NEPI Rockcastle, the CEE retail real estate specialist, has made a H1 profit of €274 mln, an uplift of 10% in NOI on the €241 mln last year on a like-for-less basis excluding the impact of developments completed after 30 June 2023 and industrial property sold in January 2024.
The board has declared a dividend of 27.11 eurocents per share for H1 2024, corresponding to a 90% dividend pay-out ratio.
Tenant sales were 8.7% higher against the same period in 2023. The company signed 73% of new leases with international retailers, attracted by the higher growth potential its CEE markets offer.
Rents grew above the rate of inflation which helped drive a valuation gain of €134 mln, up 2% on its €7 bn portfolio value at 31st December 2023, and its loan to value ratio is at 32.2%.
Available cash, together with a €387 mln syndicated loan with the IFC, means it has sufficient funds to repay a €500 mln bond maturing in November 2024 – the only significant debt maturity until October 2026.
Rüdiger Dany, NEPI Rockcastle’s CEO, said: ‘We continue to perform strongly amid clear signs that the economic outlook for our core Central and Eastern European markets is stabilising and consumer confidence is improving.’
The first phase of an ambitious green energy project, the installation of photovoltaic panels in 27 retail locations in Romania, is now complete and has already produced revenues of €4 mln in H1 2024 on a total investment of €34 mln.
The second phase, involving the roll-out of the same concept in 24 locations owned by NEPI Rockcastle outside Romania, for a total investment of €15 mln, is under various stages of permitting.
