Polish developer Echo Investment has seen its development pipeline increase by roughly 50% in the first half of the year to over 1 million m2 at end June.
Reporting on its first-half result, Echo Investment said it currently has 70 projects under construction representing a total of 1 million m2, up from 677,000 m2 across 55 projects at year-end 2016.
In the residential sector, the company is on its way to achieving full-year record sales of 1,300 apartments while in the office segment, it expects to complete three buildings by the end of the year: Symetris II in Lódz, O3 Business Campus II in Cracow and Nobilis in Wroclaw. The first two developments have already been sold to Echo Polska Properties (EPP), a Polish investment company listed on the Johannesburg and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Nobilis will be put on the market later this year.
Echo Investment reported a net profit of PLN 125 mln (€30 mln) in the second quarter of the year, largely as a result of gains on the valuation and sale of EPP shares.
In total, the company sold 40 million EPP shares generating €49 mln of proceeds and changing the value of a further 51 million it holds, it said. Echo Investment currently still has a 7.2% stake in EPP.
'The second half of the year is going to be even more successful, with several properties going to be commissioned,' commented Nicklas Lindberg, CEO of Echo Investment.
EPP was created in 2016 from the spin-off of the standing assets of Polish listed developer Echo Investments and the entry of co-investor, Redefine of South Africa.
