Ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR

PRESS RELEASE

Olten, 26 August 2021

• Growth of total real estate assets under management to CHF 15.7 billion (+2.6%)
• Profit on a comparable basis and excl. revaluations grew by 42% to CHF 163.5 million
• Increase in EPRA NTA to CHF 96.28 per share and stable equity ratio of 47.3%
• Good visibility thanks to a lower vacancy rate (4.7%) and long unexpired lease term (WAULT: 6 years)
• Confirmation of guidance and positive outlook

Swiss Prime Site closed the first half of 2021 with good results despite another lockdown over several months in the first quarter. The steps towards easing pandemic-related restrictions for business and society are generating momentum throughout the company. The transaction and rental markets are starting to regain their footing, demand for space is gaining pace and there are clear signs that social life is returning to normal. The core Real Estate business has benefited from this upswing and posted very good results in the first half of 2021. In the case of the Services segment with the group companies Swiss Prime Site Solutions, Wincasa and Jelmoli, the challenges from the pandemic were more substantial. It is therefore all the more pleasing that the Group companies were able to make good progress and exceed the previous year's figures (in some cases significantly).

The sale of the Tertianum Group on 28 February 2020 has reduced the comparability of the 2021 key figures with the previous year. The half-year figures for 2020 still include Tertianum's results for two months and the related sales proceeds of CHF 204.2 million were also allocated to the previous year's period. To make Swiss Prime Site's performance more transparent, a «pro forma» calculation of the 2020 half-year figures is also published, excluding the above-mentioned Tertianum effects (page 4).

Significant increase in performance
In the first six months of the 2021 financial year, Swiss Prime Site achieved operating income of CHF 362.8 million [CHF 425.2 million]. Adjusted for Tertianum, operating income rose by 6.3%. All business areas and group companies contributed to this pleasing growth. Four elements are central in this context:

COVID-19: The situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic continues to concern society. In the core Real Estate segment, this reduced income by CHF 5.5 million in the first half of the year. Part of the reason was lower than expected sales and parking rental income of CHF 2.4 million and rent waivers granted to tenants of CHF 3.1 million. Of the tenant requests received, 98% have now been dealt with and satisfactory solutions found for them. The rent collection was at 98% in the first half of the year. Accordingly, payment record remains very good and no increased risks are noticeable.

Rental income: Adjusted for Tertianum, rental income increased by 2.2% to CHF 213.4 million. This was due in part to the completion of several major projects, which have been contributing income since the first half of the year. At the same time, some space that did not fit with the strategy were disposed. Vacancies were reduced significantly from over 5.1% to 4.7% through active asset management too. Of particular note was the success in generating rental growth of about 0.5% on a like-for-like basis and the long average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of six years.

Asset management: Asset management for third parties, which is pooled within Swiss Prime Site Solutions, met growth expectations. Income jumped by over 56% to CHF 7.5 million. Real estate assets under management amounted to CHF 3.2 billion. The launch of «SPA Living+ Europe», the first foreign product for the Swiss Prime Investment Foundation, also contributed to this result. New mandates were also acquired and are expected to significantly boost growth in the years to come. The launch of the first fund product, which is expected later this year, is seen as a further growth path. In spring, Swiss Prime Site Solutions applied to FINMA for approval. It is particularly pleasing that expansion did not come at the expense of profitability. With an EBIT contribution of around CHF 4 million, profit rose by almost 85% in the first half of the year.

Retail: Despite the challenging environment and another lockdown over several weeks in the first quarter as well as closure of the gastronomy until the second quarter, Jelmoli increased its income by 5.3%. This was in large part due to the contribution from the core business on Bahnhofstrasse. But the first positive trends have been emerging at the new location at the airport - especially as flights picked up again significantly in June. At the same time, negative EBIT was reduced year on year. Barring a further lockdown, Jelmoli is expected to achieve a significant improvement in the results by the end of the year. 

High revaluations and attractive net yield on property
Mirroring the positive mood in the real estate market, the value of the real estate portfolio also grew by CHF 135 million compared with its end-2020 value to CHF 12.5 billion. This was due mostly to completed projects that were successfully transferred to the portfolio. Another factor in this growth was progress made in real estate developments under construction. After the uncertainties of the previous year, the trend normalised in 2021, resulting in revaluation gains of CHF 144.5 million. The net yield on property generated was unchanged at 3.2%, which is an attractive level for a prime portfolio.

