DGAP-Adhoc: First half of 2013: Mobimo continues on a stable course
15.08.2013 – 07:07
Mobimo Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results 15.08.2013 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 First half of 2013: Mobimo continues on a stable course * Net profit of CHF 41.4 million 5% above the prior year's level * Consistently low vacancy rate of 4.3% * Low financing costs of 2.7% (as at 30 june 2013) and an average residual term of fi-nancial liabilities of 8.2 years * Brisk construction activity and further progress made in the development pipeline Lucerne/Küsnacht, 15 August 2013 - Mobimo continued to steer a stable course in 2013. While net profit in the first half of 2013 exceeded the prior-year period (CHF 39.6 million) at CHF 41.4 million, reported EBIT at CHF 59.4 million was slightly below the prior-year period (CHF 60.8 million). The realisation of numerous Mobimo construction projects progressed on schedule, while all new projects in the pipeline started to take shape. In the second half of 2013 and in 2014, Mobimo will be able to hand over several hundred new apartment units for first-time letting or to new condominium owners, which will have a positive impact on earnings and income. Investment properties continue to be in high demand, which is reflected in a low vacancy rate. Market shaped by sustained high demand for residential property The Swiss real estate market continued to prove robust in the first half of 2013. The stable economy, the continuous inflow of immigrants, the need for more living space and the gro-wing number of small households were the primary reasons for the unflagging high demand for living space in the main business centres, in particular in the medium-price segment. Although interest rates have been raised somewhat and more stringent financing limits are in force, with banks adopting a more cautious approach to granting mortgages and the Swiss National Bank calling for the exercise of restraint, the demand for high-quality residential property continues unabated. Mobimo is currently realising some 500 new apartments, half of which are condominiums. The sales prices in the vast majority of cases are below CHF 1.5 million. Mobimo has not been affected by stagnation in the office space segment, in particular in the centre of Zurich, in the wake of the relocation of major companies to the suburbs. What has been tangible, however, has been the economic pressure in the retail area. Brisk construction activity Mobimo's extensive construction programme continued largely on schedule, which in March 2013 even involved the night-time demolition with explosives of a high-rise building on the Torfeld site in Aarau, which was witnessed by thousands of spectators and followed by a large number of Swiss and foreign media. This site will soon see the emergence of 'AQA' (www.aqa.ch), a completely new city quarter: an application for a construction permit for the first residential development is to be submitted in the second half of 2013. In June, ow-nership transfer was completed for the plot of land on which the new highrise office building of the GastroSocial pension fund is to be built. The tenant fit-out of the former Post Office site in Lausanne for a bank, which is to make this its new registered office, is in full swing. On the other side of Lausanne rail station, the first ground was broken for the residential development in Rue Voltaire (Petit Mont-Riond). Mobimo was pleasingly also able to acquire the neighbouring property on this attractive site of around 10,000 square meters, thereby making possible a uniform design of the develo-pment complete with an integrated park. Construction work on the Flon site for the already fully let multi-purpose 'Pépinières' building is proceeding as planned. The three architecturally striking residential buildings 'am Pfingstweidpark' at the foot of the Mobimo-Tower in Zurich-West that house more than 250 apartments are nearing completi-on. In Schulstrasse in Regensdorf, 140 new residential units are currently under construction in an attractive apartment complex, a third of which are condominiums. It is not long since Mobimo held the topping-out ceremony on the OVA site in Affoltern am Albis where 90 retirement and family apartments and a care centre are to be built. Only the realisation of the planned 'Meilenwerk' vintage car centre in the former Grob factory in Horgen has been delayed by some six months as Mobimo is seeking a new operator for the planned hotel. The conclusion of a lease agreement with the hotel operator is a condition for giving the construction go-ahead. Steady returns in all areas Income from the sale of condominiums (trading) in the first half of 2013 totalled CHF 5.7 million, which was below the previous year's level (CHF 8.3 million). Apartments were sold for a total of CHF 43.0 million. All but one of the remaining apartments were transferred to their new occupants in Adliswil (Wilacker). In Horgen, Wisental, 31 of the 43 apartments were transferred to new occupants, while a further eight were sold and will be transferred to their new owners in the second half of 2013. All