St Laurence reports $87.2 mill loss

St Laurence Property & Finance (SLPF) has reported a net after tax loss of $87.2 million for the year to March 31, blaming the loss largely on property writedowns.

The result is a huge turnaround on the $28.5 million profit recorded in the previous year. The company says a major contributor this year was a $52.6 million decrease in the value of the its property portfolio.

This fall equates to a drop in value of 13% across the combined investment and development/joint venture property portfolio. The development/joint venture property portfolio recorded a drop in value of approximately 18.5% for the 12-month period.

SLPF executive chairman Kevin Podmore says the current financial crisis has also contributed to a substantial increase in loan provisioning and write-offs of $17.3 million and readjustments of $3.6 million on its investments in associates.

SLPF's net tangible asset backing has fallen from $1.39 post the April 2008 rights issue to 78 cents.

The outlook for the property isn't particularly rosy, with Podmore saying "the decline has continued into the second half of the financial year and this, combined with further deterioration in the property development sector, has had a significant impact on the company's financial results".
SLPF's primary focus has been on liability management and reducing debt through the sale of mature and non-strategic properties.

SLPF general manager Chris Minty says the company's focus is primarily on ensuring current assets are "performing to an optimal level and actively and intensively managing the progression of company's current and planned development projects."

He says the operating environment will continue to be challenging for some time and  that SLPF will exit the property financing market.

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