Dexus looks to up cycle following another FY loss

Major property fund manager, Dexus, has reported a statutory net loss after tax of $1,583.8 million driven by fair valuation losses.

The full-year announcement came as Dexus noted that it had achieved final completion and integration with the AMP Capital and real estate inftrustructure platform.

Announcing its full-year results to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Dexus said the statutory net loss compared to a loss of $752.7 million for the previous financial year.

“This movement was primarily driven by $1,901.6 million of fair valuation losses on investment property as a result of capitalisation rates softening across the portfolio, compared to $1,183 million of fair valuation recognised in the prior year,” the company’s ASX announcement said.

It said the portfolio valuations resulted in a total of circa 12.9% decrease in prior book values for the 12 months to 30 June, adding that “these revaluation losses primarily drove the $1.91 or 17.6% decrease in net tangible asset backing per security during the year to $8.97 at 30 June, 2024.

Commenting on the result, Dexus Group chief executive and managing director, Ross Du Vernet said that in a challenging environment the firm had maintained high occupancy across both its office and industrial portfolios.

He said that $1.7 billion of balance sheet divestments had enabled the firm to maintain a strong balance sheet with gearing toward the low end of its target band despite the impact of valuation declines.

Looking ahead, Du Vernet said markets move in cycles and while conditions were presently challenging, the company invested for the long term.

“The assets we own, manage and develop, the capabilities we build, the relationships we forge with clients and customers continue to position us well to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for Dexus security holders and our capital partners over the long term.