It's been another fantastic day for the Australian share market so far this Friday. The S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently up a healthy 0.46% at just over 8,500 points after hitting a new all-time high of 8,540.2 points earlier this morning. But let's talk about two ASX 300 property shares that are doing even better than the ASX 300.
First up, we have Abacus Storage King (ASX: ASK). Abacus Storage shares closed at $1.16 each yesterday, but are currently enjoying a 2.16% lift up to $1.18.
This move comes after the self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) posted its latest half-year earnings this morning.
It's not hard to see why investors have gotten excited.
Over the half-year to 31 December 2024, Abacus Storage revealed that funds from operations had risen by 15.1% over the previous half-year to $43.3 million. Statutory profits came in at $67.8 million, which was a huge increase from the $400,000 reported last year.
This led to Abacus Storage announcing an interim dividend distribution of 3.3 cents per share, up 3.3% year-on-year. Like most dividend distributions from ASX REITs, this will come without any franking credits attached.
Another ASX 300 property share with earnings out today
Next, we have another REIT and ASX 300 property share to check out in Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR).
This diversified REIT is also enjoying a notable share price bump this Friday. Mirvac units closed at $2 each yesterday but are currently up a solid 4.75% at $2.10.
This move comes after Mirvac dropped its own set of results this morning. These results also covered the six months to 31 December 2024.
Mirvac revealed that its group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were $361 million for the half, down from $372 million in the prior corresponding period. Operating profits also took a hit, dropping from $252 million in the prior half to $236 million for this period.
Meanwhile, earnings per share (EPS) was reported at 6 cents, again down from the 6.4 cents in the prior half.
Net tangible assets per share stood at $2.31 on 31 December, down from $2.36 at the end of FY2024.
Despite this, Mirvac is keeping its interim dividend for 2025 steady at 4.5 cents per share. Although that matches last year's interim dividend from this ASX 300 property share, it's a drop from the final dividend of 6 cents that investors enjoyed back in August. Like Abacus' payout, this dividend will also come unfranked.
Foolish takeaway
The earnings results from these two ASX 300 property shares just go to show how earnings are more about expectations than results. Mirvac reported falling profits, yet its shares have gone up far more than those of Abacus, whose results were objectively better.
Earnings season continues next week, so stay tuned!