Significantly higher EBIT on a like-for-like basis
At operating result (EBIT) level, Swiss Prime Site generated CHF 355.6 million [CHF 313.6 million]. On a like-for-like basis (i.e. excluding both revaluation gains and Tertianum effects), EBIT increased by 36.6% to CHF 211.0 million. The EBIT margin also went up from 45.3% to 58.2%. On the cost side, the above-mentioned increase in income was achieved with constant or even slightly decreasing costs. In particular, the collection losses in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, which amounted to around CHF 14 million in the previous year, fell. In 2021, Swiss Prime Site cannot foresee any further significant risks in this area apart from the tenant waivers granted. Despite the rising income, the other cost items were mostly unchanged on the previous year or even trended downwards, as was the case with personnel costs. This illustrates the positive influence of the ongoing digitalisation and the strong focus on costs in the group.

Lower financing costs and jump in profit
On the financing side, following the successful first issue of a green bond at the end of 2020, Swiss Prime Site issued a second sustainable bond in the amount of CHF 300 million in the first quarter of 2021. In total, the company now has a sustainable financing volume of CHF 600 million. In addition, two bonds were topped up with a total volume of CHF 150 million. The attractive refinancing further shifted the focus towards unsecured financing and increased the average remaining term of interest-bearing borrowed capital to 5.1 years, compared with 4.8 years at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, the cost of borrowing tumbled by almost 20% to 0.9%. compared with 1.1% in 2020. Similarly, net financial expenses on a like-for-like basis fell from CHF 29.7 million [CHF 30.5 million including Tertianum] to CHF 23.6 million. Swiss Prime Site want to make further progress along this path and offer sustainably-minded bond investors the opportunity to invest in the portfolio and the planned CO₂ reduction pathway.

After taxes, Swiss Prime Site produced a profit of CHF 257.1 million [CHF 269.7 million] in the first half of the year. On a like-for-like basis and excluding the Tertianum effects, there was a significant increase of CHF 64.4 million to CHF 257.1 million. Adjusted for revaluation gains and all deferred taxes, profit for the first half of 2021 increased on a like-for-like basis by more than 42% to CHF 163.5 million [CHF 114.9 million; CHF 320.0 million including Tertianum].

Stable level of financing and higher EPRA NTA
In the first half of the year, Swiss Prime Site distributed a dividend of about CHF 255 million. In spite of this, shareholders' equity rose slightly to CHF 6.1 billion. The good results of the first half of 2021 were reflected even more in the EPRA NTA (equity per share calculated on the basis of the rules of the European Public Real Estate Association). Despite the dividend payment of CHF 3.35 per share, this rose by almost 1% to CHF 96.28, with the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) for the property portfolio remaining steady at 42% - the same as at year-end. Year-on-year, however, the LTV ratio has fallen significantly from over 45%. The annualised return on equity reached a pleasing 8.4% [2.4% on a like-for-like basis or 9.6% incl. Tertianum sale] in the first half of 2021. The progress made was also reflected in the share performance. Shares rose by 9.6% in the first half of the year, outperforming both the Swiss real estate sector (+4.2%) and the EPRA-Index (+9.4%).

Sustainability as an integral part of value creation
Sustainability is an integral part of Swiss Prime Site's strategy and business model. To present the progress made to clients and all other stakeholders in a transparent, consistent and comprehensible manner, an integrated report and the associated capitals have been used for several years to provide a structured overview of this progress. Measures like the planned doubling of photovoltaic systems until 2023 as well as the focus on circular economy at transformation projects (e.g. Müllerstrasse, Zurich) are important elements to reach climate neutrality by 2040. The progress is also reflected in the confirmation of the A rating by MSCI ESG Research and the improvement by 1.1 points of the ESG Risk Rating (low risk, 17.6 points) by Sustainalytics.

Confirmation of guidance and positive outlook
As already communicated, Swiss Prime Site will make further improvements to the portfolio in the core business. The strategies include actively reducing vacancies, increasing like-for-like rental income through project-related conversions or targeted new lettings, and successively focusing the portfolio on promising types of use. At the same time, Swiss Prime Site is steadily moving ahead with the attractive project pipeline of around CHF 2.0 billion and successively supplementing the disposals with new opportunities mainly from the own portfolio.

Following the strategic sale of Tertianum, the Services segment is back on its growth path, particularly with the asset management services for third parties which Swiss Prime Site Solutions provides. The foundations have been laid for new products and customer groups.

Swiss Prime Site believes that the market opportunities for 2021 as a whole will remain intact. In view of the development projects that were completed in the previous year, the company expect rental income to rise in the 2021 financial year, subject to other unforeseeable upheaval linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vacancies in the portfolio will remain at the current level. Similarly, Swiss Prime Site is expecting another increase in earnings in the Services sector - along with an improvement in margins.

If you have any questions, please contact:
 
Investor Relations, Markus Waeber
Tel. +41 58 317 17 64, markus.waeber@sps.swiss
 
Media Relations, Mladen Tomic
Tel. +41 58 317 17 42, mladen.tomic@sps.swiss
 
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