Interim Statement Q3 2019

Group FFO

The following key figures provide an overview of the development in Group FFO and other value drivers in the reporting period.

Group FFO

in € million

9M 2018

9M 2019

Change in %

12M 2018

*

Prior-year value new construction VTS: € 2.3 million. BUWOG: € 7.9 million.

**

Thereof intragroup profits in 9M 2019: € 34.3 million (9M 2018: € 26.5 million), valuation result new construction/development to hold in 9M 2019: € 33.1 million (9M 2018: € 10.2 million), IFRS 16 effects 9M 2019: € 22.2 million (9M 2018: € 0.0 million).

 

 

 

 

 

Income Rental

1,393.3

1,527.0

9.6

1,894.2

Expenses for maintenance

-218.8

-230.2

5.2

-289.7

Operating expenses in the Rental segment

-207.8

-214.3

3.1

-289.4

Adjusted EBITDA Rental

966.7

1,082.5

12.0

1,315.1

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue Value-add

1,010.6

1,212.0

19.9

1,462.2

thereof external revenue

133.6

186.8

39.8

203.9

thereof internal revenue

877.0

1,025.2

16.9

1,258.3

Operating expenses Value-add

-913.8

-1,094.5

19.8

-1,341.0

Adjusted EBITDA Value-add

96.8

117.5

21.4

121.2

 

 

 

 

 

Income from disposals Recurring Sales

261.7

273.5

4.5

356.1

Fair value of properties sold adjusted to reflect effects not relating to the period from assets held for sale in the Recurring Sales segment

-190.8

-193.4

1.4

-262.8

Adjusted result Recurring Sales

70.9

80.1

13.0

93.3

Selling costs Recurring Sales

-11.2

-11.0

-1.8

-14.2

Adjusted EBITDA Recurring Sales

59.7

69.1

15.7

79.1

 

 

 

 

 

Income from disposal of “Development to sell” properties

122.9

194.9

58.6

225.1

Cost of Development to sell

-107.8

-148.1

37.4

-181.8

Gross profit Development to sell

15.1

46.8

>100

43.3

Fair value Development to hold

65.1

185.3

>100

98.0

Cost of Development to hold

-54.9

-152.2

>100

-79.3

Gross profit Development to hold*

10.2

33.1

>100

18.7

Operating expenses Development

-7.8

-17.9

>100

-22.6

Adjusted EBITDA Development

17.5

62.0

>100

39.4

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA Total

1,140.7

1,331.1

16.7

1,554.8

 

 

 

 

 

FFO interest expense

-237.7

-265.6

11.7

-328.8

Current income taxes FFO

-23.5

-43.1

83.4

-36.5

Consolidation**

-36.8

-89.6

>100

-57.5

 

 

 

 

 

Group FFO

842.7

932.8

10.7

1,132.0

As of the end of September 2019, our apartments were still virtually fully occupied. The apartment vacancy rate of 2.9% was up on the value of 2.7% seen at the end of September 2018. Rental income in the Rental segment rose by 9.6% from € 1,393.3 million in the first nine months of 2018 to € 1,527.0 million in the first nine months of 2019, largely due to the acquisitions of BUWOG and Victoria Park in the previous year. BUWOG contributed a volume of € 149.5 million (April–September 2018: € 105.7 million), while Victoria Park contributed € 100.4 million (July–September 2018: € 29.0 million). Out of the total rental income in the Rental segment of € 1,527.0 million, € 1,346.3 million is attributable to the portfolio in Germany (9M 2018: € 1,304.9 million) and € 80.3 million to the portfolio in Austria (9M 2018: € 59.5 million) and € 100.4 million to the portfolio in Sweden. The increase in rent due to market-related factors came to 1.2%. We were also able to achieve an increase in rent of 2.5% thanks to property value improvements achieved as part of our modernization program. The corresponding like-for-like increase in rent came to 3.7% in the 2019 reporting period. If we also include the increase in rent due to new construction measures and measures to add extra stories, then we arrive at an organic increase in rent of 4.0% in total. The average monthly in-place rent within the Group at the end of September 2019 came to € 6.69 per m2 compared to € 6.43 per m2 at the end of September 2018. At the end of September 2019, the monthly in-place rent in the German portfolio came to € 6.71 per m2 (Sep. 30, 2018: € 6.45), for the Austrian portfolio € 4.63 per m2 (Sep. 30, 2018: € 4.53) and € 9.15 per m2 for the Swedish portfolio (Sep. 30, 2018: € 9.03). The rental income from the Austrian property portfolio additionally includes maintenance and improvement contributions (EVB). The rental income from the portfolio in Sweden reflects inclusive rents, meaning that the amounts contain operating and heating costs.

