conwert Immobilien Invest SE

conwert with operating success and positive results in Q1 2015

Business news for the stock market

Vienna (pta027/26.05.2015/22:07) - - + Strong operating performance - FFO I up to EUR12.7 mn and NRI margin rises to 68.9% + Consolidated earnings back in the black after being hampered by negative non-cash effects in the previous year + Proactive management leads to increase in average rents and fall in vacancy rates + FFO I guidance for 2015 at EUR40 mn- business outlook confirmed

conwert Immobilien Invest SE, traded on the Austrian ATX, achieved positive earnings in the first quarter 2015 thanks to a strong operating performance and an improvement in net finance costs.

conwert's revenues rose from EUR78.9 mn in the first quarter 2014 to EUR106.9 mn in the first quarter 2015, an increase of 35.5%. This growth was primarily generated by sales income of EUR50.1 mn, which was more than twice as high as the comparable period (1-3/2014: EUR17.7 mn); EUR42.9 mn of which came from the sale of commercial units. The IFRS margin on portfolio sales was 5.4%, while the IFRS profit was EUR2.6 mn compared to EUR3.6 mn in the first quarter last year.

Rental income slipped back slightly by 6.7% in the first quarter 2015 against the comparable period to EUR55.2 mn, although the decline was mainly due to a reduction in running costs charged to tenants of EUR2.8 mn. However, net rental income (NRI) actually increased from EUR37.3 mn to EUR38.0 mn and the NRI margin rose to 68.9% in the first quarter 2015 (1-3/2014: 63.1%). The adjusted NRI margin which allows comparisons with German peers - rental income less running costs charged to tenants - increased by 4.8% and stood at 87.7% (1-3/2014: 83.7%).

The average rents per square metre and the vacancy rates underwent a positive change. The average rents for the whole portfolio saw a year-on-year rise of 2.3% from EUR6.16/sqm/m to EUR6.30/sqm/m. Average monthly rents in the residential sector increased from EUR5.84/sqm/m to EUR6.01/sqm/m (+2.9%) in Austria and from EUR5.39/sqm/m to EUR5.55/sqm/m (+3.0%) in Germany. It was possible to achieve a fall in average vacancy rates across the entire portfolio from 10.0% in the comparable quarter of the previous year to 9.4% on the reporting date. This represents a reduction of 6.0%, which is due to the sale of property with higher vacancy rates as well as the proactive management of the portfolio properties.