News

Attacq celebrates 10-year listing anniversary with finalised GEPF transaction and increased dividend

An aerial view of Mall of Africa in Waterfall City.

Attacq Limited has published its full-year results for the year ended June 2023, reporting full year dividend growth of 16% to 58 cents per share with distributable income per share increasing by 14.5% to 71.9 cents.

Operationally, the REIT performed strongly with both occupancy and collection rates remaining high at 92.5% and 100.7% respectively, as it continues to experience record trading density.

Positive retail trade in Mall of Africa resulted in a 10.8% growth in rental income for the year which was supported by 21 new brands being introduced. This resulted in a 91.6% increase in turnover rental and a 71.4% increase in third party income at Mall of Africa.

This year has been transformative for Attacq on so many fronts – from building and growing community partnerships to presenting and delivering a landmark equity transaction with our partners at the GEPF and achieving key ESG milestones. As a purpose-led business, we think differently about real estate, and this is evident in the successful execution of our strategy this year,” commented Attacq’s CEO, Jackie van Niekerk, who has recently been appointed as SAPOA’s new president.

Attacq’s unique South African precinct focused portfolio is diversified across different asset classes and geographies. Several key development highlights in the year included the increased density at the Plumblink head office and distribution centre as well as the completion of Phase 2 of Ellipse Waterfall, the award-winning luxurious residential development in the heart of Waterfall City, adding an additional 30 586m2 of gross lettable area (GLA).

Our balance sheet remains strong, and we are particularly pleased that post the implementation of the GEPF transaction, the Group’s loan-to-value (LTV) will reduce to 26%. Our DPS growth of 16.0% is a considerable achievement in the current environment,” said Raj Nana, Attacq’s CFO.

Waterfall City, the Group’s flagship retail, residential, logistics and office precinct, continues to perform well against all metrics. The ability to roll-out reliable infrastructure has assisted in mitigating local government service delivery challenges, and the City has continued to attract local and global blue-chip industrial and office tenants including Cisco, Sage, Cotton On, Vantage Data Centres, Dimension Data, Accenture, Pfizer, Cummins, and Dis-Chem.

In addition, Attacq is in the process of increasing its investment in Waterfall Junction from 23.57% to 50.0%, which will soon be launched for top structure development on the completion of servicing phase 1 (total size 156 000m2 of bulk).

I am exceptionally proud that all of Attacq’s properties are able to operate during load shedding. Our team has displayed resilience throughout the year and is reflective of the inclusive, community and stakeholder-led approach we have fostered internally and externally,” concluded van Niekerk.