Property For Industry nine-month profit up 2.9 per cent

Listed industrial property investor Property For Industry's (PFI) net profit for the nine months to September 30 was up 2.9 per cent to $10.46 million.

The company said today its rentals for the nine months were $21.65 million, 10.3 per cent up on the comparable period last year as a result of acquisitions, development projects and rent reviews.

PFI general manager Ross Blackmore said acquisitions, rent reviews and development projects this year had so far added more than $2 million a year to the company's rent roll.

That figure was expected to increase further with the completion of the 2006 rent review programme.

Among the year's highlights was the recently announced acquisition of three new properties with a total value of about $11.6 million, Mr Blackmore said.

All three were bought in off-market transactions, were next to existing PFI properties and had development potential.

PFI also recently finished four development projects at a total cost of $7.66 million. The projects were generating rental returns of between 9 and 11 per cent on cost, he said.

The full benefit of the additional revenue from those development projects would not be fully reflected in the company's accounts until early 2007.

Twenty of the 26 rent reviews scheduled for 2006 had been completed, adding $589,000 to PFI's annual rent roll with the completed reviews reflecting on average a 4.03 per cent annual rental increase over the preceding review period, Mr Blackmore said.

PFI's portfolio of 56 properties was 98 per cent occupied and had a total value of over $350 million.

PFI shares closed at $1.39 yesterday, having ranged between $1.45 and $1.11 in the past year.

- NZPA