DGAP-Adhoc: Half Year Results 2014 - Mobimo on track
Mobimo Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
07.08.2014 06:59
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
Half Year Results 2014 - Mobimo on track
* Financial results shaped by considerably higher rental income
(over CHF 50 million) and low income from trading properties
* CHF 20.1 million net profit in the first half of 2014 lower than in the
prior year, as expected
* Overall portfolio grows to CHF 2.54 billion
* Solid financing basis with an equity ratio of 44%
* Overall positive outlook for the 2014 financial year
Lucerne, 7 August 2014 - Mobimo reported half-year results that were in
line with its expectations. The Group's solid revenue pillar, rental
income, rose sharply. Income from revaluation and gains from the sale of
trading properties, in contrast, were lower than in the prior-year period.
The planned profit from sales and project development is likely to
materialise in the second half of the year. Mobimo expects to reach its
targets for full-year 2014 and be able to continue the attractive
distribution policy for shareholders.
Marked rise in rental income
Rental income rose by 8% in the first half of 2014, exceeding the CHF 50
million mark for the first time. This trend is set to continue thanks to
the rental properties transferred to the portfolio in the first half of the
year. The value of investment properties reached CHF 1,930 million as at
the end of the period under review, which corresponds to 76% of the overall
portfolio of CHF 2,538 million. In addition to the completion of buildings
for its own use, Mobimo acquired a major, fully let office complex in
Friesenbergstrasse to its portfolio in the first quarter. This building
will moreover continue to provide for accumulating experience of facility
management services, with these services being offered under the Mobimo
name within the framework of a joint venture.
In addition, two small investment properties were sold. Not long after the
end of the reporting period, the Group concluded a long-term rental
contract with Nespresso(R) for a large part of the newly renovated Horizon
office building near Lausanne's railway station.
Construction programme advancing as planned
Mobimo handed over both the Pépinières multi-functional building in
Lausanne and the retirement home and residential development next to the
railway station in Affoltern am Albis (Canton of Zurich) to tenants in the
first half of the year. In the autumn, the Station 595 project in
Badenerstrasse in Zurich - an office building that is being converted into
condominium apartments and studios - and the Collina residential
development in Zurich-Witikon will be completed. At the beginning of the
year, construction began on the Letzihof residential development in Zurich
at the beginning of the year. Considerable progress was made on the
Sonnenhof residential development in Regensdorf (Canton of Zurich) in the
first six months of 2014. Further projects are due to start in Aarau and
Lucerne in the second half of the year, while preparations (demolition,
contaminated site remediation) have begun for the realisation of one of the
major residential property projects on the Labitzke site in 2016 / 2017.
Higher income expected from the sale of trading properties and services in
the second half of 2014
The low income from the sale of trading properties and services (CHF 9.4
million compared to CHF 43.0 million in the prior-year period) led to a
neutral result in this area in the first half of 2014. A considerable
number of transfers of ownership will take place on schedule in the second
half of the year. As expected, the exceptionally strong prior-year result
will not be repeated in 2014. As at 30 June 2014, notarised purchase
agreements for condominiums totalled CHF 105 million. The Investments for
Third Parties business area will also make a major contribution to results
in the second half of the year.
Successful refinancing with a new bond
The capital market has a lot of confidence in Mobimo. In the first half of
2014 a further fixed-income bond with a coupon of 1.625% was successfully
placed. The bond runs for a seven-year term. The 2010-14 convertible bond
was repaid as at 30 June 2014. The Group remains extremely solidly financed
over the long term at good conditions. Mobimo's equity ratio as at the end
of the reporting period was 44%. Adjusted for the payment of the CHF 9.50
dividend, our share gained 6% in the first half of 2014.
Streamlining of corporate management
Following the departure of the former Head of Portfolio Management, Peter
Grossenbacher, the Board of Directors and Executive Board decided to merge
Portfolio Management and Investments for Third Parties under the new
heading of Real Estate. Thomas Stauber, who has been a member of the Mobimo
Executive Board since November 2011 and is responsible for the successful
establishment of the Investment for Third Parties business area, took over
as head of the new unit with effect from 1 July 2014.
Calm on the real estate market
The approval of the anti-immigration initiative, the current and announced
regulatory measures on the part of the Federal Council, FINMA and the
National Bank, and the growing number of critical media reports about the
real estate market have led to uncertainty among market participants. While
the actual implications for a market that was already cooling remain as yet
unclear, People's desire for residential property continues unabated, not
least due to the low financing costs available today. In this respect,
Mobimo is very well positioned in the mid-price segment, offering modern
products in central locations, and is pleased with the ongoing high level
of interest in them. The sales process once again involves more time and
consulting expenses, however. The sideways trend in the market for office
and commercial space continues unchanged, with retail in particular still
feeling the effects of fierce competition. Transaction prices for
investment properties remain attractive, however, with many market
participants generating high demand.
Outlook
Mobimo will profit from its flexibility and lean organisation in an
increasingly regulated environment. Its focus on central locations will
also have a positive effect. The rising share of investment properties in
the Group's portfolio also provides it with the required growth in rental
income. As a result, the Board of Directors and Executive Board are
convinced that the outlook for the Group's future remains very positive.
Detailed reporting
The report on the first half of 2014 can be found on Mobimo's website
www.mobimo.ch under Investor Relations / Reporting, or on the home page.
(Link: http://ir.mobimo.ch/websites/mobimo2011/English/40/reporting.html)
Telephone conference for analysts and media representatives today at 10.00
a.m.
Mobimo Holding AG invites you to join a conference call about the results
for the first half of 2014. Christoph Caviezel (CEO) and Manuel Itten (CFO)
will present the results and will be available to answer any questions.
Registration is not necessary.
Date: 7 August 2014
Time: 10.00 a.m. (CET)
Dial-in number: +41 (0) 22 592 73 12
or freephone 0800 000 732
Conference ID: 4691707
The accompanying PowerPoint presentation can be viewed via the home page at
www.mobimo.ch
We would also like to inform you that a conference call in English will
take place at
2.00 p.m. on the same day. The dial-in numbers are the same; conference ID
4691706.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Mobimo Holding AG
Christoph Caviezel, CEO
Manuel Itten, CFO
+41 44 397 11 86
ir@mobimo.chwww.mobimo.ch
About Mobimo
Mobimo Holding AG was established in Lucerne in 1999 and has been listed on
the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2005. The Mobimo Group has an attractive
portfolio mix of investment properties offering steady returns and
development properties with significant appreciation potential. Investments
are made in promising locations mainly in the economic areas of Zurich and
Lausanne/Geneva, together with those of Basel, Lucerne/Zug, Aarau and St.
Gallen. With a total property portfolio exceeding CHF 2.5 billion, Mobimo
is one of the leading real estate companies in Switzerland. The project
pipeline includes development properties for the company's own portfolio
with an investment volume of over CHF 0.9 billion. (as at 30 June 2014).
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