RDI Reit cuts interim dividend as earnings fall

RDI Reit, whose shares lost 13.8% on Wednesday after the landlord rejected a takeover offer, has cut its interim dividend because of lower earnings and a chunk of cash being tied up in a credit facility. Underlying earnings in the six months to end-February fell 3.7% to £26.4m (R493m), the property owner said. At the same time, £11.6m in cash was retained in a credit facility provided by Aviva Commercial Finance linked to four of its malls in the UK. “This cash is restricted and is unavailable to the group to fund its operations or to allocate to shareholders in the form of dividend,” said RDI, which is headed by Mike Watters. The landlord cut its interim dividend to four pence a share from 6.75p previously. But Watters said the company would raise its second-half dividend in order to meet the UK’s real estate investment trust (Reit) rules in respect of distributions. Meanwhile, RDI said it planned to slash its exposure to the retail sector amid declining mall valuations in the UK. ...