Züblin holds its own in the Corona year
Züblin Immobilien Holding has come through the 2020/21 financial year, which was marked by the Covid 19 pandemic, relatively stable. However, rental income declined due to the departure of a major tenant.
In financial year 2020/21, Züblin Immobilien Holding AG achieved a net profit of CHF 4.0 million, compared with CHF 4.6 million in the previous year. The decline had been expected due to one-off effects in the previous year, but was limited from 1.0 million to 0.6 million.
Net operating income decreased by 1.2% year-on-year and came in at 8.3 million (previous year: 8.5 million). This was due to lower rental income as a result of a tenant moving out of the Holbeinstrasse Zurich property (0.2 million) as well as rent reductions in connection with the lockdown amounting to CHF 45,000, Züblin says. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) decreased by 6.6% to CHF 5.7 million.
Move-out of a major tenant causes vacancy rate to rise significantly
The real estate portfolio was valued at 218.7 million at the end of the financial year (PY: 217.9 million, +0.4%). It consists of six properties: five in the Zurich economic area, one in Berne. Annualized rental income was 8.3 million, down 1.1 million year-on-year. Züblin cites the fact that the lease of the second-largest tenant in the Holbeinstrasse property in Zurich expired and the amortization component (tenant improvement) ceased as the reason for the decline. In connection with this, the vacancy rate increased by 7.5% to 15.7%. The weighted average lease term (WALT) at the balance sheet date was 3.8 years, or over five years for the five largest tenants.
Züblin intends to further increase the value of its own properties and expand its portfolio in the current year. However, in the continuing low interest rate and high price environment, demand for real estate in good locations - and therefore the challenges - are high.
