Yesterday the Board of Directors of Aedes, chaired by Alfio Noto, has approved the quarterly report as at 31 March 2006 prepared on a consolidated basis.
Gross revenues for the first quarter of 2006 amount to €86.7 million, almost double the €44.2 million of the first quarter of 2005, reclassified, for comparative purposes, according to the IAS/IFRS. This growth is essentially due to net revenues resulting from the sale of properties to joint ventures and from the trading activities, and to fees from services, which more than doubled to €3.8 million, in accordance with the recently approved industrial plan.
EBIT for the first quarter of 2006 amounts to €16.6 million compared with the €19.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2005 and is in line with expectations relating to the initial stage of transformation of the business model which involved a reduction in the level of rents, for the time being only partially offset by the growth in revenues from services. The cost of production and non-recurring expenses amount to €16.1 million, substantially in line with the first quarter of 2005.
The Groups consolidated profit before tax for the first quarter of 2006 amounts to €20.1 million, up 83% compared with the €11 million of the first quarter of 2005, after recording net financial income of €3.4 million (negative €7.7 million in the first quarter of 2005) and value adjustments to financial assets of 0.05 million (0.3 million in the first quarter of 2005). The substantial improvement in the net financial income derives from the difference of €7.7 million in financial income, of which €5.5 million relate to the mark to market valuation of existing derivatives and €4.3 million to financial charges, almost half the €8.2 million in the first quarter of 2005.
The invested capital as at 31 March 2006 amounts to €821.9 million, substantially stable compared with the €851.9 million as at 31 December 2005, while the Groups equity rose from €334.5 million as at 31 December 2005 to €347.1 million as at 31 March 2006.
In the first quarter of 2006, the net financial debt fell to €284.3 million from €338.5 million as at 31 December 2005.
The effect of the net financial debt on invested capital amounts to 34.6% as at 31 March 2006 (recording properties at book value), compared with 39.7% as at 31 December 2005.
Operations concluded in the first quarter of 2006
During the course of the first quarter of 2006, the regulations of the Boccaccio closed real estate fund reserved for institutional investors were approved and Virgilio came into operation, a closed fund reserved for institutional investors specializing in the development of tourist ports, set up and managed by AEDES BPM Real Estate SGR S.p.A.
In March, the operation named Milano Forum was concluded, involving the purchase by the Aedes Group of a property for office use located in Milan for an amount of €42.5 million and the sale of properties recorded as current assets for around €23 million, making a gain of around €4.7 million and reducing the bank debt by around €10 million.
Again in March, an agreement was reached with the Risanamento Group on the establishment of two due joint ventures involved in the fractioning of properties in the center of Milan, the sale of 50% of the company Mariner and the purchase of two properties for development purposes in Rho (Mi) and Chivasso (To).
These operations have produced an overall profit before tax of around €26 million and a reduction in consolidated gross debt of around €91 million.
Significant events occurring after the close of the quarter and foreseeable management trend
On 21 April 2006, Immobiliare del Lago and Reif 1 conferred power of attorney on Deutsche Bank for the private placement of the property fund Petrarca, specializing in the office segment, among institutional investors.
In the light of the results for the fi
