CPI PROPERTY GROUP
DGAP-News: CPI PROPERTY GROUP
/ Key word(s): Quarter Results/Real Estate
CPI Property Group Press Release ? Corporate News CPI PROPERTY GROUP publishes financial results for Q1 2022 "CPIPG sees sustained strong demand for real estate and solid trends in rents and occupancy across our portfolio," said Martin N?me?ek, CEO. "The Group?s strategic acquisitions and disposals have been executed successfully and our asset management teams continue to deliver great results." CPIPG?s results for the first quarter of 2022 fully consolidate the Group?s acquisition of a controlling stake in IMMOFINANZ. The Group previously published pro-forma financial information for the full year 2021, in conjunction with the update of our Euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme. Highlights for the first quarter of 2022 include: - CPIPG?s property portfolio rose to ?18.1 billion, offset by disposals of ?479 million. - Total assets reached ?20.9 billion, including ?1.6 billion of cash. Total available liquidity was ?2.4 billion including undrawn revolving credit facilities.
- Net rental income increased to ?110 million, while consolidated adjusted EBITDA rose to ?119 million. - Occupancy was stable at 93.7%. Like-for-like rental income increased by 6.4%, with Prague and Berlin outperforming. - Net business income was ?117 million and FFO was ?84 million for the quarter. Combined FFO for the Group in 2021 was ?374 million. - Rent collections were close to 100% in Q1 2022, a "normal" post-COVID environment. - EPRA NRV (NAV) grew by 10% to ?7.7 billion. - Net Loan-to-Value (LTV) temporarily increased to 41.8% (from 35.7% at year-end 2021), above our target ceiling of 40%, but below the policy limit of 45%. CPIPG is confident in our ability to reduce LTV below our target through ongoing disposals and debt repayment. - Unencumbered assets decreased to 62% (from 70%), reflecting a relatively higher portion of pledged assets on the IMMOFINANZ level. CPIPG will continue to closely monitor the level of unencumbered assets and will consider repaying secured debt over time. - Net ICR stood at 4.1x, a slight decrease (-0.5x) versus full year 2021.
"The consolidation of CPIPG and IMMOFINANZ creates a Group with a new level of size and scale as a landlord," said David Greenbaum, CFO. "The Group?s acquisitions have been funded conservatively and our capital structure commitment is unchanged." FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
BUSINESS UPDATES / INFORMATION FOR OUR STAKEHOLDERS "CPIPG is delighted with the outcome of this offer," said Tomas Salajka, Director of Acquisitions, Asset Management & Sales. "IMMOFINANZ has high-quality assets in our region and the price was attractive." CPIPG will make a second and final drawing of ?700 million under our ?2.5 billion bridge loan to fund the offer. CPIPG initially drew the bridge loan for about ?1.1 billion in March 2022, but subsequently repaid ?644 million through disposals and capital markets financing. Therefore, the total bridge balance will be about ?1.2 billion following the additional acceptance period. The bridge facility can be extended at CPIPG?s option until early 2024. In total, CPIPG paid approximately ?2.4 billion for IMMOFINANZ shares in 2021 and 2022. Of the total purchase cost, about 30% has already been funded through equity and disposals. Also, 20% has been funded through long-term debt financings in 2022 at good pricing. The remaining 50% is currently funded via the bridge, with the goal of full repayment via disposals in H1/H2 2022 and using Group cash, plus continued strong access to funding across multiple markets, structures, and currencies. Update on activities at IMMOFINANZ In April, Radka Doehring was appointed as a member of the Executive Board of IMMOFINANZ and Ulrike Gehmacher was appointed Head of ESG at IMMOFINANZ. As a result of the change of control, IMMOFINANZ bondholders tendered ?557.9 million of bonds. The bonds were repaid with cash at the end of April. CPIPG sees this repayment as positive for the Group?s capital structure, and notes that IMMOFINANZ continues to have high levels of cash and attractive assets for disposals to support further deleveraging. Offer for S IMMO On 14 April 2022, CPIPG requested the convening of an extraordinary shareholder meeting of S IMMO to resolve on the abolishment of S IMMO?s 15% voting cap. CPIPG also announced that subject to the successful removal of the voting cap, and conditional upon merger control clearance, that CPIPG would launch a mandatory cash offer to all other S IMMO