Tuesday December 9, 04:41 PM
Hirco Reports Solid Results in First Full Year; Preliminary Result for the Year Ended 30 September 2008 |
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London, United Kingdom, Tuesday, December 09, 2008 -- (Business Wire India) --
Hirco PLC (AIM:HRCO), the investment vehicle for Hiranandani, India’s
largest developer of mixed-use townships and the country’s largest
residential builder, today announced its audited fiscal 2008 year-end
financial results for the full year ended 30 September 2008.
Fiscal 2008 Highlights
Profit after tax was £75.1 million, representing earnings per share of
98 pence based on 76,526,984 shares outstanding.
As of 30 September 2008, Hirco’s Net Asset Value (NAV) on a per share
basis had risen 98 pence to £7.12, compared with £6.14 per share at 30
September 2007. The increase in NAV is mainly driven by an increase in
the value of Hirco’s investment in the Chennai Residential, Chennai
Commercial, Panvel Residential and Panvel Commercial projects. As of
30 September 2008, the value of Hirco’s investments in these projects
was £472.7 million.
The new valuation represents a 34.7% increase from the total
acquisition cost of approximately £350.8 million.
Recent Developments
In September, Hirco announced that sales of residential units in Phase
1 of its Hiranandani Palace Gardens township developments in both
Chennai and Panvel were significantly ahead of planned performance
both in terms of volume of units sold and the level of pricing
achieved.
Chennai: As of 31 August 2008, sales consideration for the
Chennai residential township had been accepted on approximately 1.8
million square feet of buildable area at an average price of INR 4,073
(£47.69) per square foot. The value of sales contracts in the Chennai
township was £93.6 million.
Panvel: As of 31 August 2008, sales consideration for the
Panvel residential township had been accepted on approximately 1.6
million square feet of buildable area at an average price of INR 4,214
(£49.95) per square foot. The value of sales contracts in the Panvel
township was £81.9 million.
Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman of Hirco PLC, said:
“We continue to make substantial progress in the development of our
Hiranandani Palace Gardens mixed-use townships in Chennai and Panvel. At
both developments, we are seeing consistently strong pre-sales of
residential apartments, which confirms our view that housing
affordability in India is still improving and demand continues to grow.
“We are achieving this solid progress against a recent background of
difficult global market conditions and slower economic growth in India.
Our success, even in weaker markets, is due to our high-quality township
developments, all of which are strategically located in well-connected
suburbs near India’s largest cities and remain highly desirable even
when the economy weakens.
“The supply of quality product in the Indian market is limited, so
demand for the type of high-quality product we offer continues to grow
at a faster pace than our ability to release product onto the market.
Today, Hirco’s developments in Chennai and Panvel are benefiting by
exploiting this “flight to quality” phenomenon. Even as signs of
economic strain appeared in India during the second half of our fiscal
year, we pre-sold 1,234,052 square feet1 of residential
space, while continuing to command steadily increasing prices. We
believe affordability and the level of demand will remain high in the
sub-$200/per-square-foot quality residential market in which we
primarily operate.
“Hirco has a strong balance sheet, no debt, access to the funds needed
for further development and construction, and a strong development
pipeline. As a result, we are very well positioned to execute our growth
plans for the future.”
The Board remains mindful that the Company’s share price represents a
significant discount to net asset value. The Directors strongly believe
that the market capitalisation materially undervalues the Company and
its prospects; they keep this situation under constant review and are
actively considering options to address the imbalance.
This preliminary announcement was approved by the board on 8 December
2008.
About Hirco
Hirco PLC is the investment vehicle for Hiranandani, India’s largest
developer of prestigious mixed-use townships for the country’s
increasingly affluent middle class. Our modern, large-scale developments
– combining high-quality residential, commercial and retail components
with green space and social and recreational facilities – are
strategically located in suburban areas outside major city centres.
Hirco’s four current projects – in Chennai in southeast India and
Panvel, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region – feature a combined total of
66.4 million square feet of buildable mixed-use space.
Hirco PLC shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) under the symbol HRCO. At the time of its
admission to trading on AIM in December 2006, Hirco PLC was the
largest-ever real estate investment company IPO on the AIM and that
year’s largest IPO on the AIM.
For further information about the Company, please visit www.hircoplc.com.
1 For the five-month period 1 April to 31 August 2008
Hirco Plc
Consolidated Income Statement
for the year ended 30 September 2008
Amount in £000's
CONTINUING OPERATIONS
Notes
01 Oct 2007 to
30 Sep 2008
02 Nov 2006 to
30 Sep 2007
Investment income
5
44,200
22,269
Foreign exchange gain / (loss)
1
(14
)
Net investment income
44,201
22,255
Fair value gain on investments
12
34,660
87,220
Administrative expenses
6
3,790
2,345
Net income before finance costs
75,071
107,130
Finance costs
-
-
Profit before taxes
75,071
107,130
Income tax expense
7
12
19
Profit for the year / period
75,059
107,111
Earnings per share (consolidated):
Basic, for the period attributable to ordinary equity holders (Pence)
9
98
140
Diluted, for the period attributable to ordinary equity holders
(Pence)
9
98
140
The Directors consider that all results derive from continuing
activities.