We continued with our new construction, modernization and maintenance strategy in the first nine months of 2019. The total volume increased from € 983.0 million in the first nine months of 2018 to € 1,301.3 million in the first nine months of 2019. This was driven by an increase in the modernization volume including new construction, which rose by 46.9% from € 656.3 million in 2018 to € 963.9 million in 2019.

Maintenance and Modernization

in € million

9M 2018

9M 2019

Change in %

12M 2018

*

Incl. new construction in 9M 2019: € 251.6 million, 9M 2018: € 46.8 million.

 

 

 

 

 

Expenses for maintenance

218.8

230.2

5.2

289.7

Capitalized maintenance

107.9

107.2

-0.6

140.7

Modernization work*

656.3

963.9

46.9

1,139.0

Total cost of modernization and maintenance

983.0

1,301.3

32.4

1,569.4

Operating expenses in the Rental segment in the first nine months of 2019 were up by 3.1% on the figures for 2018, from € 207.8 million to € 214.3 million. This development is due primarily to the larger portfolio thanks to the acquisitions of BUWOG and Victoria Park. All in all, Adjusted EBITDA Rental rose by 12.0%, from € 966.7 million in the first nine months of 2018 to € 1,082.5 million in 2019.

The Value-add segment showed sustained positive development in the first nine months of 2019. We expanded the services offered by our craftsmen’s organization even further and continued to invest in improvements to the existing building stock. We continued to expand our business activities relating to the provision of cable television to our tenants, metering services and insurance and residential environment services. We once again expanded our energy supply services in the first nine months. We supplied a total of around 16,500 households with energy directly as of the end of September 2019.

External revenue from our Value-add activities with our end customers in the first nine months of 2019 rose by 39.8% as against the same period of 2018, from € 133.6 million to € 186.8 million. Group revenue rose by 16.9% in the same period, from € 877.0 million in 2018 to € 1,025.2 million in 2019. Overall, this results in a 19.9% increase in the revenue from the Value-add segment from € 1,010.6 million in the 2018 reporting period to € 1,212.0 million in 2019. The Adjusted EBITDA Value-add rose by 21.4% in the first nine months of 2019 to € 117.5 million as against € 96.8 million in the first nine months of 2018.

The EBITDA margin of the core business, calculated based on the Adjusted EBITDA Operations (total of the Adjusted EBITDA Rental and the Adjusted EBITDA Value-add less any intragroup profits included in these figures) in relation to rental income within the Group, once again showed positive development in the reporting period. It increased from 74.3% (including BUWOG) in the first nine months of 2018 to 76.3% in the current reporting period.

We continued to pursue our selective sales strategy in the third quarter of 2019. In the Recurring Sales segment, we report all business activities relating to the sale of single residential units (Privatize).

In the Recurring Sales segment, the income from disposal of properties came to € 273.5 million in the first nine months of 2019, up by 4.5% on the value of € 261.7 million reported in the same period of 2018; of this, € 190.1 million are attributed to sales in Germany (9M 2018: € 194.1 million) and € 83.4 million to sales in Austria (9M 2018: € 67.6 million). We privatized 1,893 apartments in the first nine months of 2019 (9M 2018: 1,992), thereof 1,472 in Germany (9M 2018: 1,639) and 421 in Austria (9M 2018: 353). Adjusted EBITDA Recurring Sales came in at € 69.1 million in the first nine months of 2019, up by 15.7% on the value of € 59.7 million seen in the first nine months of 2018. The fair value step-up for Recurring Sales came in at 41.4% in the 2019 reporting period, up against the comparative value of 37.1% for 2018.

