Fortress Fund's distribution of 140.70c

Internally managed property loan stock company Fortress Income Fund‚ which last month converted to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)‚ reported on Wednesday (14 August) that its total distributions for the year to 30 June increased by 11.72% to 140‚70 cents.

The distribution attributable to the A linked units was 112.02c (a 5% increase) with 28.68c attributable to the B linked units (a 48.91% increase).

The distributable income attributable to the A linked units for the six months to June was 56.01c (a 5% increase) with 15.22c (a 52.96% increase) attributable to the B linked units.

"While the direct portfolio performed to budget‚ the group's investments in listed property securities have exceeded forecasts," the fund said.

"The investments in both New Europe Property Investments (Nepi) and Rockcastle Global Real Estate Company (Rockcastle) experienced good growth in their respective currencies and shareholders benefitted from the weaker Rand‚" the company said.

Fortress said it aimed to increase its direct property investment in retail centres close to transport nodes with high footfalls. It would continue to dispose of its remaining office and industrial properties to focus on retail investments.

In addition to acquiring new retail centres‚ Fortress said it would expand and redevelop its existing retail centres to accommodate demand‚ maintain their relevance and enhance their attractiveness to customers and tenants.

Fortress said it will continue to increase its investments in listed property companies‚ particularly those with hard currency exposure. The euro- or US dollar-denominated investments now constitute 23.4% of Fortress' total assets.

"The board is confident that Fortress will achieve growth in distributions of about 10% for the 2014 financial year‚" the company added.