Berlin, November 30, 2023 – The German residential real estate market continues to be severely impacted by the challenging economic environment. A key indicator is transaction volume, which fell to its lowest level since 2010 during the period from January through September 2023.
These challenging conditions had a significant impact on ACCENTRO’s business performance in the first nine months of 2023. Consolidated revenue fell to EUR 56.6 million during the reporting period (comparative period: EUR 144.6 million). This is primarily attributable to the significant decline in revenue to EUR 42.6 million (comparative period: EUR 130.7 million) in the “Trade and Privatization” segment, resulting from the sharp decline in the volume of notarized transactions since the second half of 2022 and market price trends. By contrast, due to portfolio expansion last year and rent increases, revenue from leasing once again showed positive growth, rising by approximately 7.9% to EUR 13.7 million (comparative period: EUR 12.7 million).
Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to -28.0 million EUR in the first nine months (comparative period: 9.6 million EUR). This significant decline is attributable, on the one hand, to impairment charges on receivables of EUR 14.6 million. On the other hand, developments in the “Trade and Privatization” segment had a significant impact on earnings. Earnings from leasing, however, showed a positive trend and rose to EUR 5.7 million (comparative period: EUR 0.1 million).
Consolidated comprehensive income declined to -48.2 million EUR (prior-year period: -7.1 million EUR). This was also influenced by the increase in interest expense resulting from the refinancing of the two bonds. Earnings per share amounted to -1.49 EUR (prior-year period: -0.22 EUR). The equity ratio as of September 30, 2023, was 26.4% (as of December 31, 2022: 28.2%).
Due to the still unpredictable business environment, characterized by a persistently tense market situation and weak demand in the housing market, the Executive Board remains unable to provide a well-founded and reliable forecast framework for the current fiscal year. For fiscal year 2023, however, a significant decline in consolidated revenue and consolidated EBIT compared to the original forecast (revenue: EUR 100 to 120 million; EBIT: EUR 0 to 2 million) is still expected.
An improvement in the market situation requires, above all, more stable economic conditions. If inflation continues to decline, experts believe that interest rates are likely to at least remain flat in the coming months. Furthermore, no further sharp declines in residential real estate prices are expected in the near future. A resulting stabilization of the financing environment and price levels are key prerequisites for restoring planning certainty among investors, which could in turn lead to a revival of the German residential real estate market.
Jörg Neuß, CEO of ACCENTRO, comments: “Even though the market environment is likely to remain challenging for the time being, we are nevertheless looking to the future with greater confidence. The fundamentals show that the German residential market remains sound. It is a market with a steadily rising demand for housing and a supply that has long been far too scarce—a market that offers significant long-term growth potential and in which our company is ideally positioned thanks to its many years of leading expertise in residential privatization and its attractive real estate portfolio.”
About ACCENTRO Real Estate AG
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG is a residential real estate investor and the market leader in housing privatization in Germany. As of September 30, 2023, its real estate portfolio comprised 5,731 units with a total area of approximately 334,000 square meters. The book value of the entire portfolio amounted to approximately 590 million EUR. In addition to Berlin, its regional focus includes major cities and metropolitan areas in central Germany as well as the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. ACCENTRO’s business activities comprise three core areas: the sale of apartments to private owner-occupiers and investors at near-rental prices; the sale of real estate portfolios to institutional investors; the management of its own real estate portfolio; and services for third parties. The shares of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG are listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN: A0KFKB, ISIN: DE000A0KFKB3). www.accentro.de
Investor Relations Contact:
Thomas Eisenlohr
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG
Kantstraße 44/45
10625 Berlin
Email: eisenlohr@accentro.de
Phone: +49 (0)30 88 71 81 272