Johannesburg – Two of South Africa’s major real estate investment trusts (Reits) – Vukile Property Fund and Redefine Properties – are deferring latest dividend payouts in the face of the Covid-19 economic crunch.
Vukile, which reported its half-year results to the end of September 2020 on Monday, is withholding its interim dividend.
Redefine is set to release its full-year results, ending August 31, 2020, on Tuesday. The group, however, noted in a trading update well after markets closed on Friday that it is deferring its final dividend payment to February next year.
Most Reits have opted to defer paying dividends and have also introduced payout ratios in order to retain cash and boost balance sheet strength due to pandemic pressure on revenue. Vukile has introduced a payout ration of 75% for its current year.
Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile, said that the group had granted R133-million in rental relief to its tenants in South Africa and around EUR 15-million in support for tenants in Spain.
“Almost all the impact of this relief is contained within the half-year period,” he said.
