Corporate | 26 February 2015 17:35

alstria office REIT-AG: Annual result 2014

alstria office REIT-AG / Key word(s): Final Results

2015-02-26 / 17:35

Press release

Annual result 2014

– Funds from operations (FFO) of EUR 47.6 m (+5.1%)

– EPRA NAV per share up by 2.3% to EUR 11.22

– Strong letting result: New leases doubled to 55,300 sqm

– Management proposes to pay a dividend of EUR 0.50 per share for FY 2014

– Guidance for 2015: FFO expected to grow to EUR 49 m

Hamburg, February 26, 2015 – alstria office REIT-AG (symbol: AOX, ISIN: DE000A0LD2U1), the leading German office REIT, announces its result for the financial year 2014.

Revenues of EUR 101.8 m and FFO of EUR 47.6 m in line with full-year guidance

In 2014 alstria’s revenues amounted to EUR 101.8 m (-2.3%) and were fully in line with alstria’s guidance of EUR 102 m. Despite a lower year-on-year revenue base funds from operations for the same period increased in line with the Company’s guidance to EUR 47.6 m (+5.1% compared to FY 2013) due to a better operating result and lower financing costs. alstria’s FFO-margin further improved by 330 bps to 46.8%. The FFO per share increased by 5.0% to EUR 0.60 (2013: EUR 0.57). alstria’s net profit for the year 2014 was EUR 37.0 m.

The annual valuation led to a slight increase of EUR 824 k in the market value of alstria’s investment property portfolio. Furthermore, alstria’s joint venture ‘Kaisergalerie’ (49% share) experienced a valuation gain of EUR 12.3 m after the completion of its refurbishment, leading to a positive total valuation effect of EUR 13.1 m on alstria’s balance sheet.

Strong balance sheet: Net LTV of 50.4%

As per year-end 2014 alstria’s balance sheet reflected a total equity position of EUR 846.6 m (capital ratio: 47.8%) and was slightly up from EUR 844.1 m compared to December 31, 2013. The EPRA NAV per share increased by 2.3% to EUR 11.22. alstria’s G-REIT equity ratio, which is defined as total equity divided by immovable assets, was 50.2% (December 31, 2013: 50.9%). Following the repayment of debt alstria’s Net LTV improved by 30 bps to 50.4% and underlines the Company’s conservative financing structure.

Net seller in 2014
The value of alstrias investment properties increased to EUR 1,646 m as of December 31, 2014 (December 31, 2013: 1,632 m). The increase in investment property reflects the net effect of the acquisitions and disposals (EUR -21 m), the capital expenditures (EUR 33 m) that have been spent on the portfolio as well as a positive valuation result (EUR 0.8 m). In 2014 alstria took advantage from the high demand for real estate assets and disposed five properties worth EUR 68 m at a premium of 8.1% to the FY 2013 appraised value. The unlevered IRR on the disposed assets over their holding period amounted to 9.1% and is reflecting the strong value creation of the Company.

Strong demand for office space in Germany

alstria has taken advantage of the very liquid German letting market and doubled the amount of new leases to 55,300 sqm compared to 2013. Mainly as a result of the planned expiry of two assets comprising more than 20,000 sqm each and the disposal of fully let properties, the EPRA vacancy rate increased to 11.0% as of December 31, 2014. As alstria has proven over the last years, the creation and subsequent reduction of vacancy offers opportunities, as real estate operations are a key element of alstria’s strategy to create value. In the first weeks of 2015, alstria has continued to take advantage of the strong market and has leased-up around 10,000 sqm of the new vacancy mentioned above.

Stable dividend of EUR 0.50 per share

The Company will propose to the next Annual General Meeting a dividend payment of EUR 0.50 per share, representing a 5.1% dividend yield based on a 2014 VWAP (Volume-weighted average price) of EUR 9.78 .

Outlook 2015: further increase of FFO expected

Based on its current portfolio and the contractually agreed rent, alstria currently expects revenues of EUR 98 m and funds from operations (FFO) to grow by 3% to EUR 49 m in the financial year 2015. The revenue guidance reflects the recent disposal of properties. The expected increase in FFO is mainly due to lower costs of debt, which will drop to 2.1% (cash cost of debt) from mid-2015.

‘2014 was another good year for alstria and its shareholders,’ said Olivier Elamine, CEO of alstria. ‘We increased our operating result, were successful in leasing up space and improved the quality of the overall portfolio. The strong financial structure of our balance sheet will continue to allow us to secure substantial financial cost savings that will further support our FFO growth in 2015. Our continuous work on the assets and successful lease-up will further add to both our top-line and FFO going forward. The first weeks of 2015 have been very successful on the leasing front and we expect the overall environment to remain extremely supportive to our business looking forward’.

Invitation to the analyst and press conference on February 27, 2015

The alstria management board, CEO Olivier Elamine and CFO Alexander Dexne, will present the 2014 financial results in a press conference for analysts and journalists at 10:00 am (CET) in Hamburg which will also be webcasted on our website. The full Annual report (Company report and Audited Financial Statements) are available for download on our website.

About alstria:
alstria office REIT-AG is an internally managed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) focused solely on acquiring, owning and managing office real estate in Germany. alstria was founded in January 2006 and was converted into the first German REIT in October 2007. Its headquarters are in Hamburg. The Company owns a diversified portfolio of properties across attractive German office real estate markets. As of today its portfolio comprised 74 properties with an aggregate lettable space of approx. 875,100 sqm and was valued at approximately EUR 1.7 bn. The alstria office REIT-AG strategy is based on active asset and portfolio management as well as on establishing and maintaining good relationships with key customers and decision makers. alstria focuses on long-term real estate value creation.

Contact:
Ralf Dibbern, IR/PR
Phone: +49 (0) 40 / 226 341-329
Email: rdibbern@alstria.de

More information on:
www.alstria.com
www.alstria.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/alstria_REIT

Disclaimer:
This release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares. As far as this press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the business, financial condition and results of operations of alstria office REIT-AG (alstria), these statements are based on current expectations or beliefs of alstria’s management. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those reflected in such forward-looking statements. Apart from other factors not mentioned here, differences could occur as a result of changes in the overall economic situation and the competitive environment – especially in the core business segments and markets of alstria. Also, the development of the financial markets and changes in national as well as international provisions particularly in the field of tax legislation and financial reporting standards could have an effect. Terrorist attacks and their consequences could increase the likelihood and the extent of differences. alstria undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Language:	English
Company:	alstria office REIT-AG
	Bäckerbreitergang 75
	20355 Hamburg
	Germany
Phone:	040-226 341 300
Fax:	040-226 341 310
E-mail:	info@alstria.de
Internet:	http://www.alstria.de
ISIN:	DE000A0LD2U1
WKN:	A0LD2U
Indices:	SDAX, EPRA, German REIT Index
Listed:	Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart

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327413  2015-02-26