Mobimo Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
07.08.2014 06:59

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR

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P r e s s  R e l e a s e


Half Year Results 2014 - Mobimo on track

* Financial results shaped by considerably higher rental income (over CHF 50 million) and low income from trading properties * CHF 20.1 million net profit in the first half of 2014 lower than in the prior year, as expected 
* Overall portfolio grows to CHF 2.54 billion 
* Solid financing basis with an equity ratio of 44% * Overall positive outlook for the 2014 financial year
Lucerne, 7 August 2014 - Mobimo reported half-year results that were in line with its expectations. The Group's solid revenue pillar, rental income, rose sharply. Income from revaluation and gains from the sale of trading properties, in contrast, were lower than in the prior-year period. The planned profit from sales and project development is likely to materialise in the second half of the year. Mobimo expects to reach its targets for full-year 2014 and be able to continue the attractive distribution policy for shareholders.

Marked rise in rental income
Rental income rose by 8% in the first half of 2014, exceeding the CHF 50 million mark for the first time. This trend is set to continue thanks to the rental properties transferred to the portfolio in the first half of the year. The value of investment properties reached CHF 1,930 million as at the end of the period under review, which corresponds to 76% of the overall portfolio of CHF 2,538 million. In addition to the completion of buildings for its own use, Mobimo acquired a major, fully let office complex in Friesenbergstrasse to its portfolio in the first quarter. This building will moreover continue to provide for accumulating experience of facility management services, with these services being offered under the Mobimo name within the framework of a joint venture.
In addition, two small investment properties were sold. Not long after the end of the reporting period, the Group concluded a long-term rental contract with Nespresso(R) for a large part of the newly renovated Horizon office building near Lausanne's railway station.

Construction programme advancing as planned
Mobimo handed over both the Pépinières multi-functional building in Lausanne and the retirement home and residential development next to the railway station in Affoltern am Albis (Canton of Zurich) to tenants in the first half of the year. In the autumn, the Station 595 project in Badenerstrasse in Zurich - an office building that is being converted into condominium apartments and studios - and the Collina residential development in Zurich-Witikon will be completed. At the beginning of the year, construction began on the Letzihof residential development in Zurich at the beginning of the year. Considerable progress was made on the Sonnenhof residential development in Regensdorf (Canton of Zurich) in the first six months of 2014. Further projects are due to start in Aarau and Lucerne in the second half of the year, while preparations (demolition, contaminated site remediation) have begun for the realisation of one of the major residential property projects on the Labitzke site in 2016 / 2017.
Higher income expected from the sale of trading properties and services in the second half of 2014
The low income from the sale of trading properties and services (CHF 9.4 million compared to CHF 43.0 million in the prior-year period) led to a neutral result in this area in the first half of 2014. A considerable number of transfers of ownership will take place on schedule in the second half of the year. As expected, the exceptionally strong prior-year result will not be repeated in 2014. As at 30 June 2014, notarised purchase agreements for condominiums totalled CHF 105 million. The Investments for Third Parties business area will also make a major contribution to results in the second half of the year.

Successful refinancing with a new bond
The capital market has a lot of confidence in Mobimo. In the first half of 2014 a further fixed-income bond with a coupon of 1.625% was successfully placed. The bond runs for a seven-year term. The 2010-14 convertible bond was repaid as at 30 June 2014. The Group remains extremely solidly financed over the long term at good conditions. Mobimo's equity ratio as at the end of the reporting period was 44%. Adjusted for the payment of the CHF 9.50 dividend, our share gained 6% in the first half of 2014.
Streamlining of corporate management
Following the departure of the former Head of Portfolio Management, Peter Grossenbacher, the Board of Directors and Executive Board decided to merge Portfolio Management and Investments for Third Parties under the new heading of Real Estate. Thomas Stauber, who has been a member of the Mobimo Executive Board since November 2011 and is responsible for the successful establishment of the Investment for Third Parties business area, took over as head of the new unit with effect from 1 July 2014.
Calm on the real estate market
The approval of the anti-immigration initiative, the current and announced regulatory measures on the part of the Federal Council, FINMA and the National Bank, and the growing number of critical media reports about the real estate market have led to uncertainty among market participants. While the actual implications for a market that was already cooling remain as yet unclear, People's desire for residential property continues unabated, not least due to the low financing costs available today. In this respect, Mobimo is very well positioned in the mid-price segment, offering modern products in central locations, and is pleased with the ongoing high level of interest in them. The sales process once again involves more time and consulting expenses, however. The sideways trend in the market for office and commercial space continues unchanged, with retail in particular still feeling the effects of fierce competition. Transaction prices for investment properties remain attractive, however, with many market participants generating high demand.

 
Outlook
Mobimo will profit from its flexibility and lean organisation in an increasingly regulated environment. Its focus on central locations will also have a positive effect. The rising share of investment properties in the Group's portfolio also provides it with the required growth in rental income. As a result, the Board of Directors and Executive Board are convinced that the outlook for the Group's future remains very positive.
Detailed reporting
The report on the first half of 2014 can be found on Mobimo's website www.mobimo.ch under Investor Relations / Reporting, or on the home page. (Link: http://ir.mobimo.ch/websites/mobimo2011/English/40/reporting.html)

Telephone conference for analysts and media representatives today at 10.00 a.m.
Mobimo Holding AG invites you to join a conference call about the results for the first half of 2014. Christoph Caviezel (CEO) and Manuel Itten (CFO) will present the results and will be available to answer any questions. Registration is not necessary.

Date:   7 August 2014
Time:   10.00 a.m. (CET)
Dial-in number: +41 (0) 22 592 73 12
or freephone   0800 000 732
Conference ID: 4691707

The accompanying PowerPoint presentation can be viewed via the home page at www.mobimo.ch
We would also like to inform you that a conference call in English will take place at
2.00 p.m. on the same day. The dial-in numbers are the same; conference ID 4691706.


If you have any questions, please contact: 
Mobimo Holding AG
Christoph Caviezel, CEO
Manuel Itten, CFO
+41 44 397 11 86
ir@mobimo.ch
www.mobimo.ch

About Mobimo
Mobimo Holding AG was established in Lucerne in 1999 and has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2005. The Mobimo Group has an attractive portfolio mix of investment properties offering steady returns and development properties with significant appreciation potential. Investments are made in promising locations mainly in the economic areas of Zurich and Lausanne/Geneva, together with those of Basel, Lucerne/Zug, Aarau and St. Gallen. With a total property portfolio exceeding CHF 2.5 billion, Mobimo is one of the leading real estate companies in Switzerland. The project pipeline includes development properties for the company's own portfolio with an investment volume of over CHF 0.9 billion. (as at 30 June 2014).

07.08.2014 News transmitted by EQS Schweiz AG. 
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