DGAP-News: BUWOG AG / Key word(s): Final Results
2016-08-31 / 07:26
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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- Solid growth of 8.4% in Recurring FFO to EUR 99.4 million - 9.9% improvement in EBITDA to EUR 174.3 million
- Fair value adjustments of EUR 190.8 million to investment properties - 13.4% increase in EPRA Net Asset Value per share to EUR 20.18 - Guidance for FY 2016/17: Recurring FFO of at least EUR 108 million - Outlook for FY 17/18: Recurring FFO of at least EUR 124 million and for FY 2018/19 of at least EUR 150 Million
- Dividend proposal of EUR 0.69 per share

BUWOG AG continued the trend set in earlier years with a significant improvement in all key indicators during the 2015/16 financial year. This development was supported, above all, by a further increase in the operating contributions from the management of the Group's investment properties and by the significant expansion of activities in the Property Development business area. The company's EBITDA totalled EUR 174.3 million and was 9.9% higher than the previous financial year (2014/15: EUR 158.6 million).

The positive development of business was also reflected in an increase in Recurring FFO which rose by 8.4% year-on-year to EUR 99.4 million. EPRA-NAV per share also improved substantially and equalled EUR 20.18 as of 30 April 2016, or 13.4% higher than the previous year (EUR 17.79).
The fair value adjustments to investment properties amounted to EUR 190.8 million at the end of the reporting year based on the appraisals by CBRE, and a further increase of approx. EUR 148 million is expected in the first quarter of 2016/17 with respective positive impacts on EPRA-NAV. Annualised net in-place rent rose by 1.5% to EUR 201 million (2014/15: EUR 198 million) and was supported, among others, by a substantial reduction in the vacancy rate from 4.2% to 3.4%. Excluding the necessary vacancies reserved for Unit Sales in Austria, the vacancy rate in BUWOG's standing investment portfolio equalled only 2.2% as of 30 April 2016. The fair value of the standing investments increased by approx. EUR 158 million, or 4.5%, to EUR 3.7 billion and now stands at a group-wide average of EUR 1,052 per sqm (Germany: EUR 980 per sqm; Austria EUR 1,118 per sqm).
The intensification of activities in the Property Development business area manifests itself, among others, in the successful acquisition of eight land sites. These transactions were signed during the reporting year and led to the substantial growth of the project pipeline, which increased by more than 82% year-on-year and now totals roughly 8,120 units with a total investment volume of approx. EUR 2.5 billion. The future development strategy was extended to also include the construction of rental apartments for BUWOG's portfolio in Germany and the completion of market entry into the socio-demographically attractive city-state of Hamburg. The results of Property Development rose by 72% to EUR 21.4 million in 2015/16.
Daniel Riedl, CEO of BUWOG AG: "Property Development is an important success factor for the profitability of our business. The strong expansion of the development pipeline creates additional earnings opportunities, which will have a positive effect on BUWOG's results over the coming years. In addition, the development into our own portfolio will allow us to further expand our portfolio without relying on the acquisition of existing properties, which are currently difficult to find at attractive prices."
Net financial liabilities amounted to EUR 1,970.1 million at the end of FY 2015/16. The Loan-to-Value ratio (LTV) declined by 3.4 percentage points to 47.6% based on the positive development of the property portfolio and regular amortisation payments, allowing the BUWOG Group to meet its target for a sustainable LTV below 50.0%. The average interest rate for financial liabilities remained low at 2.19%, while the average term of these liabilities continued to reflect an above-average level of roughly 16 years as of 30 April 2016. At nearly 13 years, the BUWOG Group's liabilities show a very long fixed-interest period.

"BUWOG as a combination of asset management platform and project developer with reciprocal synergies is an attractive capital markets product. Based on today's market we target a risk-return-profile with an FFO-yield of 6% - 6.5%", explained Andreas Segal, Deputy CEO and CFO of BUWOG AG.
In view of the positive development of earnings during the past financial year, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will make a proposal to the annual general meeting which calls for the payment of a EUR 0.69 dividend per share for 2015/16.

The Executive Board sees a continuation of the generally positive market environment for the business activities of BUWOG AG and its subsidiaries in the 2016/17 financial year. Its guidance for Recurring FFO amounts to a minimum of EUR 108 million. Asset Management and Unit Sales should generate Recurring FFO, before net acquisitions, of at least EUR 95 million. In addition, Recurring FFO of at least EUR 13 million is forecast for the Property Development business area. The Executive Board's outlook for Recurring FFO in 2017/18 foresees at least EUR 124 million and in 2018/19 at least EUR 150 million.

The annual report of BUWOG AG with the annual financial statements for the 2015/16 financial year was published today on the company's website under https://www.buwog.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports.
Key Data




Key Property Portfolio Data




On the BUWOG Group
The BUWOG Group is the leading German-Austrian full-service provider in the residential property business and now looks back on 65 years of expertise. Its high quality property portfolio encompasses more than 51,000 units and is distributed between Germany and Austria. In addition to asset management of its own standing investments the entire value chain of the residential sector is covered by the property sales and property development segments. The shares of BUWOG AG have been listed on the Frankfurt, Vienna (ATX) and Warsaw stock exchanges since the end of April 2014.
For additional information contact:

Media Inquiries Germany: Investor Relations:
Peter Dietze-Felberg             Holger Lüth
RUECKERCONSULT GmbH              BUWOG AG
T: +49 (0)30 2844 987-62 T +43 (0) 1 87828 1203 dietze@rueckerconsult.de investor@buwog.com
Media Inquiries Austria:

Thomas Brey
M&B PR, Marketing, Publikationen GmbH
T +43 (0) 1 233 01 23 15
M +43 676 542 39 09
brey@mb-pr.at

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2016-08-31 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Language: English Company: BUWOG AG Hietzinger Kai 131 1130 Wien Austria Phone: +43 1 87 8281130 Fax: +43 1 87 8285299 E-mail: investor@buwog.com Internet: www.buwog.com ISIN: AT00BUWOG001 WKN: A1XDYU Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange; Wien (Amtlicher Handel / Official Market)  
   
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