Finnish listed property company Sponda swung to an operating profit of EUR 133 mln in the first nine months of 2010, from a loss of EUR 37 mln in the same period a year before. Total revenue came in at EUR 174 mln, compared to EUR 179 mln in the first nine months of 2009. The slight decline (3%) was largely due to the sale of properties, higher maintenance costs and the rise in vacancy rates early in the year.
Finnish listed property company Sponda swung to an operating profit of EUR 133 mln in the first nine months of 2010, from a loss of EUR 37 mln in the same period a year before. Total revenue came in at EUR 174 mln, compared to EUR 179 mln in the first nine months of 2009. The slight decline (3%) was largely due to the sale of properties, higher maintenance costs and the rise in vacancy rates early in the year.
'Despite the slow developments in the property market, we estimate that the value, especially of prime properties in central locations, will start to rise,' said CEO Kari Inkinen. The value of Sponda's portfolio has seen an EUR 11 mln increase so far in 2010, compared to heavy writedowns of EUR 156 mln reported in the first three quarters of 2009.
He added: 'We are continuing our active management of the property portfolio. This means that the company continues to sell properties that do not fit in its strategy. In the future we will be focusing increasingly on office and retail properties and shopping centres and will reduce the proportion of logistics properties in our portfolio.'
The company said earlier this week that it has signed a syndicated credit agreement for EUR 550 mln and an additional EUR 100 mln credit limit facility. The syndicated loan is for five years and consists of a EUR 400 mln bank loan and EUR 150 mln of revolving credit. The loan is being used in its entirety to refinance existing loans. The lead banks for the syndicated loan are Nordea Bank Finland, Pohjola Bank, SEB and Sampo Bank, and the other participating banks are Swedbank and DnB NOR.
