EQS-News: Deutsche EuroShop raises full-year forecast slightly on the basis of nine-month figures

Deutsche EuroShop raises full-year forecast slightly on the basis of nine-month figures

Hamburg, 14 November 2024 - The first nine months of the 2024 financial year have been positive for shopping center investor Deutsche EuroShop AG (DES), and the full-year forecast has been raised slightly accordingly. The number of visitors to the shopping centers in the DES portfolio remained stable (+0.2%) and retail sales increased by 1.9%.

Investment projects progressing, large-scale new shops opened

DES is currently investing extensively in modernising and enhancing the attractiveness of several center locations. The projects in the A10 Center, the Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum, the Stadt-Galerie Hameln and the City-Galerie Wolfsburg were completed on time and within budget. The new shops have been successfully opened in recent weeks. In the Main-Taunus-Zentrum, work on the construction of the new Food Garden is progressing according to plan. This new attraction is set to welcome guests from spring 2025.

DES CEO/CFO Hans-Peter Kneip emphasises: "For Deutsche EuroShop, the investments are decisive components for securing the competitiveness and future viability of the centers in the long term. Construction work usually results in temporary vacancies, and this is also the case in our centers. These contributed to a slight decline in our revenue of 1.6% from € 203.2 million to € 200.0 million. We are, nevertheless, optimistic about the fourth quarter, when our new tenants at four locations will contribute to our results for the first time with their large-scale shops."

NOI, EBIT, EBT and Consolidated Profit increase

Net operating income (NOI) increased by 1.8% to € 163.1 million compared to the same period of the previous year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew by 4.7% to € 162.8 million, while earnings before taxes and measurement (EBT excluding measurement gains/losses) rose by 2.3% to € 125.0 million. However, the comparative period in 2023 was characterised by one-off earnings effects resulting from the acquisition of additional investments in six shopping centers.

Consolidated net income increased to € 82.5 million, which corresponds to growth of 20.9% compared to the previous year. The main reason for this was the improved valuation result, which at € -26.7 million was above the previous year's level of € -46.8 million and reflects the increased investments in the property portfolio.

EPRA earnings and funds from operations down due to one-off income in the previous year

EPRA earnings adjusted for valuation effects fell by 6.2% from € 129.7 million to € 121.9 million. Adjusted funds from operations (FFO) also fell by 7.7% from € 129.7 million to € 119.7 million. These declines are primarily due to one-off income in the same period of the previous year, which resulted from the settlement of ancillary costs and the reversal of write-downs.

Specification and increase of the full-year forecast for 2024

Based on developments in the first nine months of the 2024 financial year, the DES Executive Board is specifying and raising its forecast for the year as a whole:

• Revenue: € 268 to 271 million (previously: € 268 to 274 million)
• EBIT: € 207 to 211 million (previously: € 204 to 210 million)
• EBT (without valuation result): € 156 to 160 million (previously: € 149 to 155 million)
• FFO: € 151 to 155 million (previously: € 146 to 152 million)

Complete quarterly statement

The full nine-month report is available as a PDF document and in ePaper format. It can be downloaded from www.deutsche-euroshop.com/ir

Internet broadcast of the conference call

Deutsche EuroShop will broadcast its English-language conference call live on Friday, 15 November 2024 at 10:00 a.m. CET as a webcast on the Internet at www.deutsche-euroshop.com/ir

Deutsche EuroShop - The Shopping Center Company

Deutsche EuroShop is the only public company in Germany to invest solely in shopping centers in prime locations. The SDAX-listed company currently has investments in 21 shopping centers in Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The portfolio includes the Main-Taunus-Zentrum near Frankfurt, the Altmarkt-Galerie in Dresden and the Galeria Baltycka in Gdansk, among many others.

Key Group Figures

¹ Including the share attributable to equity-accounted joint ventures and associates

² European Public Real Estate Association

³ Including third-party interests in equity

⁴ Loan-to-value ratio (LTV ratio): Ratio of net financial liabilities (financial liabilities less cash and cash equivalents) to non-current assets (investment properties and financial investments accounted for using the equity method).

⁵ EPRA loan-to-value ratio (EPRA LTV ratio): Ratio of net debt (financial liabilities and lease liabilities less cash and cash equivalents) to real estate assets (investment properties, owner-occupied properties, intangible assets and other assets (net)). Net debt and real estate assets are calculated on the basis of the Group’s share in the subsidiaries and joint ventures.

⁶ The number of no-par value shares issued for 2023 takes into account, on a time-weighted basis, the capital increase against cash and non-cash contributions carried out at the beginning of 2023 and entered in the Commercial Register on 3 February 2023, as a result of which the number of Deutsche EuroShop AG shares in circulation increased from 61,783,594 to 76,464,319 no-par value shares. Furthermore, the treasury shares acquired by 31 December 2023 or 30 September 2024 are taken into account when determining the weighted number of shares.

⁷ Income and expenses from the change in the scope of consolidation were reported in the interim report as at 30 September 2023 under measurement gains/losses – in contrast to 31 December 2023, when they were reported under other operating income and expenses. Furthermore, in deviation from 31 December 2023, no deferred taxes were recognised as part of the initial consolidation. The previous year’s figures have been adjusted to the year-end figures, taking deferred taxes into account.