November 20 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian real estate investment trust (REIT) FairPlay Properties has lowered its 2007 planned dividend to 0.14 levs ($0.105/0.72 euro) per share from a planned 0.21 levs per shares on lower-than-expected sales, a company official said on Tuesday.
Last year's extremely warm winter affected the company's sales of its Ivan Rilski holiday project in the mountain resort of Bansko, the company's press relations officer Andrey Asparuhov told SeeNews.
A delay in the finalisation of sales of property in the company's holiday village Santa Marina, on the Black Sea, will also affect the expected sales, Asparuhov said. He gave no sales figures.
FairPlay expects to close the year with a net profit of some 10 million levs, of which it will distribute at least 7.4 million levs in dividend. The company had projected that its net profit would total 11.8 million levs this year.
The company's shareholders will receive 0.12 levs per share if the company pays dividend prior to the a capital hike it plans for January. FairPlay Properties will issue 10.140 million shares with nominal price of 1.0 levs and issue value of 2.25 levs each. After the capital increase, FairPlay's capital will reach 60.84 million levs.
The raised funds will go to finance the company's new projects in 2008. The company will soon start building a 7.0 million levs apartment hotel in Chernomorets, on the Black Sea. Construction could be launched any moment and is due to be completed in 2009 as the hotel will open in 2010, Asparuhov said.
FairPlay has also recently bought 5,000 hectares of land in Separeva Banya, close to the popular ski resort Borovets.
Earlier this year, it said it would invest some 100 million levs in holiday apartments, hotels and retail developments in the country by the end of 2008.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)