Hospitality Property Fund’s distributable earnings also increased by 100% to R204m compared with the six months to end-September 2016.

Hospitality Property Fund (HPF) declared a distribution of 27.09c per share for the four months to end-September, resulting in the total distribution of 41.83c per share for the six-month period.

The company said it was not possible to do an exact comparison with the equivalent period a year earlier due to a change in its year-end and additional properties it acquired during the period under review.

HPF’s distributable earnings increased by 100% to R204m compared with the six months to end-September 2016, mainly due to the inclusion of additional properties.

In May this year, Tsogo Sun sold 29 hotels to HPF, its subsidiary, for R3.6bn. Tsogo Sun has added 39 hotels, including these 29, since it bought a controlling stake in the group in 2016. The group also bought additional sections in the Sandton Eye sectional title scheme and the right to extend the Radisson Gautrain building.

HPF’s portfolio includes 53 hotel and resort properties in SA, with a value of R13bn as at September 30 2017.

Rental income for the comparable six months increased by 55% due to the inclusion of the hotels it bought from Tsogo Sun. The fund’s hotel properties are predominantly located in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Source: Business Day