EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Gutburg Immobilien S.A. / Key word(s): Final Results
2015-04-27 / 07:00
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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News Release

Gutburg Immobilien develops favorably thanks to active management
Luxembourg, April 27, 2015 - Gutburg Immobilien S.A.(consecutively "Gutburg Immobilien") recorded very positive business developments during the financial year 2014 and forcefully pursued its strategy to further increase the attractiveness of the offered living spaces as well as the surrounding grounds. The foundation laid with the establishment of a new company and financing structure proved its worth and led - thanks to efficient property management - to improved results.
Revenue from rents recorded during the financial year 2014 grew by 2.4% to EUR 23.2 million, thereby raising the monthly net rental income at the end of the reporting period to EUR 1.98 million. Compared to the prior year, this corresponds to a satisfactory increase of 3.0%. On an annualized basis, net rental income from rents thus rose to EUR 23.8 million. Total rented floor space adjusted for portfolio optimization amounted to 448'287 square meters at year-end 2014, against 452'952 square meters at the end of the prior year. During 2014, operating emphasis has been placed a little less on the further reduction of the vacancy rate, but more on the consistent increase of the portfolio rents. Overall over 1,700 rental increase requests have been issued and implemented. The fact that close to 100 percent of the tenants have accepted the requested increases speaks to the strength of the Gutburg Immobilien portfolio locations. Despite the broadly applied rental income increases, the vacancy rate has remained virtually stable at 12.6% as at December 31, 2014, against 12.3% at the end of December 2013. Continued population growth in cities such as Leipzig, Halle and Cottbus result in increasing rents at the important locations of Gutburg Immobilien. New rentals could be concluded with rents by 4.6% higher on average than compared to prior year. Thus the average portfolio rent increased from EUR 4.24 to EUR 4.42 per square meter. This average rent continues to still come out clearly below the market average and underlines the potential to further increase portfolio rents. During the financial year 2014 a total of EUR 2.2 million has been expensed for investments and refurbishments, compared to EUR 3.2 million in the prior year.

Thanks to efficient property management, reported operating profit for the year 2014 was raised over-proportionally by 16% to EUR 15.3 million, while operating cash flow rose by 14% to EUR 11.5 million. The prior year's results were EUR 13.2 million and EUR 10.1 million, respectively. Value adjustments on investment property of EUR 23.6 million exceed the investment spending by a multiple. Besides the increased rents, positive demographic developments at the Gutburg Immobilien locations as well as interest rates at record lows have a positive effect on the value development of the properties. Adjusted profit of EUR 5.9 million for the full year 2014 advanced considerably compared to the EUR 2.6 million reported for the prior year.

The total value of the Gutburg Immobilien portfolio rose during 2014 from EUR 267.6 million to EUR 290.6 million. Adjusted equity as of December 31, 2014 amounted to EUR 99.1 million, compared to EUR 72.8 million at the end of the prior year. Thanks to positive value development of the properties, the adjusted equity ratio increased from 26.6% to 33.5%.
The Board of Directors proposes to the ordinary Annual General Meeting 2015 a distribution of EUR 10.50 per share. 

Gutburg Immobilien confident about the future 

Since the operative emphasis during the business year 2014 has focused on rental rate increases, which will contribute for the full year to the 2015 results, we expect to continue the positive development of the Gutburg Immobilien portfolio. While the focus during 2015 will again be shifted to the management of vacancies, we are confident - thanks to the continued strong demand at the central locations - to achieve higher rents also during the current year. As a response to good market demand we invest into the renovation of three buildings in Cottbus, which are located adjacent to the University's premises. The projected investment volume of more than EUR 3 million will increase the attractiveness of the living space offered in the medium term.

The Swiss National Bank's removal of the exchange rate floor against the EUR has a negative impact on our financing costs. At a currency exchange rate of 1.0250, the interest expenses for our Swiss Franc denominated bond increase in EUR terms by around EUR 0.4 million, while our borrowings increase by roughly EUR 8 million from EUR 197 million to EUR 205 million, which will also show in the profit and loss statement for 2015.
Contact:
Simon Koenig, CEO
koenig@gutburg.com
Phone +41 44 914 90 00

About Gutburg Immobilien S.A.

Gutburg Immobilien comprises a real estate portfolio of around 8'500 residential units with a total floor space of 512'668 sqm in Brandenburg (Havel), Cottbus, Görlitz, Halle (Saale), Leipzig, Markneukirchen, Plauen, Schwerin and Schmalkalden. Around half of the rentable space and of group rental revenues is accounted for by the objects in Leipzig. Gutburg Immobilien S.A. has been incorporated on 30 May 2013 and within the frame of a recapitalization as of 8 July 2013 has taken over 94.9% of the Perseus Group which has owned the real estate portfolio since 31 March 2018.
 

Key figures at a glance

Financial key figures


1 2013 after non-recurring charges in connection with restructuring and refinancing


Key figures per share


2 based on adjusted equity capital

The complete report on the financial year 2014 of Gutburg Immobilien S.A. is available on our website www.gutburg.com under the link: http://gutburg.com/download/companies/gutburg/Annual%20Reports/gb2014.pdf End of ad hoc announcement

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Additional features:

Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=JKCLYGIWAX Document title: Favorable development thanks to active management
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2015-04-27 News transmitted by EQS Schweiz AG. www.eqs.com - news archive: http://switzerland.eqs.com/de/News

The issuer is responsible for the contents of the release.
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348599 2015-04-27