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Colonial’s Profits Fell by 23% in 2018 to €525M

26 February 2019 – El Confidencial

Colonial closed 2018 with revenues from rental income of €347 million, up by 23% compared to a year earlier. Nevertheless, the Socimi’s profit decreased by 23% to €525 million, given that in 2017, the firm recorded a gain from the sale of a building in Paris – In & Out – for €445 million and was converted into a Socimi. The buildings contributed by the merger with Axiare generated €56 million, equivalent to 16.1% of the total.

These are Colonial’s first results following the completion of its merger with Axiare, the Socimi over which it launched a €1.45 billion takeover in November 2017, and in a year in which it also increased its stake in the French firm Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL).

In a relevant fact sent to the CNMV, the Socimi also announced that it ended the year with assets worth €11.3 billion – distributed across the centres of Paris, Barcelona and Madrid – up by 22%, following the integration of Axiare onto its balance sheet. Excluding the effect of that integration, the increase would have amounted to 8% (…).

“Following an excellent year, we are confident of achieving a very satisfactory performance in the market and of generating rental income of €500 million over the next three or four years”, explained the CEO of Colonial, Pere Viñolas, who added that the company’s recurring profit, after excluding extraordinary items and asset revaluations, amounted to €101 million and represented an increase of 22%.

In operational terms, last year, Colonial signed 103 rental contracts, spanning a total surface area of 175,000 m2, which will generate rental income of €43 million p.a. (…).

In financial terms, at the end of 2018, Colonial recorded net debt of €4.7 billion at the end of 2018, up by 52% with respect to 2017 (€3.1 billion) before the purchase of Axiare. That liability accounts for 39% of the firm’s asset value (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E.S.)

Translation: Carmel Drake