Cofinimmo has presented its first quarter 2005 results. The net current result per ordinary share reached EUR 1.84, wich is in line with the forecasts for the first quarter.
Property income at 31.03.2005 came to EUR 33.44 million, 5.4% up on the figure at 31.03.2004, stemming from the admission to the portfolio at end-May 2004 of the Egmont complex, a slight improvement in occupancy rates (see below) as well as the collection of payments for early termination of lease.
The operating margin worked out at 82.30%, a little higher by 0.4% than 2004. This good performance was achieved by keeping technical and commercial costs as well as property management costs and corporate operating costs firmly under control, which recorded a 13% reduction on the first-quarter figure 2004.
The combined direct and indirect operating costs represented 1.12% of the average value of the portfolio under management during the first three months of 2005, as against 1.15% in 2004. The steep growth in this portfolio over recent years and sound control of these costs have helped bring down this ratio.
Financial income at 31.03.2005 chiefly comprised interest income on the long-term lease receivables relating to the Belliard I-II property (EUR 1.9 million). Financial income also incorporated payment at the rate of 5.85% on the North Galaxy shares held by Cofinimmo in the amount of EUR 0.4 million.
Financial charges at 31.03.2005 were down 2.4% on the same period one year earlier. The average interest rate on borrowings, including bank margins and the amortisation cost of cover instruments, dropped back from 3.69% for 2004 to 3.61% for the first quarter of 2005, while financial debt has shrunk a little since 31.12.2004 (-2.8%).
The revaluation of financial instruments following application of the IAS 39 standard induced a net unrealised charge of EUR 0.98 million at 31.03.2005. This charge mainly resulted from the depreciation of the time-value of the cover instruments.
Corporation tax (EUR 1.7 million) includes tax payable by subsidiaries not covered by the Sicafi tax regime. This item was significant during the first quarter of 2005. The mergers by absorption of Beta Invest SPRL and Immobilière de Location du Quartier Léopold SA, concluded on 8 April last, put an end to this situation.
The net current result at 31.03.2005 came to EUR 17.40 million, virtually unchanged from the figure at 31.03.2004 (EUR 17.87 million), while the net current result per ordinary share at 31.03.2005 worked out at EUR 1.84, or 8.9% less than the result at 31.03.2004 (EUR 2.02) owing to the dilution caused by the disposal
of own shares (see below).
The result on portfolio incorporates an unrealised loss of EUR 1.5 million, as against EUR 1.2 million at 31.3.2004. With an unchanged portfolio, the market value of the properties would in fact have depreciated slightly, by 0.07%, during the first quarter of 2005, compared with reductions of, respectively, 0.09% during the first quarter 2004 and 0.63% for 2004 as a whole. The quarterly valuation by the independent external real estate expert shows that the decline in value of properties located in the district around the airport and in the decentralised area is tending to continue, while property values in the Central Business District (CBD) of Brussels continue to appreciate.
As a consequence, the portfolio value has gone down by EUR 0.16 per share (unrealised loss) whereas a reduction of EUR 0.13 was recorded during the first quarter 2004 and an overall drop of EUR 1.33 for the year as a whole.
The market value of the property portfolio (estimated investment value of the property assets) reached EUR 2,102.1 million(1) at 31.03.2005 compared to EUR 2,088.8 million at 31.12.2004.
The net result (after including the result on portfolio) at 31.03.2005 amounted to EUR 16.57 million as against EUR 16.66 million at 31.03.2004, while the net result per ordinary share (after including the result on portfolio) at 31.03.2005 worked out at EUR 1.75 as against EUR 1.88 at 31.03.2004.
The net a
