Russian developer MirLand has slipped further into the red reporting a loss of $18.5m for the three months to the end of March.
The London-listed group, which is controlled by the Israeli Fishman Group, posted a loss of $7.5m at the same time last year.
It said the recent loss – which came in at $19.8m after tax – was due to currency movements as the rouble appreciated against the US dollar, resulting in a fall in the value of its commercial property portfolio.
The loss came despite a 35.1% hike in revenue to $13.2m on the back of an improved occupancy rate, a rise in income at one of its commercial assets in Moscow, the Tamiz building (pictured), and residential sales from its Western Residence project in Perkhushkovo, south west of Moscow.
The company reported faster than anticipated sales of residential units in its flagship Triumph Park project in St Petersburg, with 312 of 510 units bought or reserved by the end of March 2012.
The value of MirLand’s total portfolio, which includes 15 residential and commercial projects in Russia, was up 3.2% to $763.4m, with net leverage maintained a 44.6%.
Chairman Nigel Wright, the former managing director of London & Henley Property Holdings, said: “We have started the year strongly, with good levels of revenue growth from our income producing portfolio, and better than expected sales of residential units.
“The economy continues to show signs of improvement and stabilisation. MirLand has also benefited from improving demand for residential property supported by growing demand from owner occupiers supported by lower mortgage rates, which have acted to significantly boost sales at Triumph Park, our flagship residential project in St. Petersburg.”
sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
