Fortress lifts FY2027 guidance after distributable earnings rise 14.2%
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Fortress, the logistics and retail property group with operations in South Africa and Europe, grew distributable earnings 14.2% in FY2026 and raised its FY2027 guidance on stronger-than-expected property fundamentals.
Fortress, the logistics and retail property group with operations in South Africa and Central and Eastern Europe, saw its shares firm more than 5% after reporting annual results that beat guidance and raising its outlook for the new financial year.
For FY2026 to the end of June, the group reported distributable earnings growth of 14.2% to just over R2.23 billion, ahead of its R2.1 billion guidance. Group CEO Steven Brown said the portfolio outperformed expectations at the start of the year, with overall like-for-like net operating income growth of 6.8%.
The group, which is no longer a real estate investment trust, said capital markets had positioned positively towards real estate despite geopolitical events in 2026 that pushed up global energy prices and interest rates, driven largely by strong fundamentals and better-than-expected growth.
Fortress declared a final dividend of 90.91 cents per share for the second half of FY2026, up 5.4% from the prior second half, bringing the total dividend for the year to 178.8 cents per share, 10.1% higher than FY2025.
The company also revised its FY2027 distributable earnings guidance upwards to R2.46 billion, from R2.31 billion, an increase of 10.1% over FY2026 reported earnings. On a per share basis, the revised guidance points to a forecast distribution of approximately R1.92 per share, up 7.5%.