CA Immo reports another consecutive year of increased operating profit and a clearly positive consolidated net profit. Portfolio growth through own project completions and portfolio acquisitions in combination with the continued high occupancy rate of the investment portfolio (occupancy rate: 95%) led to a further increase in net rental income (+8% compared to the previous year) and the operating result (+14%). Although the record result of 2019 could not be surpassed – primarily due to the significantly lower revaluation result compared to the previous year – the path of consistent value creation and increase was continued.
Andreas Quint, CEO of CA Immo: “We met the exceptional year 2020 with continuity by consistently pursuing the strategic path we have taken to date: continued organic growth through our own project developments and targeted portfolio acquisitions of high-quality office properties in central locations in our core cities. At the same time, we pressed ahead with various strategic projects – such as the successful issue of bonds with a total volume of € 850 m and our integrated sustainability initiative – in order to make CA Immo even more stable and secure for the future. The result is sustainable growth and a resilience that has enabled us to navigate confidently through the crisis year 2020. This rock-solid and at the same time highly dynamic operating performance allows us to look forward with great optimism to another year of strong growth in 2021 from a position of strength.”
Results of the business year 2020
FFO I, a key indicator of the Group’s long-term earning power, is reported before taxes and adjusted for the sales result and other non-recurring effects. In 2020, a FFO I of € 133.8 m was generated, 0.4% above the previous years’ value of € 133.3 m. FFO I per share stood at € 1.44 at the reporting date (31.12.2019: € 1.43 per share). The FY 2020 guidance of > € 126 m was therefore exceeded. FFO II, which includes the sales result and applicable taxes and indicates the Group’s overall profitability, was € 141.1 m compared to € 122.3 m in 2019 (+15.4% com-pared to the previous year). FFO II per share stood at € 1.52 (31.12.2019: € 1.31).
Rental income increased by 6.7% to € 235.6 m in 2020. In addition to the successful management of the investment portfolio with a high occupancy rate, this positive development is related to the organic portfolio growth of the past months. The net rental income attributable to leasing activities after the deduction of direct management costs rose by 7.7% from € 194.7 m to € 209.7 m. The Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact of € –7.8 m on the net rental income as of the balance sheet date. This mainly relates to individual value adjustments and, to a lesser extent, rent reductions, which, however, are offset by countervailing effects from incentive agreements (rent-free periods).
Property sales result
The earnings contribution from the trading portfolio totalled € 7.9 m (31.12.2019: € –1.3 m). At € 43.9 m, profit from the sale of investment properties was above the previous year’s value of € 15.6 m. The biggest contribution came from the sale of the cube berlin office building.
Indirect expenditures rose by 68.4% from € –43.5 m in the previous year to € –73.2 m in 2020. The figure includes potential court fees associated with the action for damages brought by CA Immo against the Republic of Austria and the State of Carinthia in the second quarter of 2020 in connection with the privatisation of the federal housing companies (BUWOG) completed in 2004. Adjusted for this one-off effect of around € –25.5 m, indirect expenses were at € –47.7 m, 9.7% higher than in the previous year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of € 195.6 m were up 13.9% on the previous year’s level of € 171.7 m. This growth is mainly based on the higher rental income and the significantly increased sales result compared to 2019. EBITDA adjusted for the BUWOG one-off effect amounted to € 221.1 m, a significant increase of 28.7% compared to the previous year’s value, which reflects the company’s robust operating business development.
The revaluation result of € 183.5 m as at 31 December 2020 was extraordinarily positive, but significantly below the previous year’s figure (31.12.2019: € 462.8 m). The result reflects the continued attractive market environment in Germany and particularly in Berlin, CA Immo’s largest portfolio segment, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the company’s profitable property development activities generated positive value adjustments, both in terms of the progress of ongoing construction projects and the development of land reserves. On the other hand, there were also negative effects, which were primarily concentrated on properties directly affected by the consequences of the pandemic with the main types of use being hotels and retail, as well as on investment buildings in CEE.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) totalled € 375.4 m and were thus 40.8% below the corresponding figure for the previous year (€ 633.7 m), in particular due to the lower revaluation result.
The financial result in 2020 totalled € –27.2 m compared to € –94.4 m in the previous year. The Group’s financial expenses, a key component of the recurrent net income, were below the previous year’s level at € –42.3 m (31.12.2019: € –43.1 m). The result from derivatives amounted to € 21.4 m (31.12.2019: € –59.2 m). The 2020 figure includes a derivative valuation of the convertible bond issued in October 2017 in the amount of € 32.2 m. This instrument consists of a debt component and, due to the repayment option in cash of CA Immo, an embedded derivative which must be separated. The embedded derivative of the convertible bond is reported at fair value. The interest rate development over 2020 also resulted in a negative valuation effect of the company’s interest rate derivatives in the amount of € –10.8 m (31.12.2019: € –20.7 m).
Earnings before taxes (EBT) of € 348.3 m (31.12.2019: € 539.3 m) recorded a significant year-on-year decline of 35.4% based on the earnings developments described above.
At € 253.9 m, net profit for the period was 35.4% below the previous year’s figure of € 393.3 m. Earnings per share (undiluted) amounted to € 2.73 (31.12.2019: € 4.23 per share).
The Annual Report 2020 of CA Immobilien Anlagen AG is available at:
