DGAP-Adhoc: First half of 2013: Mobimo continues on a stable course
Mobimo Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
15.08.2013 06:55
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
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P r e s s R e l e a s e
First half of 2013: Mobimo continues on a stable course
* Net profit of CHF 41.4 million 5% above the prior year's level
* Consistently low vacancy rate of 4.3%
* Low financing costs of 2.7% (as at 30 june 2013) and an average residual
term of fi-nancial liabilities of 8.2 years
* Brisk construction activity and further progress made in the development
pipeline
Lucerne/Küsnacht, 15 August 2013 - Mobimo continued to steer a stable
course in 2013. While net profit in the first half of 2013 exceeded the
prior-year period (CHF 39.6 million) at CHF 41.4 million, reported EBIT at
CHF 59.4 million was slightly below the prior-year period (CHF 60.8
million). The realisation of numerous Mobimo construction projects
progressed on schedule, while all new projects in the pipeline started to
take shape. In the second half of 2013 and in 2014, Mobimo will be able to
hand over several hundred new apartment units for first-time letting or to
new condominium owners, which will have a positive impact on earnings and
income. Investment properties continue to be in high demand, which is
reflected in a low vacancy rate.
Market shaped by sustained high demand for residential property
The Swiss real estate market continued to prove robust in the first half of
2013. The stable economy, the continuous inflow of immigrants, the need for
more living space and the gro-wing number of small households were the
primary reasons for the unflagging high demand for living space in the main
business centres, in particular in the medium-price segment. Although
interest rates have been raised somewhat and more stringent financing
limits are in force, with banks adopting a more cautious approach to
granting mortgages and the Swiss National Bank calling for the exercise of
restraint, the demand for high-quality residential property continues
unabated. Mobimo is currently realising some 500 new apartments, half of
which are condominiums. The sales prices in the vast majority of cases are
below CHF 1.5 million.
Mobimo has not been affected by stagnation in the office space segment, in
particular in the centre of Zurich, in the wake of the relocation of major
companies to the suburbs. What has been tangible, however, has been the
economic pressure in the retail area.
Brisk construction activity
Mobimo's extensive construction programme continued largely on schedule,
which in March 2013 even involved the night-time demolition with explosives
of a high-rise building on the Torfeld site in Aarau, which was witnessed
by thousands of spectators and followed by a large number of Swiss and
foreign media. This site will soon see the emergence of 'AQA' (www.aqa.ch),
a completely new city quarter: an application for a construction permit for
the first residential development is to be submitted in the second half of
2013. In June, ow-nership transfer was completed for the plot of land on
which the new highrise office building of the GastroSocial pension fund is
to be built.
The tenant fit-out of the former Post Office site in Lausanne for a bank,
which is to make this its new registered office, is in full swing. On the
other side of Lausanne rail station, the first ground was broken for the
residential development in Rue Voltaire (Petit Mont-Riond). Mobimo was
pleasingly also able to acquire the neighbouring property on this
attractive site of around 10,000 square meters, thereby making possible a
uniform design of the develo-pment complete with an integrated park.
Construction work on the Flon site for the already fully let multi-purpose
'Pépinières' building is proceeding as planned.
The three architecturally striking residential buildings 'am
Pfingstweidpark' at the foot of the Mobimo-Tower in Zurich-West that house
more than 250 apartments are nearing completi-on. In Schulstrasse in
Regensdorf, 140 new residential units are currently under construction in
an attractive apartment complex, a third of which are condominiums. It is
not long since Mobimo held the topping-out ceremony on the OVA site in
Affoltern am Albis where 90 retirement and family apartments and a care
centre are to be built. Only the realisation of the planned 'Meilenwerk'
vintage car centre in the former Grob factory in Horgen has been delayed by
some six months as Mobimo is seeking a new operator for the planned hotel.
The conclusion of a lease agreement with the hotel operator is a condition
for giving the construction go-ahead.
Steady returns in all areas
Income from the sale of condominiums (trading) in the first half of 2013
totalled CHF 5.7 million, which was below the previous year's level (CHF
8.3 million). Apartments were sold for a total of CHF 43.0 million. All but
one of the remaining apartments were transferred to their new occupants in
Adliswil (Wilacker). In Horgen, Wisental, 31 of the 43 apartments were
transferred to new occupants, while a further eight were sold and will be
transferred to their new owners in the second half of 2013. All the 144
apartment units in Pfingstweidpark have already been sold, with the
transfer of ownership planned to take place from August 2013. By the end of
July, Mobimo had also sold five additional apartments in the Mobimo Tower.
