Property groups do well in top 100

OF SA’s top 100 companies last year, 12 were listed property companies — these companies were ranked against companies that are foreign-based, with a secondary listing on the JSE, such as SABMiller, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Old Mutual.

Brian Azizollahoff, marketing committee head of the Property Loan Stock Association and CEO of Redefine Income Fund, says: “The Top 100 survey results are a testament to the excellent performance of listed property, particularly during the past year, which has presented the industry with its fair share of challenges.”

He says listed property continues to make a positive impression on the South African investment landscape and the results of the survey are encouraging at a time when sentiment has been uncertain.

The survey, based on share price performance, identifies companies that delivered the most wealth for their shareholders. The rankings were determined by measuring the share price performance of every company listed on the JSE on the basis of R10000 invested over five years (from October 2003 to September 2008).

Companies were then ranked according to their share price growth. In the category of “top 100 over five years”, 12 were listed property companies. Premium Properties was the highest ranked, placed 23rd overall, with 46,7 % compound growth over five years. Octodec Investments followed with a compound growth of 46,13%.

Others in this category were Resilient Property Income Group, ApexHi Properties, Hyprop Investments, Capital Property Fund, Redefine Income Fund, Growthpoint Properties, Acucap Properties, Fountainhead Property Fund, Pangbourne Properties and Sycom Property Fund Units.

For companies in the “top 50 over 10 years” category, Premium Properties was ranked in fourth position with compound growth of 55,5 %. Octodec Investments, Hyprop Investments, Sycom Property Fund, Capital Property Fund, Pangbourne Properties and Fountainhead Property Fund all made it into this category.

In the “top 50 based on profit after tax” category, Growthpoint Properties was at the top of the listed property candidates, ranked 14th overall with a compound growth of 61,9 % over five years. Also on the list were Redefine Income Fund, Hyprop Investments, Acucap Properties and Capital Property Fund, all with growth of more than 40%.

Growthpoint Properties was the only listed property company to make it into the “return on shareholders’ funds” category, taking second place with 253,76% compound growth over five years. The top 50 in terms of growth in turnover saw Monyetla Property Fund ranked sixth overall with a compound growth over five years of 62,02%. Growthpoint Properties ranked 15th with a 45,15% compound growth rate.

The category featuring the highest number of listed property companies — 18 in all — was the “top 100 over one year”. SA Reit was first overall in this category with compound growth of 400% over the past year.