shareholders. CPIPG has a dedicated ?1.25 billion bridge loan facility in place to cover the acquisition cost of shares and some repayment of debt. On 2 May 2022, CPIPG and S IMMO announced an agreement concerning S IMMO?s Management Board support for the proposed abolishment of the voting cap and the intended takeover offer. CPIPG has agreed to increase the Offer price to ?23.50 per S IMMO share cum dividend, which S IMMO's Management Board considers fair. The price of ?23.50/share represents a 19% discount to S IMMO?s most recently reported net tangible assets value of more than ?29/share. The resolution will be voted on during S IMMO?s annual general meeting tomorrow, 1 June 2022. As of 31 May 2022, CPIPG has successfully obtained 5 out of 6 merger control approvals for the S IMMO offer. Group Liquidity and Financing Commitment to Financial Policy CPIPG first articulated our financial policy in 2018. The Group remains fully committed to our LTV target (40% or below, or up to 45% in the case of acquisitions with high strategic merit). The Group?s shareholder distribution policy is also unchanged. CPIPG believes that the acquisition of IMMOFINANZ brings considerable scale to the Group, enhancing the overall profile from a credit ratings perspective. CPIPG still targets a "high BBB" rating which we see as achievable in the coming years. Liquidity and Financing In January 2022, CPIPG issued an inaugural ?700 million of 8-year sustainability linked senior unsecured bonds. Proceeds were mainly used to repay the ?239.4 million of unsecured bonds maturing in October 2024 and US$376.9 million (approximately ?333 million) of unsecured bonds maturing in March 2023. At the end of Q1 2022, the Group?s average cost of debt stood at 1.65%. In April and May 2022, CPIPG issued Schuldschein (promissory notes) for ?183 million with 4 and 6-year maturities. In May 2022, CPIPG issued ?307 million (equivalent) of an inaugural US Private Placement notes with maturities of 5, 6, and 7 years. Proceeds from the transactions were used to repay the Group?s bridge facility. CPIPG is primarily focused on repaying our bridge facility for IMMOFINANZ through disposals. CPIPG will continue to look at opportunities to issue in various currencies, structures and formats depending on the pricing, our overall funding and liquidity needs and our financial policy commitments. Through liability management, CPIPG significantly reduced 2022, 2023 and 2024 bond maturities over the past few years. The Group continues to focus on deleveraging wherever possible, including through early repurchases of our bonds via tenders or secondary market purchases. Hybrids As a family-owned company, CPIPG greatly values the hybrid bond market as a source of equity for IFRS and our rating agencies. Accordingly, the Group anticipates calling and replacing our perpetual notes at the first call date (in our case, beginning in 2025) in keeping in-line with common market practice. CPIPG wants to maintain a good relationship with the hybrid market and hopes to return at some point in the future. On the other hand, at current pricing CPIPG vastly prefers disposals and other forms of equity as tools to maintain our financial policy commitments. Disposals To date, the Group has completed more than ?900 million of disposals and expects to exceed ?1 billion before 30 June 2022. Net disposal proceeds are about ?623 million as the Group has also repaid debt in conjunction with the sales. Disposals have occurred across the Group?s portfolio, targeting non-core or highly mature assets. In some cases, disposals are in response to unsolicited offers at attractive pricing (e.g., land in Prague, Generali?s office in Prague, land in Italy). In other cases, the Group has run tenders (e.g., small properties in Berlin, logistics property in Hungary) where demand has been extremely strong. Total disposals have covered office (40%), retail (28%), logistics (20%) and landbank (12%). Geographically, the Group divested assets in the Czech Republic (69%), Germany (17%), Hungary (8%) and Italy (6%). All of the Group?s disposals have been transacted at or above book value. The average premium on disposals was 20% to book value. By sector, the premium to book value was 53% in logistics, 47% in landbank, 14% in office and 2% in retail. At the level of CPIPG, we anticipate that total disposals can reach ?1.5 billion by year-end 2022, with proceeds used to repay bridge financings associated with IMMOFINANZ. The Group continues to receive good offers on office, hotels, landbank, retail and residential assets. CPIPG notes with satisfaction recent press reports which suggest that IMMOFINANZ and S IMMO are contemplating meaningful portfolio disposals. Such disposals could significantly enhance the level of cash available for deleveraging and potential reinvestment. Impact of inflation and interest rates on CPIPG Many economists, academics and analysts have explored the impact of inflation on real estate. Empirical evidence from the UK and US real estate markets, which have the longest rental income histories, shows a high positive correlation between inflation and rental growth. In the UK, rental income of landlords grew at about 10% per annum between 1970 ? 1990, about the same rate as inflation according to research by Schroders[1]. Notably, leases in the UK typically have a 5-year rent "review" which makes inflation more difficult to capture. In contrast, CPIPG and many other European landlords have built-in indexation. In the US, Morgan Stanley?s analysis of US REITs indicates positive REIT returns in 84% of periods of rising inflation and interest rates.[2] More than 90% of CPIPG?s leases are subejct to indexation, which is normal practice in our regions and sectors. Therefore, the Group?s rental income is expected to continue rising so long as occupancy rates remain solid. Investor demand for real estate (and therefore market pricing) is also likely to benefit from the belief that certain types of real estate are hedges against inflation. More information on CPIPG?s Inflation Linkage - The most common linkage is to the harmonized index of consumer prices for the European Union (HCIP), specifically the European Consumer Price Index (EICP) published by Eurostat. Leases in Czech Koruna (CZK) are indexed to local inflation rates. - Rent indexation is generally done retrospectively in January of each year, and therefore the effects of rent indexation will begin to show most intensively from 2023. - Rent reversion caps can vary from contract to contract, with the floor typically set at zero. European Real Estate Investment Markets Total investment volumes in European commercial real estate during Q1 2022 reached nearly ?80 billion according to CBRE[3]. Total investment volume in the CEE and SEE regions was ?3.2 billion, an increase of 45% YoY[4]. The primary source of investments was foreign capital, primarily investors from the US, Western Europe, and South Africa. Poland recorded the highest investment volume of ?1.7 billion, mainly due to Google?s acquisition of the Warsaw Hub for ?583 million. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic real estate market continues to be defined by a limited number of investment opportunities due to low historical supply despite strong demand.
While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted questions, risk adjustments and some outflows from real estate funds, CPIPG has seen no direct impact on our business. Indeed, Savills expects the direct impact on the European investment market and the CEE region will be limited[5].
CPIPG notes that some of our competitors have experienced a slight slowdown in leasing activity and tenant decision making. While the Group is not completely immune to such trends, we believe our portfolio is very well positioned. Demand for travel & leisure is recovering strongly since the removal of restrictions from March 2022, with the Group?s hotel occupancy rate[7] at 50% in April 2022 (vs 8% in April 2021). Hotel performance in Q1 2022 was in-line with expectations considering that Q1 tends to be very slow. CPIPG?s hotel net income improved to EUR 14 million in 2021 and is forecasted to significantly exceed this figure in 2022. In CPIPG?s region, pandemic related trends such as full working from home proved temporary in most cases. In CPIPG?s core cities, office utilisation returned to an estimated average of 70% - 80% in summer 2021 as the hybrid model established itself as the predominant post-pandemic work model. Convenience and experience led physical retail concepts have proven resilient to the growth of E-commerce and have recovered strongly after pandemic restrictions were removed. While footfall remains below pre-pandemic levels, average basket sizes continue to rise. CPIPG?s shopping centre turnover in the Czech Republic in Q1 2022 was 4.1% above Q1 2019 levels. With a low affordability ratio (rent, service & marketing charges as % of turnover) of 13% in 2021, our shopping centres remain highly attractive for tenants. The Group?s retail portfolio increased its occupancy over the last years and continues to be very high at 97.7%.
