SA Corporate delivers 9% dividend growth, but provides no FY2026 guidance

SA Corporate – the JSE-listed Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) that owns a sizeable ‘multifamily’ residential portfolio, together with industrial and retail properties – on Friday reported a 9% increase in distribution or dividend per share (DPS), to 26.55c for FY2025.

While distributable income per share (Dips) increased 6%, to 28.71c (2024: 27.08), the group decided to increase its payout ratio to 92.5% (from 90% in FY2024), which resulted in the higher DPS payout.

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The group released its latest annual results in a short-form Sens filing, but more details were shared in a results presentation at the JSE in Sandton later on Friday.

SA Corporate executives announced at the presentation that the group would not be providing a guidance forecast for the new financial year (FY2026) just yet, owning to global geopolitical uncertainty in the wake of the Middle East conflict, and possible ramifications from oil prices and inflation spiking.

“SA like-for-like net property income [NPI] is forecast to be broadly in-line with current inflation forecasts… I have to tell you that when we started preparing our results presentation there was a number for guidance [DPS], but with the current geopolitical developments and global uncertainty, we do not think that it’s prudent to issue guidance at this stage,” said Terry Kaplan, the group’s head of corporate finance.

“The situation will be reassessed once conditions stabilise and a more reliable forecast can be provided,” added Kaplan.

However, SA Corporate faced questions about the decision at the results presentation. An analyst asked: “There should be a reasonable level of conviction in a forward-looking Dips or DPS range, what is the key uncertainty supporting your decision not to provide guidance like all of your peers that have recently report [results]?”

Group CEO Rory Mackey, replied: “As SA Corporate, we are unashamedly prudent. That’s the nature of our portfolio…  That is also true when we give guidance. It’s clear [from the presentation] what the moving targets are that exist.”

He reiterated Kaplan’s comments that from an NPI perspective the group expects it to grow in-line or just ahead of current inflation forecasts. He also highlighted the “accretive transaction” in The Parks – a R1.5 billion residential acquisition in December last year – as well as the impact of old apartment sales the group is undertaking and achieving sales premiums to book values.

SA Corporate’s share price

“We are very alive to the current circumstances that the world finds itself in and certainly hope that those will dissipate in the near term,” said Mackey.

“We look forward then, by our pre-close by the end of June [for HY2026], to give a far better, tighter range in terms of guidance,” he added.

SA Corporate has a directly held local property portfolio valued at R19 billion, in addition to exposure to direct and listed property valued at R1.7 billion in Zambia. Some of its notable properties or portfolios include Musgrave Centre and Umlazi Mega City in Durban, East Point shopping centre in Boksburg, and the burgeoning Afhco multifamily residential business (which also includes the group’s acquisition of Indluplace Properties a few years ago).

Other financial and operational metrics for FY2025: 

• Total like-for-like NPI increased 6.2%, to R1.3 billion (2024: R1.2 billion)
• Property disposals transferred, contracted and still to transfer for the year of just over R2.2 billion.
• Traditional portfolio (retail and industrial properties) vacancies of 1.5% of gross lettable area (GLA)
• Residential portfolio vacancies of 3.6% of total units (2024: 4.1%)
• Net asset value per share of 420 cents (2024: 443 cents)

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