DGAP-Adhoc: Another very good year for Mobimo - increase in the dividend
13.02.2014 – 07:04
Mobimo Holding AG / Key word(s): Final Results 13.02.2014 06:55 Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR --------------------------------------------------------------------------- P r e s s r e l e a s e Another very good year for Mobimo - increase in the dividend * The operating result of CHF 81.6 million was the best in the company's history to date * At CHF 62.6 million, net profit before revaluations reached a new record * Income from the sale of apartments and services for third parties totalled CHF 215 million * The growth in revenue from rental income can be attributed to brisk construction activity for the company's own portfolio * Board of Directors will propose to increase the dividend by 5.6% to CHF 9.50 per share Lucerne, 13 February 2014 - Mobimo can look back on a successful financial year in 2013. At CHF 62.6 million, or CHF 10.09 per share, net profit before revaluations (at-tributable to the shareholders of Mobimo Holding AG) significantly exceeded the pri-or year's level (CHF 48.5 million), and in doing so set a new record. Profit including revaluations totalled CHF 81.6 million (prior year: CHF 76.2 million). This pleasing earnings growth can be attributed in particular to a record number of transfers of ownership in the condominium area and the first successes in Investments for Third Parties activities. Realisation of Mobimo's many construction projects progressed according to schedule, while all new projects in the pipeline started to take shape. Due to the significant increase in investment properties, Mobimo is set to record strong growth in rental income. The Board of Directors will propose to the General Meeting to increase the dividend by 5.6% to CHF 9.50 per share. Brisk construction activity Mobimo also pressed ahead with its extensive construction programme as planned in 2013. Particular highlights were the completion of the 'Am Pfingstweidpark' residential develop-ment (250 units) in Zurich and the 'Wisental II' residential development (46 units) in Horgen. In Regensdorf, construction of the 'Sonnenhof' housing scheme on Schulstrasse, comprising 140 residential units, has begun. Mobimo held the topping-out ceremony on the 'OVA' site in Affoltern am Albis, where 90 retirement and family apartments and a care centre will soon be completed. In Aarau, where the Aeschbach district, a completely new urban area, is being created, an application for a construction permit for the first residential development has been submitted. In June, ownership transfer was completed for the plot of land on which the new high-rise office building of the GastroSocial pension fund is to be built. At the former post office site in Lausanne, the extensive renovation of the striking old post office building 'Horizon 4-6' has been completed. On the other side of Lausanne's railway station, the first ground was broken for the residential development in Rue Voltaire ('Petit Mont-Riond'), which will offer 98 apartments. Construction work on the Flon site for the multi-purpose 'Pépinières' building, which is already fully let, is also close to completion. Development delivers above-average contribution to income Income from the sale of condominiums (Trading) and services (Investments for Third Par-ties) totalled CHF 31.6 million, far exceeding the prior year's figure of CHF 21.7 million. In-come from the sale of apartments and services for third parties totalled CHF 215 million. Our new services in the Investments for Third Parties area, which were only launched in 2012, are increasingly bearing fruit. Current projects include a residential development in Dübendorf and an office building in Langenthal. At CHF 95.1 million (prior year: CHF 92.8 million), income from rental properties was slightly above the previous year's level. The vacancy rate remains low at 3.9%. The result was still affected by slightly higher costs and lost rental income following the sale of two properties. The completion of new investment properties will be recognised in profit or loss from 2014 and lead to substantial growth in rental income. Progress on the construction of existing projects, optimisation of rental agreements and the first-time application of IFRS 13 resulted in net income from revaluation of CHF 25.2 million (prior year: CHF 36.9 million). Steady progress in the pipeline Mobimo is set to grow further: properties for its own portfolio currently under construction have an investment volume of some CHF 290 million. Mobimo also plans further projects for its own portfolio with an investment volume in the region of CHF 780 million. The archi-tectural competition for the residential development on the Labitzke site in Zurich-Altstetten was completed, and an attractive project, comprising 250 apartments, was presented to the public. The project is scheduled for completion in 2015/16. Construction will begin in 2014 on the 'Letzihof' residential development with 72 residential units. In Biel/Nidau, the initial results of the development plans for the former 'AGGLOlac' Expo site were presented in January 2014. Solid financing The Mobimo balance sheet is extremely solid, and our business is highly predictable. Equity totalled CHF 1,241 million at the end of the year, which corresponds to sound equity ratio of 46%. The average residual maturity of our financial liabilities is 7.7 years and our average borrowing interest is a low 2.6% as at the reporting date. This provides us with a high degree of flexibility in the planning and realisation of our projects. The high intrinsic value of our portfolio combined with increasing rental income will allow us to continue the attractive dividend distribution policy that we have practiced for many years. Share price down despite further progress In the year under review, Mobimo's share price suffered along with other real estate shares and funds from the persistent warnings of a real estate bubble and the associated uncer-tainties. Taking account of the dividend distribution of CHF 9.00 our share price had slipped by 10.9% to CHF 186.10 at the end of the year. The Board of Directors is striving to ensure that it remains an attractive proposition to the company's shareholders in the future. Share-holders are now also able to vote remotely using the 'Sherpany' online shareholder plat-form. Furthermore, we were the first Swiss real estate company to achieve the highest pos-sible GRI ratings for our sustainability report. The European Real Estate Association (EPRA) conferred on us its 'Gold Best Practice Award' for reporting, and we received the 'Investora Award' from SIX for offering the best capital market information. This is an honour for us and reinforces our resolve to maintain this high level in the future. Outlook for 2014 We are confident as regards the continued stable and sustainable development of our company. The main focuses of our activities will remain unchanged: realising numerous construction projects, expanding our development business, space marketing, selling con-dominiums and the targeted optimisation of our project pipeline. In addition, we expect a marked increase in rental income starting in 2014 due to the new investment properties from our pipeline. Detailed reporting The report on the 2013 financial year can be found on our website www.mobimo.ch under Investor Relations / Reporting, or on our home page. (Link: http://ir.mobimo.ch/websites/mobimo2011/English/40/reporting.html) A Media and Analysts' Conference will take place today at 10.00 a.m. Christoph Ca-viezel (CEO) and Manuel Itten (CFO) will present the 2013 financial results. This can be accessed via webcast on our website at: www.mobimo.ch. A telephone conference in English for analysts and media representatives will take place at 2.00 p.m. After presenting the 2013 financial results, Christoph Caviezel (CEO) and Manuel Itten (CFO) will be available to answer any questions. Registration is not nec-essary. Dial-in number: +41 22 592 73 12 / Conference ID: 4666647 The accompanying PowerPoint presentation can be viewed via the home page at www.mobimo.ch If you have any questions, please contact: Mobimo Holding AG Christoph Caviezel, CEO Manuel Itten, CFO +41 44 397 11 86 ir@mobimo.ch www.mobimo.ch About MOBIMO Mobimo Holding AG was established in Lucerne in 1999 and has been listed on the SIX Swiss Ex-change since 2005. The Mobimo Group has an attractive portfolio mix of investment properties offering steady returns and development properties with significant appreciation potential. Invest-ments 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 of CHF 2.3 billion, Mobimo is one of the leading real estate companies in Switzer-land. The portfolio includes development properties with an investment volume of over CHF 1 billion up to 2015. (As at 31 December 2013). 13.02.2014 News transmitted by EQS Schweiz AG. The issuer is responsible for the contents of the release. EquityStory publishes regulatory releases, media releases on the capital market and press releases. The EquityStory Group distributes authentic and real-time financial news for over 1'300 listed companies. The Swiss news archive can be found at www.equitystory.ch/news ---------------------------------------------------------------------------