Take-up rose across our core markets in 2021 and continued a strong pace in Q1 2022, according to CBRE[8]. Warsaw office markets saw a take-up of 200k m², one of the strongest quarters ever recorded, driven by financial sector tenants. The Prague office market recorded a take-up of 74.9k m², a 44% YoY increase or 29% QoQ. Berlin offices saw in Q1 2022 take-up was at 132.8k m² declining from the prior year due to a larger number of lettings in size that are still being negotiated rather than a decline in interest. Budapest office market saw its take-up rising to 42.1k m², a 9% YoY. For the Group?s major retail markets, such as the Czech Republic, minimal new developments were recorded in 2021 with only 30,700 m² of new shopping centre space added to a total market of 2.3 million m² at the end of 2021. Shopping centre density remained low at c. 233 m²/1000 inhabitants compared to an EU average of around c. 355 m²/1000 inhabitants, according to CBRE and Savills. Historically, there has been no overbuilding of retail across CEE countries compared to western markets like the UK or US. Overall, the rise in construction costs is beneficial for CPIPG as an owner focused on standing income-generating properties with little development activity (well below <10% of total assets), limiting supply while supporting the reinstatement costs assessment of its properties. ESG Updates In April 2022, the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTI) began validating CPIPG?s environmental targets. The result of the validation process shall be known in June 2022.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM INCOME STATEMENT*
* The presented financial statements do not represent a full set of interim financial statements as if prepared in accordance with IAS 34
Gross rental income Gross rental income increased by ?34.5 million (36.9%) to ?128.0 million in Q1 2022 primarily due to rental income generated by IMMOFINANZ (?22.5 million) since the acquisition date and due to rental income generated by acquisitions in Italy (?6.9 million). Property operating expenses Property operating costs increased by ?9.5 million (72.7%) to ?22.6 million due to property operating costs of IMMOFINANZ (?4.7 million) since the acquisition date and due to property operating costs of new acquisitions in Italy (?3.2 million). Net hotel income In Q1 2022, hotel revenues significantly increased by ?10.5 million (209.6%) to ?15.5 million due to partial recovery from the COVID-19 restrictions. Net gain on disposal of investment property and subsidiaries Net gain on the disposal of investment property and subsidiaries of ?21.8 million relates to sale of certain Czech subsidiaries in the period. Administrative expenses Administrative expenses increased by ?6.7 million primarily due to higher personnel expenses and the consolidation of IMMOFINANZ. Other operating income Other operating income in Q1 2022 includes a bargain purchase of ?273.9 million related to the IMMOFINANZ acquisition. Interest expense Interest expense increased by ?10.1 million to ?31.3 million in Q1 2022 due to increase in the volume of bonds issued (?4.0 million) and due to the IMMOFINANZ acquisition (?5.6 million).
* The presented financial statements do not represent a full set of interim financial statements as if prepared in accordance with IAS 34
Total assets Total assets increased by ?6,515.4 million (45.3%) to ?20,884.4 million as at 31 March 2022 compared to 31 December 2021. The increase was driven primarily by acquisition of IMMOFINANZ (investment property increased by ?5,292.2 million and cash and cash equivalents by ?953.6 million), partly offset by a decrease of assets held for sale due to disposals in the period. Total liabilities Total liabilities increased by ?4,473.8 million (67.0%) to ?11,148.2 million as at 31 March 2022 compared to 31 December 2021, primarily due to acquisition of IMMOFINANZ (financial debts increased by ?1,909.3 million and bonds issued by ?988.0 million). In March 2022, the Group drew a new bridge facility with eight international banks in the amount of ?1,139.0 million. Equity and EPRA NRV Total equity increased by ?2,041.6 million from ?7,694.6 million as at 31 December 2021 to ?9,736.2 million as at 31 March 2022. The movements of equity components were as follows: - Increase due to the profit for the period of ?380.9 million (profit to the owners of ?348.2 million); - Increase in translation reserve of ?42.9 million; - Decrease in revaluation, hedging and legal reserve of ?5.0 million; - Increase of NCI due to acquisitions in the period of ?1,622.5 million; EPRA NRV was ?7,742 million as at 31 March 2022, representing increase of 10.0% compared to 31 December 2021. The increase of EPRA NRV was driven by changes in the Group?s equity attributable to the owners (increase of retained earnings and other reserves) and deferred tax on revaluations related to IMMOFINANZ (?353.7 million).
APM RECONCILIATION*
* Totals might not sum exactly due to rounding differences.
* Includes one month of fully consolidated EBITDA/FFO contribution from IMMOFINANZ in Q1 2022 and pro-rata EBITDA/FFO for Q1 2022 and Q1 2021 of Equity accounted investees.
*Annualised. For further information please contact: Investor Relations Moritz Mayer For more on CPI Property Group, visit our website: www.cpipg.com
31.05.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language: | English |
| Company: | CPI PROPERTY GROUP |
| 40, rue de la Vallée | |
| L-2661 Luxembourg | |
| Luxemburg | |
| Phone: | +352 264 767 1 |
| Fax: | +352 264 767 67 |
| E-mail: | contact@cpipg.com |
| Internet: | www.cpipg.com |
| ISIN: | LU0251710041 |
| WKN: | A0JL4D |
| Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Stuttgart |
| EQS News ID: | 1365551 |
| End of News | DGAP News Service |
1365551 31.05.2022
