Charter Hall Long WALE REIT: Strong FY24 Performance & Share Price Surge

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX:CLW) has enjoyed a strong month, with shares climbing over 7%. The positive momentum continued following the release of the company’s FY24 results, which saw the share price gain an additional 2.8% on Friday.

Key Highlights from FY24

The REIT delivered solid results for the year, with key highlights including:

• Operating earnings: $188 million, or 26 cents per security (cps).
• Distributions: Total of 26 cps.
• Net tangible assets (NTA): Valued at $4.66 per security.
• Like-for-like Net Property Income (NPI) growth: 4.7% year-on-year.
• Portfolio WALE: Strong at 10.5 years.

To improve the portfolio’s lease expiry profile, CLW divested $96.2 million in Long WALE retail assets and $225.3 million in Agri-Logistics assets during the year. The portfolio now consists of 540 properties with a 99.9% occupancy rate.

Despite these positives, the portfolio’s gross asset value decreased by $626 million due to an increase in the capitalisation rate from 4.8% to 5.4%.

Management Optimistic About Future

Fund manager Avi Anger expressed satisfaction with the results, highlighting the REIT’s success in divesting assets, reducing lease expiry risk, and strengthening the balance sheet.

For FY25, CLW has guided for operating earnings and distributions per security of 25 cents each, representing a 7% distribution yield at the current share price. Additionally, the company plans to buyback up to $50 million of its own shares.