Globalworth released its annual financial reports for 2019 and issued a COVID-19 statement. Since the beginning of the year, Globalworth has further improved its liquidity, which is currently close to €600 million of available cash.
Operational highlights
- Combined portfolio value rose by 23.7% to over €3.0 billion at 31 December 2019
- Completed or announced 11 new real estate investments for a total of €613.8 million
- Took full ownership of and delisted subsidiary Globalworth Poland from the Warsaw Stock Exchange for a total of €216.1 million
- Delivered a 17,800 sqm industrial facility and, have seven office and industrial properties under development in Romania and Poland
- Standing portfolio footprint increased by over 170,000 sqm to 1.2 million sqm of GLA. Commercial occupancy of 95.0% including tenant options, with 0.4% increase in like-for-like occupancy
- Record year in leasing, with 179,500 sqm of commercial space taken-up or extended at an average WALL of 5.5 years
- Standing contracted rent increased by 15.6% to €184.4 million, increasing to €191.0 million when including pre-lets on properties under construction
- Increased the number of green-certified properties by 13 to 43, now 81.3% of standing commercial portfolio by value with the remainder under certification
- Eurobonds recognised as investment grade by all three major rating agencies following upgrades from Moody's and S&P to Baa3 and BBB-, respectively
- Further strengthened in-house asset management footprint, with 76.9% of our standing commercial portfolio, by value, now internally managed by a team of c.240 professionals
Financial highlights
- Revenue and Net Operating Income increased by 15.3% to €222.2 million and 10.7% to €147.7 million respectively, mainly due to the successful leasing activity in 2019 and the addition of eight new office properties in Poland
- Normalised EBITDA for the year increased by 52.4% to €128.0 million and adjusted normalised EBITDA (including share in minority interests) by 34.3% to €134.8 million
- Total Shareholder Return of 21.7% for holders of Globalworth shares throughout 2019
COVID-19 update and related outlook
Globalworth has become the leading office landlord in the CEE, unfortunately, however, the rapid spread of the coronavirus has caught the company, as well as the global economic system and businesses off guard, creating significant uncertainty for the future. The impact it will have on economic growth at both a European and global level, and on the performance of our business and the real estate markets in Poland and Romania, is difficult to predict. No sector or business will be unaffected by this situation.
“At Globalworth, the safety and wellbeing of our people, partners, communities, and other stakeholders, are and we will continue to be our top priority as we focus on safeguarding our business, protecting our assets and minimising our exposure to the impact of Covid-19. We have already implemented numerous significant measures to protect ourselves and will continue to do so in the future as long as is required. In this respect, since the beginning of the year, Globalworth has further improved its liquidity, which is currently close to €600 million of available cash, and which we will safeguard in order to be able to navigate through this period of significant uncertainty. The entire Globalworth team is committed to fight and overcome this unprecedented crisis,” the statement concludes.
