $32.9 million after revaluations.

Group parent St Laurence Ltd, a property-based funds management & finance company, increased total consolidated revenue by 79% to $49.1 million and assets by 44.6% to $327.6 million. The company now has more than $1.1 billion of assets under management.

Equity increased by 162% ($33.3 million) to $53.8 million, resulting in a new equity ratio of 16.4%.

The result includes revenue derived from the companies acquired in September as part of the group’s re-organisation. This re-organisation transformed St Laurence Ltd into a diversified property-based lending & funds management, asset management & fund investment business.

Managing director Kevin Podmore said: “This year’s result is largely attributable to the overall strengthening of our business in late 2006, when we acquired substantial fund & asset management entities from within the St Laurence group of companies for about $64 million.” 2 of the companies it acquired were entities that held the management contracts for NZX-listed The National Property Trust & NZDX-listed St Laurence Property & Finance. These 2 entities now hold combined assets worth more than $700 million.

The 2007 St Laurence Ltd results include revenue from the core property lending operations of $27.4 million, up 17.2%. In addition, $21.7 million of revenue was generated from the fund management, asset management & fund investment activities.

Mr Podmore said: “The 2007 result reflects our expanded business activities and the increased income associated with our fund management, asset management & fund investment activities. St Laurence Ltd now has significantly more assets under management and greater certainty of income with the introduction of new revenue streams.”

Credit rating agency Risk Analysis raised its rating of St Laurence late last year from B3 to B2 investment grade. Mr Podmore said the group’s diversified lending & funds management business and strengthened key financial measures, including the introduction of more than $23 million in capital at the time of the business re-organisation, had been a significant contributor to improved credit rating and gave the company a very solid platform for growth.

“The Risk Analysis rating system is a robust test of both qualitative & quantitative measures and, over the 3 years we have been rated, it has greatly assisted us to enhance & strengthen our business. We support the Government’s move for mandatory credit ratings and would encourage all finance companies to go through this process,” Mr Podmore said.

He said the changing environment in which finance companies operated in was clearly separating the quality businesses from the rest: “In the near future, finance companies will be largely split between larger lower-risk finance companies that offer quality investments at risk-adjusted returns and smaller, often higher-risk companies which will struggle to achieve steady funding even despite offering high interest rates.”

Mr Podmore said St Laurence was benefiting from a trend of more investors placing money with just the financially stronger finance companies, partially a result of recent industry consolidation. St Laurence investor deposits increased by 30% to $262 million during the year: “Our growth in investor deposits demonstrates the confidence the financial advisor base & the investing public have shown in St Laurence, and reinforces acceptance of our strategy to manage a diversified finance & funds management business.”

Most investments continued to be for terms of 2 years or more, reinvestment rates remained high and liquidity remained stro

[lakeside]

Updated share, recent price, and latest NTA Also dividend %
MGP $1.52 $1.13 to $1.26 5/07 3%
ING $1.24 $1.15 to $1.30 4/07 7%
CHP $1.40 $1.30 to $1.28 (due to exchange rate)2/07 3%
PFI $1.50 $1.20 to $1.32 3/07 4.5%
KIP $1.65 $1.43 to $1.73 3/07 5%
APT $1.28 $1.18 to $1.48 4/07 Diluted since & to be diluted by convertables 6%
NAP $.77 $1.13 last year to be diluted by convertables 4% (to miss a payment)
SLPF $1.14 $1.47 3.07 8%

Not much change MGP and APT down a bit, ING up a bit. Quite a variation in dividend as given on the DB site details.Turn over is interesting with several million going through these shares some days.

[OldRider]

Those dividend % return figures seem suspect to me, my spreadsheet shows for example CHP presently on a 6.33% return, the lowest it has been for 6 years. Others similarly different.

[lakeside]

quote:Originally posted by OldRider

Those dividend % return figures seem suspect to me, my spreadsheet shows for example CHP presently on a 6.33% return, the lowest it has been for 6 years. Others similarly different.

Yes you're right OR as they go up and down and unless you keep up it is hard to be accurate.

With the value gains in all the property stocks the yields are hard pressed to keep up - but many have gone up recently.

I guess that is where the high interest rates will kick in first if they have a lot of short term debt.

I am bullish about property though, more so after the Fontera payout news.

[lakeside]

Whoah now we are talking. The penny has dropped with someone. SLPF up in price & volume.

That last report was a cracker with assets, profit after tax and cash reserves all well up.

Of course they could be opening a corner dairy or shopping centre near Pike river coals smoko room.

SLPF]


Quote Line at Mon 12:23:13
Code Bid ($) Offer ($) Last ($) At High ($) Low ($) Volume Value ($)
SLPF 1.170 1.190 1.170 28/05/2007 11:50:26 1.170 1.160 28,883 33,674.630


Market Depth
BIDS
Orders Quantity Price ($)
2 110,087 1.170
2 42,088 1.140
1 7,748 1.130
1 50,000 1.120
OFFERS
Price ($) Quantity Orders
1.190 11,608 1
1.200 8,706 3
1.210 610,575 12

[lakeside]

St Laurence Property & Finance, boosted by the growing value of its property portfolio, made $32 million, taking its convertible notes to an asset backing of $1.47, its revaluation (around 15%.


Effectively those who took up their convertible notes at $1.05 bought at a 40% discount, a rare bargain. (still a 20% discount at $1.19)

When the notes convert to shares in December 2008, and are listed, you might expect high demand if there are sellers at anywhere around the price today, of around $1.15, especially if SLPF becomes a Portfolio Investment Entity, and deliver its dividends tax-efficiently. (What if they issue warrents or something - worked for IFT?)

