The sale of office buildings, the increase in the assets’ value and the preparatory works for the next "destination" projects are the highlights of the financial results of Echo Investment for H1 2022.
The developer continues to enjoy a stable financial standing. The net profit attributable to equity holders of the Group for the first half of 2022 amounted to PLN 62 million and was over 30% higher than in the corresponding period of 2021. The value of Echo’s assets at the end of this period amounted to over PLN 6.7 billion. The company maintain a high level of cash: at the end of the first half of the year, it was over PLN 1 billion.
“The net debt to asset ratio has decreased to c.a. 30% from 42% noted a year ago. We are well-prepared for more challenging times on the market. The high cash position also means the possibility of monitoring the market in search of market opportunities, which would allow us to increase the scale of operations even faster,” says Maciej Drozd, CFO of Echo Investment.
Since the beginning of 2022, the Group sold 1027 apartments. Echo Investment and Archicom jointly started construction of 981 units for sale and Resi4Rent platform – also 593 apartments for rent.
“Recent months have brought significant changes to the residential market, but the diversification of our Group allows us to flexibly respond to the changing needs of our clients. It is important that the market in the largest Polish cities has strong foundations and great potential. We prepare new, well-located projects to be launched, that will allow us to fight for customers even more effectively while keeping good margins,” says Nicklas Lindberg, CEO of Echo Investment.
On the plot at Towarowa 22 in Warsaw, the demolition of the old shopping centre has already started. The company will be a co-investor of the commercial part of this area, having 30% of shares in the special purpose vehicle. On top of that, it will become the independent owner of the residential part, as well as the developer of the entire investment.
“At the end of June, we had two office buildings projects under construction with a total leasable area of around 39 thousand sqm. Another 190 thousand sqm is in the planning phase. We are pleased that among them there are new 'destination' projects – places that attract people. Early next year we will be able to start the awaited projects such as Towarowa 22 in Warsaw or Wita Stwosza in Krakow. Multifunctional, well-designed large fragments of cities are our trademark, a reason to be proud and an expression of our concern for the sustainable development of cities,” Maciej Drozd comments.
The first half of 2022 was marked by the sale of office buildings. MidPoint71 and West 4 Business Hub I in Wrocław and three buildings of Łódź-based Fuzja found new owners. The total value of the transactions amounted to EUR 205 million. The company is working on further transactions that should soon turn into signed sales contracts.
The shopping centres Libero in Katowice and Galeria Młociny in Warsaw are operating at full capacity, strengthening their position on local markets. Due to high footfall and, more importantly, tenants’ turnover, which in Libero was 112% higher than in H1 2020, both projects remain fully leased and attract new clients and retail brands.
In June, Echo Investment published its second sustainable development report, which describes the way the company manages its impact on the natural environment and climate. The publication also presents relations with employees and the local community directly related to the construction sites of Echo Investment. Similar report was published by Archicom. Both documents confirm how much importance the Group attach to the issues of fair and sustainable business.
