May 11 2026 22:00
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
SA’s second largest property fund, Redefine Properties said on Monday that improving property fundamentals and stronger operational momentum positioned the real estate investment trust (Reit) for continued earnings growth in 2026, even as geopolitical tensions and Middle East conflict created uncertainty for global markets. A war without a clear end buoyed uncertainty across businesses.
The JSE-listed property group upgraded its distributable income per share guidance for the 2026 financial year to between 6% and 7%, from previous guidance of 5% to 6%, after reporting a 7.4% increase in distributable income for the six months ended February 28 .
CEO Andrew König said the current operating environment was a recurring “game of snakes and ladders”, with economic shocks and geopolitical disruptions repeatedly interrupting the sector’s recovery over recent years. But Redefine had managed to improve its dividend and to benefit from a diverse portfolio of assets in South Africa and Poland.
Redefine reported a 7.4% increase to R1.9bn in distributable income for the reporting period. König said Redefine and other landlords were facing a situation where listed property had been buoyed by strong fundamentals such as lower interest rates and improved investor sentiment but then global turmoil had scuppered progress.
“Financial year 2026 is shaping up as a year of two very distinct halves. The first half, characterised by lower interest rates, strengthening market fundamentals across all asset classes, and renewed investor confidence, has been interrupted by paralysing disruptions to flows through the world’s most critical oil choke point,” the group said.
“In this environment, we will lean on the ‘Upside of Us’ to sustain first-half momentum and to focus relentlessly on the variables within our control to underpin sustained value creation for all stakeholders,” said König.
Occupancy across the Redefine’s South African portfolio improved to 94.2% during the period with its local retail portfolio recording an increase in occupancy to 95% with trading density rising to 3% and renewal reversions turning positive at 3%.
Demand for premium-grade office space continued to gain traction, says Redefine, with its office occupancy improving from 87% to 88.9% and tenant retention approximately 96%, although renewal reversions remained under pressure at -15.8%.
Redefine’s industrial assets recorded an occupancy of 97.2% and positive rental reversions of 4%.
Leon Kok, Redefine’s COO, said the improvement in property values during the period was driven by stronger income performance rather than valuation yield compression.
In Poland, occupancy in the group’s EPP retail portfolio remained at 99.2%, while occupancy in its logistics platform, ELI, rose to 98.7%.
Redefine says it is further expanding its institutional grade self-storage platform in Poland which is expected to double in size by 2027 through ongoing development.
A 9.2% appreciation in the Rand during the reported period reduced the translated value of Redefine’s offshore portfolio and weighed on its net asset value (NAV), with the stronger Rand reducing it by 33.2 cents per share on a net basis.
“The impact on distributable income was partially cushioned through the group’s hedging strategy,” sdaid CFO Ntobeko Nyawo.
“If the Rand had been flat, EPP would have translated to closer to 7% growth,” he said.
Approximately 85% of Redefine’s debt is currently hedged, while recent refinancing activity extended the weighted average debt maturity profile to 3.7 years.
The real estate investment trust, Redefine, also refinanced R6.2bn of EPP core debt during the period, extending debt maturities and achieving significant margin compression, while also securing record sub-100 basis point pricing on three-year debt in the domestic debt capital market.
Redefine’s NAV per share increased to 815.09 cents, while its loan-to-value (LTV) ratio improved to 40.3%.
Redefine’s board declared a dividend of 21.83 cents per share for the reporting period.
“Durability is not built in a crisis; it is revealed by one. Since 2019, Redefine has consistently emerged from each trigger event in materially stronger shape, better positioned to thrive amid certainty and complexity: 2026 will be no different,” the group said.
Redefine anticipated distributable income per share for FY2026 to increase by between 6% and 7% or 55.55 cents to 56.07 cents per share, while applying an 80% to 90% dividend payout ratio.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
