DGAP-News: Aroundtown SA announces 9M 2021 results with increased scale and enhanced asset quality
DGAP-News: Aroundtown SA
/ Key word(s): 9 Month figures/Real Estate
Aroundtown SA announces 9M 2021 results with increased scale and enhanced asset quality
24.11.2021 / 06:52
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF APPLICABLE LAWS OR REGULATIONS
AROUNDTOWN ANNOUNCES 9M 2021 RESULTS WITH INCREASED SCALE AND ENHANCED ASSET QUALITY
- Initial consolidation of GCP drives total assets to over €39 billion and net rental income to €773 million.
- FFO I before Covid adjustment of €367 million for 9M 2021, as compared to €371 million generated in 9M 2020, slightly decreasing mainly due to disposals, offset by lower financing expenses.
- FFO I amounting to €267 million for 9M 2021, as compared to €301 million for 9M 2020, decreasing due to the impact of extraordinary expenses due to the Covid pandemic.
- FFO I per share amounting to €0.23 in 9M 2021, compared to €0.22 per share in 9M 2020, with effect from disposals and pandemic offset by accretive share buyback.
- Signed disposals of over €2.5 billion YTD, of which over €1.1 billion closed in 9M 2021 at 3% above book value and at a margin of 51% over total costs.
- Net Profit in 9M 2021 of €650 million with a basic EPS of €0.40.
- EPRA NTA as of September 2021 amounting to €11.4 billion up 2% compared to year-end 2020, which reflects €9.8 per share, an increase of 3% compared to year-end 2020, with per share growth supported by the accretive share buyback programme.
- Total equity amounting to €19.2 billion with equity ratio of 49% at the end of September 2021.
- Lower average cost of debt at 1.3%, maintaining a long average debt maturity of 5.8 years on the back of €1.6 billion of debt repayments YTD.
- Low LTV at 39%, with sufficient headroom to board limit, ICR remains strong at 5.1x.
- Strong liquidity position maintained, more than sufficient to cover debt maturities in the next 3 years which is further supported by unencumbered assets amounting to €23.5 billion and 82% by rent as at September 2021.
- LFL rental growth excluding hotels amounting to 1.2%. Including the impacts from hotels, LFL rental growth amounted to 0.6%, due to the pandemic impact. LFL for GCP amounted to 2.1%.
- Guidance for FY 2021 confirmed.
24 November 2021.
Aroundtown ('the Company' or 'AT') presents the results for the nine-month period ending September of 2021, marked by strong disposal activity above book values, impacts of Covid pandemic, which were mitigated by the portfolio's strong diversification, as well as the consolidation of GCP, which is effective as of July 1, 2021, resulting in a balance of total assets amounting to €39 billion, positioning Aroundtown as the third largest listed real estate company in Europe.
LARGE SCALE AND HIGHLY DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO, BALANCED ACCROSS STRONG ASSET CLASSES IN STRONG LOCATIONS
The investment property portfolio increased to €29 billion as of September 2021, driven primarily as a result of the consolidation of GCP and offset to some extent by strong disposal activity. As a result of the combined effect of the TLG merger in 2020, the recent consolidation of GCP, and the disposal of non-core and mature assets, the larger portfolio benefits from a higher quality compared to pre-pandemic, with the portfolio located mostly in top cities in Germany and the Netherlands, benefiting from the strong underlying fundamentals of these economies. 91% of the portfolio consists of core asset types of office, residential and hotels. The non-core asset types, consisting of retail and logistics, decreasing to 9%. This balanced diversification across strong asset classes is further supported by a highly diverse tenant base, spread across a wide range of industries and types and with no tenant dependency. The office portfolio, which comprises 45% of the portfolio, remained resilient, and experienced increasing demand in recent months. The residential portfolio, which amounts to 28% of the total portfolio, continued its strong momentum, with vacancy decreasing further to 5.3% on the back of the strong like-for-like letting performance of GCP. The hotel sector, which encompasses 18% of the portfolio, benefited from a strong summer season, which provided strong tailwinds in particular to leisure hotels. Demand for hotels remains asymmetric though and business travel, although recovering somewhat, remains at muted levels. Due to increasing infection rates, and discussions over potential future restrictions, the Company continues to see uncertainty surrounding the hotel sector. As a result of these developments Aroundtown recorded FFO I for the 9M 2021 period amounting to €267 million, reflecting an FFO I per share of €0.23. The decrease in FFO I was driven mainly by disposals as well the impact from extraordinary rent provisions related to uncollected rent, in line with previous expectations. On the other hand, on a per share basis, the FFO I per share increased due to the positive effect of the accretive share buybacks. The Company confirms its guidance for the FY 2021.
