It's shaping up to be another positive day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Thursday.
After turning an early-week slump around yesterday, the ASX 200 looks set to double down on those gains, with the index currently enjoying a 0.53% rise up to 7,656 points. But let's talk about two ASX 200 shares that are making even bigger moves today.
The Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) and Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) prices are both soaring today. And it's thanks to both REITs dropping their most recent earnings reports.
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ASX 200 property stock reports a 17% drop in earnings
At first glance, there weren't too many pleasing numbers in Mirvac's results for the six months to 31 December – otherwise known as the first half of the 2024 financial year (1H24).
The property group reported an operating profit of $252 million for the period, a 17% drop from the same period last financial year. That translated into a statutory loss of $201 million for the ASX 200 share, though, thanks to some valuation writedowns.
Mirvac's earnings per security (EPS) also fell 17% to 6.4 cents.
However, Mirvac also revealed that it expects its previous guidance of operating EPS of between 14 and 14.3 cents to hold for the full FY2024. It also told investors to continue to expect an annual dividend distribution of 10.5 cents per security.
Perhaps investors were expecting something worse. Today, Mirvac shares have bounced by a pleasing 5.27% to $2.26 each.
Charter Hall gets a thumbs up for downsizing
Next up, we have Charter Hall Long WALE REIT.
This morning, Charter Hall also revealed its earnings for the first half of FY2024. Similarly to Mirvac, this ASX 200 real estate investment trust (REIT) told investors that its operating earnings had declined 7.1% over the prior corresponding period to $94 million. Earnings per security also dropped by 7.1% to 13 cents, as was previously guided.
Thanks to valuation writedowns, Charter Hall also posted a statutory loss of $258.4 million.
However, perhaps investors are responding positively to this REIT's asset sales. Charter Hall confirmed that it has been offloading assets recently, with $145.82 million worth of assets sold over the half-year. The REIT is also planning additional sales worth more than $500 million, presumably to reduce the trust's leverage.
At present, the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT unit price is up a happy 3.6% at $3.88 a unit.
