London, UK, 27 February 2017

Edison issues update on Primary Health Properties

FY16 was Primary Health Properties' (PHP) 20th year of uninterrupted dividend growth and saw a return to full dividend cover. The capital increase in April 2016 (£145.3m net of costs) enabled management to reduce LTV, lower the cost of debt and continue to expand the portfolio of modern, purpose-built primary care assets on long leases mainly to government-backed tenants. The efficient operating model should deliver further reduction in the EPRA cost ratio in FY17 as the portfolio grows, increasing profitability and underpinning the secure dividend stream. The first quarterly dividend for FY17 of 1.31p has been declared, and we forecast continued, fully covered dividend growth to 5.25p per share in FY17 and 5.36p in FY18.

PHP's FY17e dividend yield of 4.9% is supported by a portfolio of leases that are largely backed by the UK and Irish governments. The healthcare market is much less sensitive to economic cycles than other commercial real estate subsectors and therefore shows less volatility in occupancy, rents and valuation. The dividend is fully covered by EPRA earnings and we expect the 20-year trend of growth to continue.

Click here to view the full report.

All reports published by Edison are available to download free of charge from its website: www.edisoninvestmentresearch.com.

About Edison

Edison is an investment research and advisory company, with offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and AsiaPac. The heart of Edison is our world-renowned equity research platform and deep multi-sector expertise. At Edison Investment Research, our research is widely read by international investors, advisers and stakeholders. Edison Advisors leverages our core research platform to provide differentiated services including investor relations and strategic consulting.

Edison is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Edison is not an adviser or broker-dealer and does not provide investment advice. Edison's reports are not solicitations to buy or sell any securities.

Contact details: Learn more at www.edisongroup.com and connect with Edison on: