Oryx braces for profit tumble

Jo-Maré Duddy – Locally-listed Oryx Properties expects its earnings per share (EPS), headline earnings, distributions and profit for the year ended 30 June 2020 to be significant lower than in its 2019 financial year.

In a trading statement released on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) on Friday, Oryx said it expects these figures to drop by “less than 30%”.

Profit will be impacted by Covid-19 relief measures provided to tenants from April to June, when Namibia was in stages 1 and 2 of the state of emergency.

In April alone, Oryx granted rental relief of N$9.3 million to tenants in its various properties, which include the Maerua and Gustav Voigts malls in Windhoek.

According to PSG Namibia, 67% of Oryx’s property portfolio is retail and 97% of its properties are located locally.

Covid-19

In its trading statement on Friday, Oryx said distributable income and net asset value are for its 2020 financial year anticipated to be significantly lower than that of the previous book-year.

The main reasons are the result of negative fair value adjustments on investment properties, investment in listed shares, derivative instruments, changes in its foreign currency loan and its investment in its associate.

These adjustments are “unrealised gains, which are transferred to non-distributed reserves and therefore do not impact the interest distribution to unitholders”, the group said.

Oryx said the distributions will be lower due to pressure on cash flows and indeterminable continued impacts of Covid-19, as well as the decision taken by debenture holders of non-payment of a final distribution for the year ended 30 June 2020.

Oryx is listed on the Local Index of the NSX. It closed at N$17.40 per share on Friday, 14% down from the N$20.24 per share it ended 2019 on.