Atrium European Real Estate, the owner, operator and developer of retail real estate and shopping centres in CEE, has posted an income lift in its results for the third quarter and nine-month period to end September.
Gross rental income rose by 4.7% to €151.4m (Q1-Q3 2012: €144.6m), with an increase in EPRA like-for-like income of 3.6% to €148m (Q1-Q3 2012: €142.9m).
Net rental income went up by 4% to €143m (Q1-Q3 2012: €137.5m), with an increase in EPRA like-for-like net income of 3.7% to €140.2m (Q1-Q3 2012: €135.2m).
The operating margin for the nine month period was 94.5% (Q1-Q3 2012: 95.1%), which is at the higher end of the management’s targeted range, said Atrium.
EPRA occupancy rates remained stable at 98.1% while EBITDA, excluding revaluation, disposals and impairments, increased by 7% to €121.1m (Q1-Q3 2012: €113.2m).
Pretax profits were €96.3m, compared with €120.4m for the first nine months of 2012, with the fall caused by a €15.4m higher revaluation in the corresponding period last year, €6.7m lower result on foreign exchange differences and higher interest expense of €5.7m in the current period, offset by the €5.5m growth in net rental income.
The company’s adjusted EPRA earnings per share increased by 1.6% to €25.6 (Q1-Q3 2012: €25.2).
EPRA net asset value per ordinary share rose by 1.7% since the beginning of the year to €6.54 (FY 2012: €6.43) after distributing dividends of 15 cents per share
The value of the group’s 156 standing investment properties grew by 8.4% to €2.4bn, compared to 31 December 2012, which includes the recently acquired shopping centre Galeria Dominikanska in Wroclaw, Poland, for €151.7m.
Atrium’s cash position was €331m with borrowings of €836.1m at end September (FY 2012: €537.1m) representing a gross and net loan to value of 28.1% and 17% respectively.
The board approved an increase in the dividend for the fourth quarter of 2013 to 0.06 cents per share, implying 21 cents per share for the full year 2013.
For 2014, the board has also approved a 14% increase in the dividend to at least 24 cents per share.
A total of €350m was raised in April through the placing of a 3.7 times over-subscribed unsecured seven-year Eurobond bearing a 4% fixed coupon.
The Atrium Felicity development in Lublin, Poland, is 92.4% prelet at an average lease length of six years, and set to open next March.
Atrium also announced the appointment of property veteran Roger Orf to its board as a non-executive director with immediate effect, following the retirement from the board of Dipak Rastogi. Orf, who is a partner at Apollo Global Management and head of its real estate business in Europe, will be one of Apollo’s appointed directors on the Atrium Board.
Rachel Lavine, CEO of Atrium, said: “Our performance over the first nine months of 2013, during which we delivered continued growth in gross and net like-for-like income, further strengthens our belief in our ability to produce strong and sustainable levels of rental income and cash flow.
“Although we are aware that there are still economic issues to contend with both in our own regions of operation and in the eurozone, we nevertheless can see the first signs that the economies have finally started to grow.”