Outside of the Recurring Sales segment, we made 1,679 Non-core Disposals of residential units as part of our portfolio adjustment measures in the first nine months of 2019 (9M 2018: 7,665) with total proceeds of € 106.2 million (9M 2018: € 411.8 million). At 15.2%, the fair value step-up for Non-core Disposals was slightly lower than for the same period in the previous year (16.3%).

The Development segment showed successful development in the first nine months of 2019. A comparison of the following key figures with the previous year is only possible to a limited extent, due to the acquisition of BUWOG on March 31, 2018. In the “Development to sell” business, the income from disposal of properties came to € 194.9 million, up by 58.6% on the value of € 122.9 million achieved in the first nine months of 2018, with € 92.4 million attributable to project development in Germany and € 102.5 million attributable to project development in Austria. The resulting gross profit for “Development to sell” came to € 46.8 million (9M 2018: € 15.1 million). In the “Development to hold” business, a fair value of € 185.3 million was achieved in the reporting period (9M 2018: € 65.1 million), with € 91.5 million attributable to project development in Germany (9M 2018: € 33.1 million) and with € 93.8 million to project development in Austria (9M 2018: € 32.0 million). The gross profit for “Development to hold” came to € 33.1 million (9M 2018: € 10.2 million). The Adjusted EBITDA for the Development segment amounted to € 62.0 million in the first nine months of 2019 (9M 2018: € 17.5 million). In the “Development to sell” business, a total of 515 units were completed in the first nine months of 2019 (9M 2018: 365), thereof 74 in Germany (9M 2018: 61) and 441 in Austria (9M 2018: 304). In the “Development to hold” business, a total of 840 units were completed (9M 2018: 328 units), thereof 440 in Germany (9M 2018: 147) and 400 units in Austria (9M 2018: 181 units). Around 38,000 units are in the development pipeline as of the end of September 2019.

In the first nine months of the year, the primary key figure for the sustained earnings power of the core business, Group FFO, increased by 10.7%, from € 842.7 million in 2018 to € 932.8 million in 2019, largely due to acquisitions. This trend was fueled primarily by the positive development in Adjusted EBITDA Total, which rose by 16.7% from € 1,140.7 million to € 1,331.1 million during the reporting period.

In the 2019 reporting period, the non-recurring items eliminated in the Adjusted EBITDA Total came to € 36.5 million (9M 2018: € 93.8 million). The following table gives a detailed list of the non-recurring items:

Non-recurring Items

in € million

9M 2018

9M 2019

Change in %

12M 2018

*

Including takeover costs and one-time expenses in connection with acquisitions, such as HR measures relating to the integration process. Figures for the previous year shown in line with the current reporting structure.

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition costs incl. integration costs*

