PSP Swiss Property comes through the Corona crisis well
PSP Swiss Property is satisfied with the performance of the 2020 financial year despite the pandemic. Ebitda excluding gains/losses on real estate investments increased from CHF 256.2 million to CHF 271.1 million and is thus within the forecast.
Profit excluding gains/losses on real estate investments amounted to CHF 215.8 million in the past financial year, PSP Swiss Property reports. This is an increase of 0.6 million or 0.3% compared to the previous year (2019: 215.2 million), with the release of deferred taxes resulting in a positive one-off effect of 22.1 million at that time. Excluding this special effect, the 2020 operating profit reportedly increased by 22.7 million or 11.8%.
Rental income increased by 5.8 million to 296.3 million, although rent waivers of 4.6 million were recognized in connection with the lockdown, PSP further reports. As of the end of 2020, rent receivables of 5.4 million due to the lockdown were still outstanding.
The bottom line is a net profit of 292.1 million - compared to 453.4 million in the previous year. The minus of 161.3 million or 35.6% is explained by prior-year effects, according to PSP. In addition to the tax effect, the portfolio revaluation of 101.6 million in the reporting year was significantly lower than in the previous year (244.2 million). In addition, a gain of 15.0 million resulted from the sale of two investment properties in 2019.
Portfolio value rises to 8.58 billion
The revaluation of real estate resulted in an appreciation of 101.6 million, of which 93.7 million related to the investment portfolio. The balance sheet value of the portfolio at the end of 2020 was therefore around 8.58 billion (end of 2019: 7.98 billion).
The vacancy rate at the end of 2020 was 3.0% (end of 2019: 3.5%), of which 0.5 percentage points are attributable to ongoing refurbishment work. Of the 52.4 million leases expiring in 2021, 67% had been renewed at year-end. The weighted average unexpired lease term of the overall portfolio was 4.1 years. The Wault of the ten largest tenants, which contribute around 30% of rental income, was 5.2 years.
For the financial year 2021, PSP Swiss Property expects a slightly higher Ebitda excluding gains/losses on real estate investments of approximately 275 million. In terms of vacancies, the company expects a rate of around 4.5% at the end of 2021. These forecasts are based on the assumption that the current partial lockdown will be eased soon and that the general economic environment will normalize rapidly, the company said. (ah)
