Immofinanz resumes dividend payout as earnings bounce back

Immofinanz Group has resumed dividend payouts following a sharply improved performance over the 2010/11 financial year ended on 30 April 2011. The company is proposing a dividend of 10 cents per share after a strong surge in fourth-quarter profits lifted full-year net earnings by 60% to EUR 313.5 mln. The is the first time the company is paying a dividend since 2007.

The earnings recovery reflected an improvement in both rental income and income from asset management, the company said in a press statement. Rental income rose by 6.9% to EUR 578.9 mln while income from asset management rose less sharply by just 1.5% to EUR 440.8 mln.

Income from property sales soared 75% to EUR 53.8 mln as the company continued to divest non-core assets and optimise its operating business. The strong performance lifted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by no less than 134% to EUR 424.1 mln. In the 2009/2010 financial year, the company raked up losses totalling a staggering EUR 3.4 bn.

Despite higher revaluations for properties in Austria, Germany, Poland and Russia, the value of the portfolio fell further by EUR 34.7 mln. However, this was significantly less than the decline of EUR 183.8 mln recorded in the previous financial year. The company attributed the still negative result to non-cash foreign exchange effects.

The Vienna-listed group aims to further increase dividend payouts in the coming two years, to EUR. 0.15 in the 2011/2012 financial year, rising to EUR 0.20 a year later.