the 144 apartment units in Pfingstweidpark have already been sold, with the transfer of ownership planned to take place from August 2013. By the end of July, Mobimo had also sold five additional apartments in the Mobimo Tower. The new-build projects in Zurich-Witikon, Feldmeilen, and the 'Station 595' project, which involves the conversion of an office building in Badenerstrasse in Zurich, likewise met with a very positive reception in the market. As in the previous year, we expect to generate substantially higher results from our trading activities in the second half of the year than in the first half. At CHF 47.1 million (previous year: CHF 46.3 million), income from rental properties was slightly above the previous year's level. The vacancy rate continues to remain low at 4.3%. Construction progress on existing projects, optimisation of rental contracts and the first-time application of IFRS 13 resulted in net income from revaluation of CHF 23.6 million (prior-year period: CHF 22.7 million). Progress in the pipeline Mobimo will continue to be able to grow in the future: property that is currently under construction or nearing completion for its own investment portfolio involves an investment volume of some CHF 440 million. Mobimo is also planning further projects for its own port-folio with an investment volume of some CHF 670 million. One example is the 'Mattenhof Site', located directly adjacent to the Mattenhof S-Bahn station in Lucerne South, where intensive planning has been under way since the population of Kriens voted in favour of converting the site to a mixed-use area and of selling one of the plots. The architectural competition for the residential development on the Labitzke-site in Zurich-Altstetten was completed and was won by the Gigon Guyer architecture firm. Some 250 residential units are to be built on the site. In Biel and Nidau the city parliaments gave the green light for planning to start on the development of the former 'AGGLOlac' Expo site. Preliminary dis-cussions have already taken place between the authorities and Mobimo with regard to the rezoning and redevelopment of the RAD site in Zurich-Oerlikon. Solid financing The Mobimo balance sheet is extremely solid and our business continues to be highly pre-dictable. The average residual maturity of our financial liabilities is 8.2 years and our avera-ge interest rate costs at the end of the period under review were a low 2.71%. Equity amounted to CHF 1,196 million as of mid-year, which corresponds to an equity ratio of 46%. This provides us with a high degree of flexibility in the planning and realisation of our projects. Outlook for 2013 We are confident about the further performance in the current financial year. Mobimo will continue to develop at a dynamic pace. The main focuses of our activities will likewise remain unchanged: realising numerous construction projects, expanding our development business, space marketing, selling condominiums and the targeted optimisation of our pro-ject pipeline. In particular due to the large number of planned transfers of ownership in the second half of the year, Mobimo expects to post a higher net profit before revaluations than in the previous year. Consequently, we are confident that we will be able to again distribute a dividend of CHF 9 per share for the 2013 financial year. Thank you for the trust you have placed in us. Detailed reporting You can find the report on the first half-year 2013 on our website www.mobimo.ch under http://ir.mobimo.ch/websites/mobimo2011/English/4010/annual-reports.html Investor Rela-tions / Reporting or on the start page. Telephone conference for analysts and media today at 10.00 a.m. Mobimo Holding AG invites you to a conference call in German on the results for the first half-year 2013. Dr. Christoph Caviezel (CEO) and Manuel Itten (CFO) will present the re-sults and answer your questions. Registration is not required. Date: 15 August 2013 Time: 10:00 a.m. (CET) Telephone no.: +41 (0)22 592 73 12 or toll-free 0800 000 732 Conference ID 4634117 You can view the PowerPoint presentation on our homepage at www.mobimo.ch. We also inform you that at 2 p.m. on the same day there will be a conference call in English. The dial-in number is the same; conference ID: 4634113. For enquiries please contact: Mobimo Holding AG Dr. 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 1999 in Lucerne and has been listed on the SIX Swiss Ex-change since 2005. The Mobimo Group has an attractive portfolio mix of investment properties providing stable income and development properties offering extensive value enhancement potential. Investments are targeted mainly in the promising locations of Zurich and Lausanne/Geneva and in the Basel, Lucerne/Zug, Aarau and St. Gallen economic regions. With a real estate portfolio that has an overall value of over CHF 2.4 billion, Mobimo is one of the leading real estate companies in Switzerland. The portfolio contains development properties with an investment volume of CHF 1,5 billion. (as at 30 June 2013). 15.08.2013 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. 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