Züblin: Refinancing completed

Züblin Immobilien Holding AG has announced initial data on the course of the first half of the 2017/18 financial year (as of the end of September). Accordingly, the holding company expects a net operating income of CHF 3.5 to 3.8 million and a net total income of 5.0 to 5.5 million. The value of Swiss investment properties is reported to be 204 to 208 million as of the end of September. The company puts the net asset value (NAV) at 127.2 to 127.7 million.

Züblin recorded a foreign currency gain of 3.4 million from the sale of the German real estate portfolio. This was due to the strengthening of the euro between the balance sheet date of March 31, 2017 and the transaction date of August 21, 2017, the real estate company says. At the time, Züblin had sold the twelve German properties CHF to the British CLS Holding, raising 56 million euros.

Züblin further announces that the refinancing of the remaining Swiss real estate portfolio has been completed. The company has agreed a five-year, revolving framework financing of 118 million with a Swiss cantonal bank. The loan agreement replaces the previous syndicated financing in the same amount, Züblin announced. In connection with this refinancing, a swap contract from 2010 was terminated at the current market price, resulting in a cash outflow of 19.2 million, the company said.

Due to the negative interest rate environment in Switzerland, funds from the sale of the German portfolio were used and only a partial amount of 66 million was drawn from the new credit facility, resulting in a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 33 percent, the company added. With the new credit facility, the company now has the flexibility to draw additional funds to further expand its Swiss real estate portfolio up to an LTV of 60 percent, it added. The current effective interest rate is 1.0 percent.

The company will publish detailed information on the 2017/18 half-year report in November.