Implenia adheres to growth targets

Implenia, Switzerland's largest construction services provider, believes it is well positioned with its strategy and considers the outlook for the Swiss real estate market to be attractive. The market for owner-occupied and rental apartments is likely to remain stable, with demand for residential property particularly strong in urban locations. Office space is still in demand, particularly in well-developed, inner-city locations, the company announced at its Capital Market Day.

According to Implenia, megatrends such as urbanization and mobility as well as the need for infrastructure will also ensure high demand in the construction industry in the coming years. The construction company believes that investments are being made in major infrastructure and urbanization projects around the world and that public sector investments are likely to increase even further due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry is also changing, creating opportunities for new, disruptive methods with higher productivity. The company also wants to take advantage of the digital transformation and expand its leading position in sustainability. The company is convinced that technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence and RFID/Internet of Things (IoT) will soon be standard at Implenia. In the medium term, it will increasingly use industrialized construction with standardized real estate and infrastructure products.

Implenia also expects growth opportunities from the spin-off of part of the development portfolio to Ina Invest. Implenia will participate in the success of the new company as a significant minority shareholder with at least 40% and will retain a lean balance sheet. A long-term cooperation is planned, whereby Implenia intends to generate recurring income for Ina Invest and later also for third parties with the services of Implenia Real Estate Services Ltd.

Implenia also announces that it is still aiming for the EBITDA target for 2020 communicated in the 2019 Annual Report, with growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range - before strategy implementation costs of around CHF 10 million and before a positive Ina Invest effect of around CHF 20% of reported 2019 EBITDA. This is subject to an adjustment due to the possible additional impact of Covid-19, which cannot yet be conclusively assessed. Implenia has now set its medium-term EBITDA target margin at around 6.5%. Previously, a figure of between % 6.25 and % 6.75 had been communicated. (ah)