(ex Chris Lee with bits amended by me)

[lakeside]

The old mitsubishi factory. I remember as a kid they said you could see it from the moon - was it NZ's biggest building for area at one stage ... I am just an old Porirua Boy - did you know the first McDonalds was in Porirua...

Great growth prospects in developing that site!

St Laurence Property & Finance leases 100% of Central Park
Active property investor St Laurence Property & Finance (SLPF) is pleased to announce that its Central Park industrial shed facility in Porirua, Wellington is now 100% leased.

This is the first time the Central Park has been declared fully tenanted since Mitsubishi Motors exited a significant portion of its business from the industrial park in 1998. The industrial complex comprises more than 12.3 hectares of land in total, including a 50,000 square metre shed plus 4 hectares of development land.

St Laurence Property & Finance general manager Paul Chapman says the result is a reflection of the high demand for industrial space in the area. “Demand for commercial space is pushing land prices up and this is one of the key reasons businesses are getting in quick and securing space. In saying that, there are still some excellent leasing opportunities available in the land surrounding the wider Central Park shed facility, and it is still a relatively cost effective alternative for businesses looking for a convenient location for their distribution or warehouse facilities.”

Central Park has attracted a range of distribution and warehouse businesses with many tenants looking for a landlord to design-build their new premises. “We are fortunate at SLPF to be fully integrated. This means we are both landowners and value-add developers, and can provide an end-to-end service for our tenants. This creates long-term growth partnerships, and means we are able to grow as our clients’ businesses grow.”

Central Park has been earmarked by St Laurence for development ever since it was purchased in 2005 when SLPF exercised an option to purchase the site.

While the existing building is now fully leased, there is still an opportunity to develop the further 4 hectares of land at the park. SLPF has been in discussions with number of interested parties looking to expand their operations. “We will be looking to attract a similar range of industrial, warehouse and logistics companies that want design-build options that are in keeping with the zoning of the site,” Mr Chapman says.

Central Park comprises a number of tenants including AF Logistics, Online Security Services and Mitsubishi Motors. Mitsubishi Motors’ operates its new and used parts division out of Central Park.

Online Security Services offers a range of secure paper-based and electronic business information management solutions to its customers and recently signed a three-year lease at Central Park.

Meanwhile, AF Logistics recently increased the space it leases at Central Park to meet demand for its transport and logistics business. AF Logistics stores and distributes products for a huge range of companies around the lower North Island. It also has bases in Tawa, Gracefield, Palmerston North and Hastings. The company has almost doubled its leasing area to 11,800 square metres.
Logistics Manager Jeff Hazlewood says Porirua City has proven to be a great base for the company’s warehouse and distribution centre, particularly given its proximity to the Port of Wellington where it is working to create a central hub for imported products.

[lakeside]

NEWS RELEASE
I N G P R O P E R T Y T R U S T
Auckland o 5 June 2007

Merger discussions ended and buyback launched
The Board of directors of ING Property Trust Management Limited (the "ING
Board") has advised that merger discussions with the Board of directors of
the manager of Calan Healthcare Properties Trust ("Calan") have ended.

The independent directors on the Boards of both trusts jointly appointed an
independent appraiser to opine on whether a particular scrip for scrip
exchange ratio was fair to both sets of unitholders. The appraiser presented
a draft report to both Boards, which indicated that the particular exchange
ratio was fair. While the independent directors on the ING Board wished to
proceed with the proposal on the terms contemplated, the Calan Board was not
satisfied the proposal was one that justified progressing it further with a
view to presenting it to Calan unitholders.

The ING Board is disappointed that this current opportunity has been lost
for the unitholders of both trusts. ING Property Trust (the "Trust") also
announced its intention to undertake an on-market buyback of its units on the
following terms:
- Unit purchases may occur during the period commencing 8 June 2007 and, if
the unit buyback
programme has not been completed or suspended earlier, concluding on 6 June
2008;
- The Trust may acquire up to a maximum of 54,173,747 units (being 10% of the
current number of units
in the Trust on issue); and
- The units purchased shall be deemed cancelled upon repurchase.
The decision to undertake this on-market buyback was taken following the
termination of the Calan merger discussions and the recent fall in the
Trust's unit price, which has traditionally traded at a premium to its net
asset backing, but is now trading at a discount. The net asset backing of the
units of the Trust is
$1.30 per unit as at 31 March 2007.

The ING Board believes a prudent capital management approach at this point is
to invest back into the
Trust. It would evaluate the buyback situation on a day-by-day basis. Mr
Michael Smith, Chairman of the ING Board, said: "The focus of the Board and
management is to consistently provide attractive total returns to the Trust's
unitholders within acceptable risk parameters. We believe that our units, at
current levels, represent demonstrably good value and, while they remain so,
the Trust will be actively seeking to purchase them through an on-market
buyback".

Mr Smith noted that the buyback would not affect the Trust's intention to
elect into the PIE regime or its ongoing acquisition of properties that
provides unitholders with attractive total returns.

[lakeside]

http://www.stlaurence.co.nz/webcasts/

Has a PDF and MP3 to listen to regarding St Laurence & SLPF.

They are very positive about the 2007 result - more diversified and more equity and predict a big increase in dividends and dishing out of retained earnings in late 2008 when SLPF is listed. The NTA of $1.47 is post the dilution so pretty good result and if they maintain 15% return each year they should be $2.00 by then.
It's an interesting listen - wish I could have heard the questions. StL increased their fixed interest loans by 25% last year so money pouring in from the punters and they are using it well. Amazing that there are no related party deals so Kevin Podmore isn't using them for his own investments - a good thing.
Risks - only one mentioned was StL quite exposed to Auckland residential subdivisions when the down turn comes but SLPF is more offices and commercial.