Lendlease Interim Dividend Increase

Australian real-estate developer Lendlease has announced a 33% increase in its interim dividend following a decrease in its first-half loss. The company also indicated a strategy update to be revealed before the end of the current fiscal year.

Financial Results

For the six months ending in December, Lendlease reported a net loss of 136 million Australian dollars, an improvement from the previous year’s loss of A$141 million. Revenue saw a decline of 5% totaling A$4.92 billion, with core operating profit dropping by 42% to A$61 million.

Analysts had anticipated a core operating profit of A$164 million on revenue of A$6.23 billion, according to FactSet data, making the actual result fall short.

Factors Behind the Performance

Lendlease attributed the lower-than-expected core operating profit to challenging real-estate capital market conditions, which translated to reduced activity and property valuations. The company also incurred costs related to investment property valuations, redundancy expenses, and building regulation provisions in the U.K.

To address these challenges, the board approved an increase in the half-year dividend to 6.5 Australian cents from 4.9 Australian cents.

Forward-looking Statements

The company plans to provide a comprehensive strategy update by late May and projects a gearing level of around the midpoint of its 10%-20% target range for fiscal 2024. It anticipates a stronger performance in the second half from its development and construction sectors while acknowledging ongoing financial difficulties in Europe and the Americas due to capital market constraints.

Stay tuned for further updates from Lendlease as it navigates through these market challenges.