(Reuters) - Grainger Plc (LON:GRI), Britain's largest listed residential landlord, reported a 13 percent rise in first-half profit and said strong trading would continue over the second half.
Pretax profit rose to 41.2 million pounds in the six months ended March 31, from 36.6 million pounds a year earlier.
Net rental income for the period grew 11 percent to 20 million pounds, boosted by gains through acquisitions, improved operational efficiency and rental growth, Grainger said.
Grainger said it had seen good growth in valuations for its portfolio assets in the regions and outer London, which more than offset a broadly flat central and inner London.
The company is now focused on growing in the regulated tenancies and the booming domestic private rental sector (PRS), after having overhauled its business and shed non-core development assets over the past year.
Grainger has made good progress to deliver on its target of securing 850 million pounds of PRS investment by 2020, with 439 million pounds worth of projects secured and a further 425 million pounds in planning or under legal process, it said.
"We expect a further strong trading performance in second half of year and lead indicators point to a robust performance for year as a whole," Grainger said in a statement on Friday.