BECTON PROPERTY GROUP LIMITED 
By Becton Property Group Limited ("Becton" or "the Group") (ASX: BEC) provides the following project and operational update for the quarter ended 31 December 2012.
2013 INTERIM RESULT
Becton is in the process of finalising its 31 December 2012 half year result which is due for release in the final week of February 2013.
Becton expects to announce a net operating loss in the range of $2 million and $3 million for the half year ended 31 December 2012. The statutory net loss after tax is expected to be in the range of $10 million to $12 million. This compares to a statutory net loss after tax of $2.8 million for the previous corresponding period (half year ended 31 December 2011).
The current period's statutory net loss includes impairments in the range of $8 million to $10 million, consisting predominantly of a reduction in the value of Becton's Retirement Alliance investment due to lower Retirement Alliance asset values and the recognition of a mezzanine debt exit fee following the refinance of the Retirement Alliance debt on 31 October 2012.
Full details, analysis and commentary on the half year result will be provided when the result is released later this month.
The anticipated impairments are likely to result in Becton not meeting its 31 December 2013 gearing covenant test under its Group debt facility with GSFIG Pty Limited ("GSFIG"). The gearing covenant test had previously been waived by Becton's corporate lender. Becton is now in discussions with its new corporate lender to address this covenant testing.
Negotiations with Westpac Banking Corporation ("Westpac") regarding consent under the Stage 3
Bonnyrigg project debt facility to the January 2013 assignment of Becton's corporate debt facility to
GSFIG continue. In the meantime, Westpac funded a drawdown on the Bonnyrigg facility on 14
January 2013 with a further drawdown likely to occur this week.
Becton has settled the sale of a non-core development site in Hervey Bay, Queensland. The site was sold at a $0.5 million discount to 31 December 2012 book value with proceeds of the sale being applied towards repayment of the Group's Hervey Bay and Wahroonga project debt facility with Suncorp-Metway Bank Limited. This facility matures on 28 February 2013 and Becton is in discussions with its lenders regarding the $0.5 million that remains owing on this facility.
NOTICES REQUISITIONING MEETINGSFurther to its ASX announcement of 22 January 2013 Becton has been informed by all three of its substantial shareholders: Mariner Corporation Limited ("Mariner") (ASX:MCX), Telopea Capital
1
Partners Pty Ltd ("Telopea") and Titanium Property Investment Pty Ltd as trustee for the Ti Bluesky Unit Trust ("Titanium") that previously served notices requisitioning meetings of the Company are withdrawn, at Becton's request, in the interests of costs and efficiency due to timing requirements of the Becton Constitution. New notices dated 8 February 2013, requisitioning a meeting of the Company have been served by Mariner and Titanium. These new notices requisitioning meetings seek securityholder approval for the same resolutions as those referred to in the previous Notices of Requisition of Meeting served by those two substantial shareholders and which were described in Becton's ASX announcements of 7 and 17 January 2013.
Telopea has informed Becton that it does not intend to issue a new notice requisitioning a meeting. The resulting Notice of Meeting is likely to be lodged with the ASX and sent to securityholders in
late February 2013 and the relevant extraordinary general meeting is likely to be held in early April
2013.
Details of the Notices of Requisition of Meeting previously served by the substantial shareholders, the resolutions which they seek to put to securityholders and the consequences for Becton are set out in Becton's ASX announcements of 7 January 2013 and 17 January 2013.
At Newleaf, a redevelopment in 18 stages of the Bonnyrigg public housing estate in Western
Sydney, construction of Stage 3 dwellings is approaching completion with settlements anticipated in March/April 2013. As at 31 December 2012, Stage 4 was fully pre-sold with contracts for 57 private dwellings unconditionally exchanged and a further 2 contracts awaiting exchange. Planning approval for Stage 4 has been obtained and the development application for Stage 5 was submitted to council in late 2012.
Divercity, a residential and mixed use development in Waterloo NSW, was released to the market in December 2009. Construction of Block B, the first building in this development is approaching completion and sales of 175 of the 289 apartments in this building had settled as at 31 December
2012 - with the balance due to settle by April 2013. Block B is the first of 646 apartments being
developed by Becton within the Waterloo precinct.
Blocks C and D, the next parcel of properties to be developed at Divercity, comprise 357 apartments in total as well as approximately 1,545 square metres of retail space. During the December quarter, Becton released its latest stage at Divercity comprising 121 apartments. As at
31 December 2012 Becton had pre-sold and exchanged contracts on 227 apartments in Blocks C
and D and taken reservations on a further 24 apartments.
Settled FY13 $42.0
Value of properties - sales contracts exchanged1 $287.5
Value of properties - reserved2 $17.9
1. Deposit paid and binding contract exchanged - awaiting construction, completion and settlement from FY13 to FY16
2. Reservation made and (non-refundable) deposit paid - awaiting execution of contract of sale
RETIREMENT LIVING UPDATESales in the Retirement Living business continued at a solid rate during the quarter with a cumulative total of 46 sales settling as at 31 December 2012 - comprising $4.3 million in new sales and $20.2 million in resales across the portfolio. Buyer interest during the quarter has been strong with 23 reservations taken across the portfolio during the quarter.
2
As at 31 December 2012, the Waverley Country Club retirement village in Victoria had settled or contracted for sale 126 of the total 134 units at the village. The final 30 units at this village were completed in June 2012 and 73 per cent of this final 30 had been sold or reserved as at 31
December 2012.
Miche Paterson
Kreab Gavin Anderson
03 9659 3000 | 0400 353 762
Monika Lancucki
Becton Property Group
03 9832 9014 I 0413 440 236
3
|
distributed by
|
