CA Immo presented a solid operating result for the first half of the year, hardly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuous portfolio growth and the continuing high occupancy rate of the property portfolio brought a further increase in net result from rent (+10.2% on the previous year). Although the negative revaluation result reflects the current state of economic emergency, its impact on consolidated net income was significantly mitigated by other positive earnings contributions. CA Immo continued its portfolio growth in the first half of the year with the addition of two fully let Berlin office buildings (including one project completion and one portfolio acquisition) to the investment portfolio.
In the first six months of 2020, CA Immo recorded solid growth in rental income of 6.0% to €118.1 million (H1 2019: €111.4 million). The net result from rent after the first two quarters was €105.9 million (H1 2019: €96.1 million), a rise of 10.2% on the previous year. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted net rental income in the first half of 2020 – in the form of rent reductions and taking into account incentive agreements (rent-free periods) – by a total of €–2.6 million. The efficiency of letting activity, measured as the operating margin in rental business (net rental income to rental income), stood at 89.6% above the previous year’s value of 86.2%.
As at the key date, the result from property trading and construction services stood at €5.8 million (H1 2019: €–2.0 million). The result from the sale of investment properties stood at € 24.2 million on 30 June 2020 (€8.5 m in H1 2019). The largest contribution in terms of value was generated by the sale of the cube berlin office building.
As a result of the developments outlined above, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9.1% to €90.3 million (compared to €82.7 million in H1 2019). EBITDA adjusted for the aforementioned BUWOG one-off effect amounted to €115.8 million, which translates into an increase of 39.9% on the previous year’s number.
The revaluation result of €–27.0 million on the reporting date stood significantly below the previous year’s reference value (€ 114.8 million in H1 2019). Negative value adjustments were linked primarily to hotel and retail properties directly affected by the consequences of the pandemic as well as investment buildings in the CEE region. However, these negative value adjustments were mitigated by the increase of fair values in Germany. The value increases were generally caused by property-specific changes (e.g. ensuring reliable planning for projects and land value increases) as well as progress in projects under construction and project completions.
CA Immo continues to expect only minor or short-term losses from the COVID-19-pandemic. Nonetheless, the company is unable conclusively to assess the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operational business at this time.
