conwert Immobilien Invest SE

conwert achieves record half-year

Public disclosure of inside information according to article 17 MAR

Vienna (pta034/23.08.2016/23:00) - -
+ FFO I up by 52.6% to EUR 39.3 mn
+ Net earnings of EUR 74.9 mn
+ Non-core sales of around EUR 142 mn
+ FFO I guidance for 2016 increased to over EUR 75 mn

conwert Immobilien Invest SE (conwert), traded on the Austrian ATX, has achieved the best half-year result in the company's history. This pleasing development was driven by the strong operating performance and the fair value gains for the property portfolio. FFO I (funds from operations before sales and one-off items), the most important indicator for conwert, underwent a significant rise of 52.6% against the previous year to EUR 39.3 mn (1-6/2015: EUR 25.7 mn). conwert tripled its group earnings after tax (net profit) to reach a new record high of EUR 74.9 mn (1-6/2015: EUR 24.5 mn). Revenues also grew by 26.0% to EUR 264.3 mn (1-6/2015: EUR 209.7 mn).

CEO Wolfgang Beck on the positive interim results: "The record-breaking half-year is the result of the consistent implementation of our strategy. We are making good progress with optimising the portfolio, structures and costs; today all of the key performance indicators are much better than they were twelve months ago. conwert now has a strong basis to undertake further optimisation measures and once again have a stronger presence as an acquirer. We have already signed the first acquisitions of around EUR 90 mn, which will add additional value. This is why we have decided to raise our FFO I guidance for 2016 to over EUR 75 mn."

Strong performance through proactive asset management
conwert achieved a strong operating performance in the period under review. Average rents per square metre increased and vacancy rates were reduced yet again. In the core portfolio like-for-like rents increased by 2.2%, while vacancy rates in the core residential portfolio fell from 4.7% to 3.4%. Thanks to this good performance, the Net Rental Result (NRR) of EUR 71.6 mn held steady at around the level of the previous year (1-6/2015: EUR 74.7 mn), despite the smaller property portfolio as a result of sales. The NRR margin rose from 65.8% to 66.8%.