SF Urban Properties AG: Significantly more profit
Despite the pandemic-related challenges, SF Urban Properties AG can look back on a pleasing 2020 financial year. The sale of one property and the low vacancy rate led to a significantly higher profit than in the previous year.
SF Urban Properties AG closed the 2020 financial year with a strong increase in operating income: Net income excluding revaluation effects/deferred taxes increased by CHF 11.5 million year-on-year to CHF 23.9 million - an increase of 92.8 percent. According to the company, this is mainly due to a sales transaction. Rental income fell only slightly in the reporting period.
Revaluations made a slightly positive contribution of CHF 3.3 million to the result (previous year: CHF 9.4 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased to CHF 32.0 million (PY: 27.0 million), and net income including revaluations to CHF 23.0 million (+23.8%).
As of the second quarter of the year under review, the management of SF Urban Properties AG assumed a direct reduction in earnings for the financial year of less than 3 percent as a direct result of the first lockdown; this forecast was confirmed at the end of the year. For the year under review, income losses of around CHF 0.76 million (1st lockdown) and CHF 0.11 million (2nd lockdown) are estimated, corresponding to approximately 2.7 and 0.4 percent of net annual rental income, respectively. In addition, irrespective of expected or granted rent reductions, the ordinary allowance for doubtful accounts was increased by CHF 0.5 million.
The portfolio value decreased slightly from CHF 647.8 million to a total of CHF 638.3 million during the reporting period (-1.5%); the vacancy rate as of December 31, 2020 was 2.62 percent (PY: 1.66%).
Due to the persistently low interest rates, the company expects the transaction market to remain competitive in 2021. In order to further expand the portfolio, the company intends to continue to focus its acquisition activities on the economic areas of Zurich and Basel; the focus is primarily on possible rounding off of properties with expansion potential. The renovations and conversions of selected properties as part of the updated property strategies will continue to be driven forward in 2021. (bw)
