Nordic listed retail specialist Citycon has raised its earnings forecast for 2016 following the sale of a portfolio of five non-core assets in Finland for a total of €74 mln.
The package, comprising 46,800 m2 of space located across Finland, was acquired by a Finnish investment fund, eQ Finnish Real Estate. The sales price is above the IFRS fair value for the properties, Citycon said in a statement.
'These divestments are part of Citycon’s strategy to recycle capital and focus on urban, grocery-anchored shopping centres in the Nordics and Baltics,' said Nils Styf, Chief Investment Officer at Citycon.
The portfolio consists of the following assets: Sinikalliontie 1 Koy (Espoo), Kontulan Asemakeskus Koy (Helsinki), Lentolan Perusyhtiö Oy (Kangasala), Lillinkulma Koy (Kaarina) and Länsi-Keskus Koy (Espoo).
As a result of the sale Citycon has adjusted its forecast for a year-on-year rise in direct operating profit in 2016 from €20-34 mln previously to €16-30 mln at present.
The EPRA Earnings and EPRA Earnings per share (basic) guidance remains unchanged, it added.
