U.K. self-storage company Lok'nStore Group PLC released the financial results of its fiscal year, which ended July 31, reporting increases in revenue and occupancy. Company revenue was up 1.6 percent year over year, totaling £12.97 million, with self-storage revenue improving 3.4 percent to £11.14 million. Year-end unit occupancy was up 10.4 percent, increasing to 64.5 percent overall. The companys board recommended a full-year dividend of 6 pence per share, up 20 percent from last year.
"LoknStore is trading well, with increased occupancy driving cash flow per share and growth in net asset value, said Andrew Jacobs, CEO. The group has delivered record margins, operating profits and cash flow, and we expect this momentum to continue. Revenue and occupancy growth from our existing stores, combined with the opening of the new Crawley, Maidenhead and Aldershot stores, will take us to 25 trading stores and, backed by a strong balance sheet, will underpin the continued growth of the business.
The companys profit before tax increased to £1.43 million from £0.93 million the prior year. Earnings were 5.72 pence per share, significantly higher than 2.99 pence per share last year. Funds from operations increased 8.5 percent to £3.4 million (14.1 pence per share).
LoknStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis. Around 60 percent of the company's 7,000 customers are residential and 40 percent commercial. LoknStore has more than 920,000 square feet of net rentable space, which is evenly split between freehold and leasehold.
