British Land share price pulled back slightly on Wednesday after the company published its financial results. The BLND stock retreated to a low of 391p, which was lower than this month’s high of 418p. It remains about 23% above the lowest level this year, giving it a market cap of over 3.59 billion pounds.
Falling property values
The British Land stock price pulled back after the company warned that its property values was dropping even as rent prices rose. In total, the value of its properties declined by 3% as interest rates in the UK continued rising. Campuses value dropped by 2.7% while retail and fulfillment centers fell by 3.6%.
The results showed that its underlying profit rose by 13% in the first half of its financial year, helped by strong rent collection. Its underlying earnings per share rose from 12.9p to 14.5p while its IFRS loss for the period was 34 million pounds. The company still hiked its dividend from 10.32p to 11.60p.
British Land is one of the leading property companies in the UK. It has 14.5 billion pounds of assets under management (AUM). It owns 9.6 billion pounds of these assets and has an occupancy rate of 96.7% The firm makes over 494 million pounds in annualised rent. Its key properties are Broadgate, Regent’s Place, and Paddington Central.
British Land also owns some of the biggest retail parks in the country. These assets under management are worth over 3.7 billion pounds and have an occupancy rate of 95.9%.
The company’s business has done well in the past few months as UK retailers have reopened. The level of retail activity has also continued doing well. However, many companies are struggling as interest rates rise and inflation bites. Recently, we have seen companies like Joules and Made.com go out of business. And in a statement, the head of Marks and Spencer warned that many retailers will go out of business.
British Land is often seen as a good dividend company. It has a dividend yield of near 6% is seen to be relatively safe.
British Land share price forecast
The daily chart shows that the BLND stock price has dropped in the past four straight days. This pullback started after it retested the important 38.2% Fibonacci Retracement level. It has now re-entered the Ichimoku cloud although it remains above the 50-day moving average. The Awesome Oscillator has moved above the neutral point.
Therefore, the British Land share price will likely resume the bullish trend as buyers target the 50% retracement level at 445p. A drop below the support at 378p will invalidate the bullish view.