The notes on pages 5 to 21 forms part of these financial statements.
Hirco Plc
Balance Sheets
as at 30 September 2008
Amount in £000's
ASSETS
Notes
Group
Company
2008
2007
2008
2007
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Property, plant and equipment
11
33
42
-
-
Investments
12
472,690
341,392
-
-
Due from subsidiaries
18
-
-
353,866
256,110
Accrued income
13
45,958
-
44,785
-
518,681
341,434
398,651
256,110
CURRENT ASSETS
Accrued income
13
9,000
12,086
9,000
12,219
Other debtors and prepaid expenses
2,031
158
1,990
149
Other current assets
95
47
73
38
Cash and cash equivalents
15
17,060
116,423
16,579
115,584
28,186
128,714
27,642
127,990
Total assets
546,867
470,148
426,293
384,100
LIABILITIES
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Trade and other payables
883
69
837
8
Accrued expenses
1,169
332
1,063
257
Total liabilities
2,052
401
1,900
265
Net assets
544,815
469,747
424,393
383,835
EQUITY
Share capital
17
765
765
765
765
Share premium
361,871
361,871
361,871
361,871
Foreign currency translation reserve
9
-
-
Retained earnings
182,170
107,111
61,757
21,199
Total equity
544,815
469,747
424,393
383,835
Number of ordinary shares
10
76,526,984
76,526,984
76,526,984
76,526,984
Net Assets Value per share (Pence)
10
712
614
555
502
The notes on pages 5 to 21 forms part of these financial statements.
Hirco Plc
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
for the year ended 30 September 2008
Amount in £000's
GROUP
Share
capital
Share
premium
Currency translation reserve
Retained earnings
Total
Issue of share capital
765
381,869
-
-
382,634
Profit for the period
-
-
-
107,111
107,111
Share issue costs
-
(19,998
)
-
-
(19,998
)
As at 30 September 2007
765
361,871
107,111
469,747
Translation of foreign operations
-
-
9
-
9
Profit for the year
-
-
-
75,059
75,059
As at 30 September 2008
765
361,871
9
182,170
544,815
The notes on pages 5 to 21 forms part of these financial statements.
Hirco Plc
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
for the year ended 30 September 2008
Amount in £000's
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
2008
2007
Profit before taxation :
75,071
107,130
Adjustment for:
Fair value gains on investments
(34,660
)
(87,220
)
Depreciation
37
13
Foreign exchange gain
(1
)
-
Operating profit before working capital changes
40,447
19,923
Change in debtors and prepayments
(43,001
)
(12,291
)
Change in creditors and other accruals
(43
)
347
Tax paid
(12
)
-
Net cash (used in) / generated from operating activities
(2,609
)
7,979
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of fixed assets
(28
)
(20
)
Purchase of investments
(96,638
)
(254,172
)
Project costs paid
(98
)
-
Net cash used in investing activities
(96,764
)
(254,192
)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from issue of share capital (net of issue costs)
-
362,636
Net cash generated from financing activities
-
362,636
(Decrease) / Increase in cash during the year / period
(99,373
)
116,423
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash balances
10
-
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period
116,423
-
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period
17,060
116,423
The notes on pages 5 to 21 forms part of these financial statements.
Media contact details
CONTACTS:
Hirco
Jasper Reiser
+91 22 6671 8522
jreiser@hirco.com
OR
Gutenberg CommunicationsUS
Hugh Burnham
+1 212-239-8595
hugh@gutenbergpr.com
Michael Gallo
+1 212-239-8594
mgallo@gutenbergpr.com
OR
UK
Shalini Siromani
+44 (0) 20 3008 5231
shalini@gutenbergpr.com
OR
India
Pranav Kumar
+91 98 1007 7898
pranav@gutenbergpr.com
CONTACTS:
Hirco
Jasper Reiser
+91 22 6671 8522
jreiser@hirco.com
OR
Gutenberg CommunicationsUS
Hugh Burnham
+1 212-239-8595
hugh@gutenbergpr.com
Michael Gallo
+1 212-239-8594
mgallo@gutenbergpr.com
OR
UK
Shalini Siromani
+44 (0) 20 3008 5231
shalini@gutenbergpr.com
OR
India
Pranav Kumar
+91 98 1007 7898
pranav@gutenbergpr.com
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