CRYSTALIZING VALUE THROUGH ACCRETIVE CAPITAL RECYCLING SUPPORTING SHAREHOLDER VALUE CREATION
Year to date, the Company signed disposals at an amount of over €2.5 billion of which over €1.1 billion have been closed as at the end of September 2021, at a 3% margin over book value, generating a 51% margin over total costs, resulting in an FFO II of €650 million. The disposals above book value comprised of non-core and mature assets across all major asset classes, including development rights, validating the conservative nature of the property valuations. Disposal proceeds are utilized to fund share buybacks and to repay debt. As of November 19, 2021 Aroundtown has bought back shares at an amount of €400 million at a significant discount to EPRA NTA, effectively reinvesting into its own higher quality portfolio at a significant discount, funded by the disposals. As a result of these measures, the EPRA NTA per share amounted to €9.8, increasing 5% in the same period, adjusting for the dividends paid.
The Interim Consolidated Report for 9M 2021 is available on the Company's website:
https://www.aroundtown.de/investor-relations/publications/financial-reports/
For definitions and reconciliations of the Alternative Performance Measures, please see the relevant sections in the pages 42 - 45 of the Interim Consolidated Report for 9M 2021. You can find the Interim Consolidated Report for 9M 2021 on AT's website under Investor Relations > Publications > Financial Reports or under this link:
https://www.aroundtown.de/fileadmin/user_upload/04_investor_relations/downloads/2021/AT_Q3_2021.pdf
About the Company
Aroundtown SA (symbol: AT1), trading on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is the largest listed and highest rated (BBB+ by S&P) German commercial real estate company. Aroundtown invests in income generating quality properties with value-add potential in central locations in top tier European cities mainly in Germany/NL.
Aroundtown SA (ISIN: LU1673108939) is a public limited liability company (société anonyme) established under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés, Luxembourg) under number B217868, having its registered office at 40, Rue du Curé, L-1368 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Contact
Timothy Wright
T: +352 288 313
DISCLAIMER
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES.
THE SECURITIES MENTIONED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAVE NOT BEEN, AND WILL NOT BE, REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE SECURITIES ACT), AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES ABSENT REGISTRATION OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT. THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DIRECTED AT AND IS ONLY BEING DISTRIBUTED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM TO (I) PERSONS WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005 (THE ORDER), (II) HIGH NET WORTH ENTITIES, AND OTHER PERSONS TO WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 49 OF THE ORDER, AND (III) PERSONS TO WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED (ALL SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS RELEVANT PERSONS). THIS COMMUNICATION MUST NOT BE READ, ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS.
IN MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA) AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OFFER IF MADE SUBSEQUENTLY IS DIRECTED ONLY AT PERSONS WHO ARE "QUALIFIED INVESTORS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF REGULATION (EU) 2017/1129, AS AMENDED (THE PROSPECTUS REGULATION) (QUALIFIED INVESTORS). ANY PERSON IN THE EEA OR THE UNITED KINGDOM WHO ACQUIRES THE SECURITIES IN ANY OFFER (AN INVESTOR) OR TO WHOM ANY OFFER OF THE SECURITIES IS MADE WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE REPRESENTED AND AGREED THAT IT IS A QUALIFIED INVESTOR. ANY INVESTOR WILL ALSO BE DEEMED TO HAVE REPRESENTED AND AGREED THAT ANY SECURITIES ACQUIRED BY IT IN THE OFFER HAVE NOT BEEN ACQUIRED ON BEHALF OF PERSONS IN THE EEA OR THE UNITED KINGDOM OTHER THAN QUALIFIED INVESTORS, NOR HAVE THE SECURITIES BEEN ACQUIRED WITH A VIEW TO THEIR OFFER OR RESALE IN THE EEA OR THE UNITED KINGDOM TO PERSONS WHERE THIS WOULD RESULT IN A REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLICATION BY AROUNDTOWN OR ANY OF THE MANAGERS OF A PROSPECTUS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 3 OF THE PROSPECTUS REGULATION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MAY CONTAIN PROJECTIONS OR ESTIMATES RELATING TO PLANS AND OBJECTIVES RELATING TO OUR FUTURE OPERATIONS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES, FUTURE FINANCIAL RESULTS, OR ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING OR RELATING TO ANY SUCH STATEMENTS, EACH OF WHICH CONSTITUTES A FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES, MANY OF WHICH ARE BEYOND THE CONTROL OF AROUNDTOWN SA. ACTUAL RESULTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY, DEPENDING ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
24.11.2021 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
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