Panther Securities on Friday said its 2023 performance was hindered by increased costs and non-cash items.

The Hertfordshire, England-based property investor said in 2023 pretax profit fell 76% to £5.5 million from £22.9 million the year prior.

Revenue rose 7.8% to £14.5 million from £13.4 million.

Panther Securities declared a final dividend of 6.00 pence per share, unchanged from 2022.

The total dividend for the year stands at 22.00p, up from 12.0p.

Chair Andrew Perloff said: ‘[Profitability was] substantially affected by the movement in our swap position amounting to a reduction of £2.0 million in the swap value of the balance sheet for 2023.’

Costs largely associated with repairs, reconfigurations, and interest were also incurred throughout the year further hampering performance.

Looking ahead, management said it is confident these costs will fall in 2024.

‘The economy is now in a higher interest rate environment but it looks like inflation is finally under control. The group has fixed its interest rate swaps which will protect us from interest rate increases for many years to come. The nature of property companies, gives us a natural hedge over inflation,’ Panther Securities commented.

Panther Security shares were up 5.7% to 317.00 pence each in London on Wednesday.

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