Immofonds: Yield increases by 6%
The Immofonds reports net income of CHF 45.4 million for the 2018/19 financial year. This is an increase of 6.3% compared to the previous year.
The real estate fund's rental income rose byTP5.5% to 74.7 million, and the rent default rate fell fromTP5.0% toTP4.2%. Reasons for the growth were the optimisation of the portfolio, the reduction of vacancies, acquisitions and additional income from the properties completed in the previous year, says fund manager Gabriela Theus.
The market value of the properties increased by 5.0% or 76 million to around 1.6 billion. Half of the increase was due to investments in new properties and half to market-related changes, according to the fund.
Three acquisitions, one sale
In the 2018/19 financial year, the Immofonds purchased three properties for a total of 51.2 million - one in Regensdorf and two in Zurich. Two of these are currently used primarily for commercial purposes, but have long-term potential for conversion to residential use.
At the beginning of the financial year, a residential property in St. Erhart was sold for 17.4 million, which was approximately 20% more than the market value at the end of June 2018. At the end of the financial year, the portfolio comprised 127 properties with a total of 3,711 apartments, of which more than half were located in the Zurich-Central Switzerland region, based on market value.
The net fund assets of the Immofonds were around 1.1 billion as of 30 June 2019, an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year. The market price of the units increased by 7.3% to CHF 464.50 during the financial year. The fund puts total investor performance at 10.5%, with a distribution yield calculated on the market price as at 30 June 2019 of 2.9%. The distribution remains at the previous year's level of CHF 13.50 per unit.
Change in the Board of Directors
There will be a change on the Board of Directors of AG für Fondsverwaltung, the fund management company of Immofonds. At the General Meeting in November 2019, Urs Bosisio, former Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Aargauische Kantonalbank, will not stand for re-election.
Dr Bettina Stefanini is to be elected as a new member of the committee. She holds a PhD in environmental archaeology and was a lecturer in biogeography at Maynooth University in Ireland until 2017. Since 2018 she has chaired the Foundation for Art, Culture and History in Winterthur and is a trustee of the Fondation du Chateaux de Granson. (ah)
