Ely Property expects to report an operating profit of €1.2 million for last year, a 23 per cent increase on 2004. The company was boosted by increased rental income from its student accommodation.
"All parts of the business are performing very well and we expect this to continue," said Philip Marley, Ely's chief executive.
The Dublin-based company, which listed on London's AIM last August, has expanded its portfolio of student accommodation from 71 bed spaces at the end of 2004 to 796 at the beginning of this year. All of the beds are let for the current academic year.
The group said its sales targets were in line with expectations following the disposal of 59 of its 100 units in the student village at Ballymun in Dublin and the sale of all 24 units at its residential unit in Coventry.
Ely, which has recently bought a 3,716sq m (40,000sq ft) development in Islington in north London, is seeking to capitalise on the growing influx of foreign - particularly Chinese - students looking for accommodation in the UK. A report published last year by property group Savills said that only 25 per cent of the requirement for student accommodation was being met. The company plans to develop a student village of 192 beds on the site.
In Ireland the group is seeking to take advantage of Government tax incentives on student and childcare developments. It is currently developing a day care centre in central Dublin as part of a joint venture, though Mr Marley declined to comment on the project's progress except to say it was "going nicely". In September it signed a partnership with UK group Creative Education to develop 25 creches in Ireland and is seeking sites for these.
