Comment from the fund manager, Viljar Arakas: “The fund’s overall results of the first half of 2024 meet the expectations of the management company. Vacancy remains below 3% at a portfolio level, which is a very good result considering the general business environment. If we exclude the tenant’s rent payment difficulties related to Hortes properties, the payment behaviour of tenants is good and the level of arrears remains low. According to the fund manager, Hortes properties can be treated as customer-specific case and does not reflect a wider deterioration of the tenants’ financial situation. The fund manager has already started looking for new solutions for both Hortes properties. The largest vacancy is currently in the office sector, accounting for 76% of the portfolio’s total vacancy. However, it is divided between 10 different office buildings, and new tenants are constantly being added. Weaker demand for office space is a clear trend both globally as well as in every capital of the Baltic states. In general, the downward trend in interest rates will lead to increased transaction activity in the second half of 2024, which will help to increase the fair value of the conservatively priced portfolio of EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS.”
EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS consolidated rental income was 2,572 thousand euros in June, which is 17 thousand euros less than in May. The slight decrease in rental income was due to reduced foot traffic in shopping centers due to the first summer month, lower turnover rent, and slightly increased vacancy rates in the office space segment. The fund’s consolidated EBITDA for June was 2,188 thousand euros, 65 thousand euros less than in May. June’s expenses included costs associated with investment property valuations and the comparison period included a one-time income of 29 thousand euros from the establishment of an easement on a logistics center property in Tallinn.
Colliers International conducted a regular valuation process for Fund’s investment properties in June, resulting in a 0.4% decrease in the fair value of the fund’s real estate portfolio and a consolidated loss of 1,454 thousand euros from the revaluation. The loss from the revaluation was mainly due to a more conservative cash flow forecast for office segment buildings in Tallinn and in the Saules Miestas shopping centre. The discount rates used for discounting cash flows and capitalization rates remained unchanged compared to the end of last year in most of the calculations. Although EURIBOR has slightly decreased since the end of 2023 and the market expects even lower interest rates by autumn, these changes had not yet affected actual market transactions as of the end of June.
The consolidated rental income for the first six months of this year totals 15,343 thousand euros, 1.3% higher than the same period last year. The fund’s investment properties generated 14,803 thousand euros in net operating income (NOI) in the first half of the year, a 0.6% increase from the same period last year. The fund’s EBITDA for the first six months of this year is 13,077 thousand euros, a 0.5% increase compared to the same period last year.
The vacancy rate of the fund’s real estate portfolio was 2.9% as of the end of June. The fund has 9,780 square meters of vacant space, including 7,477 square meters in the office space segment.
During the first six months of 2024, EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS generated 5,329 thousand euros in free cash flow (EBITDA minus loan payments minus interest expenses), which is 621 thousand euros less than the same period last year. The decrease in cash flow is primarily due to the increase in EURIBOR. Based on the fund’s results for the first five months of this year, the potential gross dividend is at 39.4 cents per share, 10.2% less than the same period last year.
The weighted average interest rate on the bank loans of the fund’s subsidiaries was 5.65% at the end of June. Compared to the end of 2023, the weighted average interest rate has decreased by 0.26 percentage points and is at the same level as in August 2023.
As of June 30, 2024, the net asset value (NAV) per share of EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS was 19.7904 euros, and the EPRA NRV was 20.5862 euros. The NAV per share decreased by 0.1% in June. Without the revaluations of investment properties, the fund’s NAV would have increased by 0.6% in June.
