DGAP-News

Preliminary figures FY 2020 - burdens from valuation effects and one-off expenses - basis for sustained growth starting in 2021 - Seite 2

In a market declining by one third, revenues from the core and core+ real estate asset classes proved to be resilient; by contrast, earnings from higher-risk investments in the value-add and opportunistic segments were under pressure. This results not only in significantly lower fee income, but also to COVID-19-driven declining property values of around € -16m, especially in (co-)investments in serviced apartments, retail and office properties with corresponding substantial earnings decreases in the revenue segments Alignment Capital and Warehousing. Due to reversal of several micro-living-projects, services already rendered in the amount of around 20m had to be adjusted. In non-operational business, Corestate additionally wrote down goodwill of roughly € -22m on Atos, an asset manager for commercial properties the company acquired in 2017 and realised negative tax one-off of around € -11m.

The private debt business showed its resistance to the crisis. The fundamental investment strategy focusing on residential real estate in German-speaking conurbations proved successful. Nevertheless, minor revaluations have been made and the risk provisioning has been increased. Total mezzanine fund volume stood at some € 1.2bn at the end of the fourth quarter. This includes cash outflows commonly seen at the end of the fund year. The company expects a noticeable increase of the fund volume in the current financial year. In light of record demand for mezzanine and fully invested funds, the capacities for highly profitable bridge loans through the company's own balance sheet were expanded for a short period of time in the fourth quarter of 2020. Correspondingly, cash and cash equivalents within the Group fell temporarily to € 91m at the end of the year. The repayment of these mezzanine loans is scheduled for the first half of 2021 and will increase liquidity accordingly.

The further development of the product portfolio to account for changing client preferences, along with the growth-oriented fixed cost base, led to a temporary substantial rise in the operating cost/income ratio. Various one-off burdens in the financial year 2020 of around € -9m from acquisitions, changes to the Management Board and the efficiency programme also played a role. This will be offset by savings from the cost-reduction programme of around € 10m from 2021.