Dexus Property Group Ltd is confident of achieving full-year earnings guidance and says it is well positioned to capture improvements in office and industrial markets it expects in fiscal 2015.
Investors sent Dexus shares 0.49 per cent higher to $1.03 at 1015 AEDT against a benchmark index lift of 0.53 per cent.
The group's net profit attributable to security holders after tax for the six months to December 2013 rose to $277.2 million, up 3.8 per cent from $267 million in the six months to December 2012.
Dexus said the result was boosted by a 15.5 per cent increase in office net property income to $175.3 million, compared with $151.8 million in the previous corresponding period.
Industrial portfolio net property income lifted by 2.9 per cent to $59.5 million, compared with $57.8 million in the first half of 2013.
Revenue from ordinary activities was $309 million in the half, a 0.3 per cent slip from $309.8 million in the prior corresponding period.
The group will pay a distribution of 3.07 cents per security for the period, a 6.2 per cent lift from the 2.89 cents per security it paid in the previous corresponding period, on February 28 to shareholders on the register on December 31, 2013.
Group reaffirms guidance after making takeover bid
Dexus chief executive officer Darren Steinberg said the group had a busy half-year while making a takeover offer with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire the Commonwealth Property Office Fund.
"We maintained our focus on driving returns from our existing portfolio, delivering a solid operational result which sees us on track to achieve our upgraded full-year 2014 guidance.
"We leveraged our capabilities to drive performance, reducing our exposure to leading risks in the near-term and carefully balancing our mid-term expiry profile."
Dexus said it is confident of achieving guidance of earnings of 8.29 cents per security in the 12 months to June 2014.
The group is forecasting a distribution of 6.24 cents per security for full-year 2014.
Dexus said it continued to actively manage its capital markets debt, reducing the average cost of debt by 20 basis points to 5.7 per cent and increasing debt duration by 0.7 years to 6.1 years during the half.
Finance costs were $61.4 million, an increase of $7 million after recent office property acquisitions and the on-market securities buy-back, Dexus said.