69.4

20.1

-71.0

87.8

Severance payments/pre-retirement part-time work arrangements

15.3

10.7

-30.1

18.3

Business model optimization/development of new fields of business

9.2

1.6

-82.6

0.8

Refinancing and equity measures

-0.1

4.1

-0.3

Total non-recurring items

93.8

36.5

-61.1

106.6

Group FFO
Group FFO reflects the recurring earnings from the sustained operating business. In addition to the Adjusted EBITDA for the Rental, Value-add, Recurring Sales and Development segments, Group FFO allows for recurring cash-effective net interest expenses from non-derivative financial instruments as well as income taxes. This key figure is not determined on the basis of any specific international reporting standard but is to be regarded as a supplement to other performance indicators determined in accordance with IFRS.
Recurring Sales
The Recurring Sales segment (formerly part of the “Sales” segment) includes the regular and sustainable disposals of individual condominiums from our portfolio. It does not include the sale of entire buildings or land (Non-Core disposals). These properties are only sold as and when the right opportunities present themselves, meaning that the sales do not form part of our operating business within the narrower sense of the term. Therefore, these sales will be reported under “Other” in our segment reporting.
Monthly In-Place Rent
The monthly in-place rent is measured in euro per square meter and is the current gross rental income per month for rented units as agreed in the corresponding rent agreements at the end of the relevant month before deduction of non-transferable ancillary costs divided by the living area of the rented units. The rental income from the Austrian real estate portfolio additionally includes maintenance and improvement contributions (EVB). The rental income from the Swedish real estate portfolio shows inclusive rents, meaning that the rental amounts include operating and heating costs.
The in-place rent is often referred to as the “Nettokaltmiete” (net rent excl. ancillary costs such as heating, etc.). The monthly in-place rent (in €/m 2) on a like-for-like basis refers to the monthly in-place rent for the residential portfolio that was already held by Vonovia 12 months previously, i.e., portfolio changes during this period are not included in the calculation of the in-place rent on a like-for-like basis. If we also include the increase in rent due to new construction measures and measures to add extra stories, then we arrive at the organic increase in rent.
Vacancy rate
The vacancy rate is the number of empty units as a percentage of the total units owned by the company. The vacant units are counted at the end of each month.
Rental Income
Rental income refers to the current gross income for rented units as agreed in the corresponding lease agreements before the deduction of non-transferable ancillary costs. The rental income from the Austrian real estate portfolio also includes maintenance and improvement contributions (EVB). The rental income from the Swedish real estate portfolio shows inclusive rents, meaning that the rental amounts include operating and heating costs.
Adjusted EBITDA Value-add
The Adjusted EBITDA Value-add (formerly Adjusted EBITDA Value-add Business) is calculated by deducting operating expenses from the segment’s income.
Fair Value
Valuation pursuant to IAS 40 in conjunction with IFRS 13. The estimated value of an asset. The fair value is the amount for which an asset could be exchanged between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction.
Fair Value Step-up
Fair value step-up is the difference between the income from selling a unit and its current fair value in relation to its fair value. It shows the percentage increase in value for the company on the sale of a unit before further costs of sale.
Adjusted EBITDA Recurring Sales
The Adjusted EBITDA Recurring Sales compares the proceeds generated from privatization business with the fair values of assets sold and also deducts the related costs of sale. In order to disclose profit and revenue in the period in which they are incurred and to report a sales margin, the fair value of properties sold, valued in accordance with IFRS 5, have to be adjusted to reflect realized/unrealized changes in value.
Adjusted EBITDA Total
Adjusted EBITDA Total is the result before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (including income from other operational investments and intragroup profits) adjusted for effects that do not relate to the period, recur irregularly or that are atypical for business operation, and for net income from fair value adjustments to investment properties. These non-recurring items include the development of new fields of business and business processes, acquisition projects, expenses for refinancing and equity increases (where not treated as capital procurement costs), IPO preparation costs and expenses for pre-retirement part-time work arrangements and severance payments. The Adjusted EBITDA Total is derived from the sum of the Adjusted EBITDA Rental, Adjusted EBITDA Value-add, Adjusted EBITDA Recurring Sales and Adjusted EBITDA Development.
Adjusted EBITDA Rental
The Adjusted EBITDA Rental is calculated by subtracting the operating expenses of the Rental segment and the expenses for maintenance in the Rental segment from the Group’s rental income.
Non-Core Disposals
We also report the Other segment, which is not relevant from a corporate management perspective, in our segment reporting. This includes the sale, only as and when the right opportunities present themselves, of entire buildings or land (Non-core Disposals) that are likely to have below-average development potential in terms of rent growth in the medium term and are located in areas that can be described as peripheral compared with Vonovia’s overall portfolio and in view of future acquisitions.
Maintenance
Maintenance covers the measures that are necessary to ensure that the property can continue to be used as intended over its useful life and that eliminate structural and other defects caused by wear and tear, age and weathering effects.