3 March 2020 9:30
Results business results

The target for Funds from Operations achieved in 2019

  • Funds from Operations (FFO) reached €83.3 million in 2019, an increase of 4.5% which made it possible to reach the guidance announced in August.
  • The increase in Revenue, driven mainly by the acquisitions made in 2018, also reflects a positive like-for-like performance (+0.5%).
  • The net profit was impacted by the change in Fair Value reported at 31 December 2019.
  • The Board of Directors propsed a dividend per share of 50 euro cents for 2019, unchanged with respect to 2018.

 

Despite the weak market conditions in Italy, in 2019 IGD posted positive results as shown by the increase in Funds from Operations which rose €3.6 million to €83.3 million. The increae of 4.5% YoY is, therefore, in line with the guidance disclosed in Auguts which called for growth of between 4-5%.

Given the Italian portfolio’s high average Financial Occupancy of 96.9%, rental income in Italy rose 2.3% in 2019. Net rental income was 10.1% higher (+1.8% adjusted ex IFRS16). These performances reflect the full year contribution in 2019 of the portfolio purchased from ECP in April 2018 and the expanded Gran Rondò center in Crema which was inaugurated in May 2018. IGD also recorded organic growth: Like-for-like revenue was 0.3% higher YoY in Italy, despite the temporary vacancy of a few midsize stores.

In Romania, where the increase in family spending was higher, IGD benefitted from the work done over the past few years to upgrade its assets and rethink the merchandising mix. With an occupancy rate of 97.6%, rental income rose 3.2% in 2019.

The Group’s core business EBITDA rose 10.1%, to €125.2 million (net of IFRS16 application the figure comes to €114.9 million), driven mainly by rental income which rose 2.3%. The EBITDA Margin was 56 basis points higher than in the prior year, coming in at 77.5%, while the margin for the freehold portfolio reached 79.7%.

Net financial expense reached €36.8 million in 2019; this figure, net of the accounting impact of the last bond issue and IFRS16 application, came to €31.4 million; this item was also affected by €300 thousand in negative carry.

At year-end 2019 the Fair Value of IGD SIIQ’s real estate portfolio was €2,381 million, a drop of 1.27% compared to year-end 2018 based on the four independent appraisals. The Loan-to-Value came to 47.6%.

The Group’s portion of the adjusted net profit came to €14.9 million in 2019. The decrease with respect to the €46.4 million recorded in 2018 is largely attributable to the year-end property valuations: write-downs and fair value adjustments showed a negative balance of €60.9 million in 2019 versus €30.2 million in 2018. Given the value of the IGD Group’s real estate portfolio (more than €2.4 billion), the impact of the fair value adjustment is, in reality, rather modest.

Based on these results and consistent with the dividend policy found in the 2019-2021 Business Plan, the Board of Directors has proposed that the shareholders approve a dividend of 50 euro cents per share for 2019, unchanged with respect to 2018.

 

Core business EBITDA  € 125.2 mn +10.1%
Core business EBITDA margin
  77.5% +56 bps
Funds From Operations (FFO)  € 83.3 mn +4.5%
Loan-to-Value  47.6% < max. level of 50%
Net Rental Income adj.  € 126.3 mn +1.8%