The new-build projects in Zurich-Witikon, Feldmeilen, and the 'Station 595'
project, which involves the conversion of an office building in
Badenerstrasse in Zurich, likewise met with a very positive reception in
the market. As in the previous year, we expect to generate substantially
higher results from our trading activities in the second half of the year
than in the first half.
At CHF 47.1 million (previous year: CHF 46.3 million), income from rental
properties was slightly above the previous year's level. The vacancy rate
continues to remain low at 4.3%.
Construction progress on existing projects, optimisation of rental
contracts and the first-time application of IFRS 13 resulted in net income
from revaluation of CHF 23.6 million (prior-year period: CHF 22.7 million).
Progress in the pipeline
Mobimo will continue to be able to grow in the future: property that is
currently under construction or nearing completion for its own investment
portfolio involves an investment volume of some CHF 440 million. Mobimo is
also planning further projects for its own port-folio with an investment
volume of some CHF 670 million. One example is the 'Mattenhof Site',
located directly adjacent to the Mattenhof S-Bahn station in Lucerne South,
where intensive planning has been under way since the population of Kriens
voted in favour of converting the site to a mixed-use area and of selling
one of the plots. The architectural competition for the residential
development on the Labitzke-site in Zurich-Altstetten was completed and was
won by the Gigon Guyer architecture firm. Some 250 residential units are to
be built on the site. In Biel and Nidau the city parliaments gave the green
light for planning to start on the development of the former 'AGGLOlac'
Expo site. Preliminary dis-cussions have already taken place between the
authorities and Mobimo with regard to the rezoning and redevelopment of the
RAD site in Zurich-Oerlikon.
Solid financing
The Mobimo balance sheet is extremely solid and our business continues to
be highly pre-dictable. The average residual maturity of our financial
liabilities is 8.2 years and our avera-ge interest rate costs at the end of
the period under review were a low 2.71%. Equity amounted to CHF 1,196
million as of mid-year, which corresponds to an equity ratio of
46%. This provides us with a high degree of flexibility in the planning and
realisation of our projects.
Outlook for 2013
We are confident about the further performance in the current financial
year. Mobimo will continue to develop at a dynamic pace. The main focuses
of our activities will likewise remain unchanged: realising numerous
construction projects, expanding our development business, space marketing,
selling condominiums and the targeted optimisation of our pro-ject
pipeline. In particular due to the large number of planned transfers of
ownership in the second half of the year, Mobimo expects to post a higher
net profit before revaluations than in the previous year. Consequently, we
are confident that we will be able to again distribute a dividend of CHF 9
per share for the 2013 financial year. Thank you for the trust you have
placed in us.
Detailed reporting
You can find the report on the first half-year 2013 on our website
www.mobimo.ch under
http://ir.mobimo.ch/websites/mobimo2011/English/4010/annual-reports.html
Investor Rela-tions / Reporting or on the start page.
Telephone conference for analysts and media today at 10.00 a.m.
Mobimo Holding AG invites you to a conference call in German on the results
for the first half-year 2013. Dr. Christoph Caviezel (CEO) and Manuel Itten
(CFO) will present the re-sults and answer your questions. Registration is
not required.
Date: 15 August 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. (CET)
Telephone no.: +41 (0)22 592 73 12
or toll-free 0800 000 732
Conference ID 4634117
You can view the PowerPoint presentation on our homepage at www.mobimo.ch.
We also inform you that at 2 p.m. on the same day there will be a
conference call in English. The dial-in number is the same; conference ID:
4634113.
For enquiries please contact:
Mobimo Holding AG
Dr. Christoph Caviezel, CEO
Manuel Itten, CFO
+41 44 397 11 86
ir@mobimo.chwww.mobimo.ch
About Mobimo
Mobimo Holding AG was established in 1999 in Lucerne and has been listed on
the SIX Swiss Ex-change since 2005. The Mobimo Group has an attractive
portfolio mix of investment properties providing stable income and
development properties offering extensive value enhancement potential.
Investments are targeted mainly in the promising locations of Zurich and
Lausanne/Geneva and in the Basel, Lucerne/Zug, Aarau and St. Gallen
economic regions. With a real estate portfolio that has an overall value of
over CHF 2.4 billion, Mobimo is one of the leading real estate companies in
Switzerland. The portfolio contains development properties with an
investment volume of CHF 1,5 billion. (as at 30 June 2013).
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