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Financial Highlights

Strong Financial Performance

  • Group revenue for the year up 10.8% (10.4% in CER1)
  • Like-for-like2 Group revenue for the year in CER1 up 5.2% 
    • UK up 5.2%
    • Paris up 5.1%
  • Underlying EBITDA3 up 11.0% in CER1 which, combined with a gain on investment properties of £122.1m (FY2017: £39.2m), drove an increase in Profit before tax4 of 134.9%
  • Adjusted Diluted EPRA Earnings per Share5 up 15.5% at 26.8 pence; 13.8% increase in the final dividend to 11.15 pence (FY2017: 9.8 pence) giving a total for the year of 16.25 pence (FY2017: 14.0 pence) 
Operational Focus
  • Continued balanced approach to revenue management drives returns
    • Like-for-like2 closing occupancy of 76.6% (up 2.7ppts on 2017) 
    • Like-for-like2 average occupancy for the year up 4.8%
    • Like-for-like2 average storage rate for the year up 0.2% in CER1 with improving momentum as the year progressed (Q4 +1.8% in CER1) underpinned by continuing improvements in marketing and pricing analytics
    • Total average storage rate6 down 3.3% in CER1 reflecting dilutive impact of Alligator acquisition and new store openings
  • Alligator and new stores trading well and in line with business plans
Strategic Progress
  • Twelve Alligator stores acquired on 1 November 2017 for £55.9m7 now integrated into the business
  • Three new stores opened in the year at London Paddington Marble Arch, London Mitcham and Paris Poissy
  • Four new stores in the pipeline with 210,000 sq ft of new space scheduled to open in London Carshalton, Birmingham Merry Hill, Paris Pontoise and Paris Magenta

Strong and Flexible Balance Sheet

  • Bank Facilities extended to June 2023
  • 20.9% increase in property valuation in CER1 driven by the Alligator acquisition, reduced exit cap rates and revised stabilised occupancy assumptions
  • Group loan-to-value ratio (“LTV”8) at 31 October 2018 at 30% and interest cover ratio (“ICR”9) at 8.6x
Notes
1 – CER is Constant Exchange Rates (Euro denominated results for the current period have been retranslated at the exchange rate effective for the comparative period, in order to present the reported results on a more comparable basis).
2 – Like-for-like like adjustments have been made to remove the impact of Alligator, 2017 opening of Combs-la-Ville, 2018 openings of Mitcham, Paddington Marble Arch and Poissy, 2017 closure of Deptford and 2018 closures of Leeds Central, Merton and Paddington.
3 – Underlying EBITDA is defined as Operating Profit before exceptional items, share-based payments, corporate transaction costs, change in fair value of derivatives, gain/loss on investment properties, contingent rent and depreciation. Underlying profit before tax is defined as underlying EBITDA less leasehold rent, depreciation charged on property, plant and equipment and net finance charges relating to bank loans and cash.
4 – Profit before tax increased by £106.4m to £185.3m (FY2017: £78.9m) principally as a result of an increase in the gain on Investment properties of £82.9m to £122.1m (FY2017: £39.2m), complemented by an increase of £8.5m or 11.4% in Underlying EBITDA as a result of stronger trading performance.
5 – Adjusted Diluted EPRA EPS is based on the European Public Real Estate Association's definition of Earnings and is defined as profit or loss for the period after tax but excluding corporate transaction costs, change in fair value of derivatives, gain/loss on investment properties and the associated tax impacts. The Company then makes further adjustments for the impact of exceptional items, IFRS 2 share-based payment charges, exceptional tax items, and deferred tax charges. This adjusted earnings is divided by the diluted number of shares. The IFRS 2 cost is excluded as it is written back to distributable reserves and is a non-cash item (with the exception of the associated National Insurance element). Therefore neither the company’s ability to distribute nor pay dividends are impacted (with the exception of the associated National Insurance element). The financial statements will disclose earnings both on a statutory, EPRA and Adjusted Diluted EPRA basis and will provide a full reconciliation of the differences in the financial year in which any LTIP awards may vest.
6 – Average Storage Rate is calculated as the revenue generated from self-storage revenues divided by the average square footage occupied during the period in question.
7 – The consideration paid for Alligator on 1 November 2017 was £55.9m, net of cash acquired.
8 – LTV ratio is Loan-to-Value ratio, which is defined as gross debt (excluding finance leases) as a proportion of the valuation of investment properties and investment properties under construction (excluding finance leases).
9 – ICR is interest cover ratio, and is calculated as the ratio of underlying EBITDA after leasehold rent to underlying finance charges.
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