conwert Immobilien Invest SE

conwert with operating success and positive results in Q1 2015 - Seite 2

Revenues from property services declined as expected given the selective approach to the service business and amounted to EUR1.6 mn in the reporting period (1-3/2014: EUR2.0 mn). Personnel expenses also saw a further fall from EUR6.9 mn to EUR5.9 mn as a result of streamlined operating processes.

In line with the operating improvements, funds from operations before sales and one-off items (FFO I) rose sharply by 52.4% to EUR12.7 mn in the first quarter 2015 (1-3/2014: EUR8.4 mn). FFO II (FFO I plus sales income) stood at EUR14.5 mn, following on from EUR10.7 mn in the comparable period.

Net finance costs also underwent a marked improvement to EUR(25.8) mn against the first quarter of the previous year, in which net financial expenses stood at EUR(36.8) mn, still EUR11.1 mn higher, and were hampered by ineffective swaps. The average interest charges on financial liabilities were 3.94%, marking a further reduction since year-end 2014 (31/12/2014: 4.03%).

In the reporting period conwert's EBIT was up by 11.7% against the comparable period of the previous year to EUR32.5 mn (1-3/2014: EUR29.1 mn). EBT was clearly in the black and amounted to EUR6.7 mn after EUR(7.7) mn in the first quarter 2014.

The consolidated post-tax profit was EUR2.5 mn in the first quarter 2015 following on from a loss of EUR(5.9) mn in the first quarter of the previous year.

The loan to value (LTV) - debt in relation to property projects minus cash and cash equivalents - saw a further decline and stood at 52.4% at the reporting date (31/12/2014: 53.6%). The equity ratio increased slightly to 37.7% (31/12/2014: 37.1%).

Thomas Doll, conwert CFO, on the performance: "In the first quarter 2015 conwert has made further improvements to its ongoing operating performance and achieved a positive result below the line. This is also reflected in the renewed decrease in the vacancy rate compared to the first quarter 2014 and the rise in average rents. Sustainable optimisation of the financing and a focus on residential property on conwert's core markets are the key points for 2015."

conwert expects the macroeconomic developments on its core markets of Austria and Germany to be broadly positive. The Group's most important strategic goals for 2015 include a significant reduction in financing costs, a further fall in vacancy rates and a concentration on the core business by selling off commercial property and real estate in the other countries segment. In particular this should strengthen FFO I, a key indicator of operating performance. For the full year 2015, conwert is aiming for an increase in FFO I to EUR40 mn (before sales income and one-off items) and assumes a rise in net rental income (NRI) to around EUR155 mn.