Atrium Ljungberg AB (publ) (ATRLJB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and welcome to Atrium Ljungberg's presentation of Q2 2026. The headline for this report is a stable quarter and a historic transaction. We are reporting a stable second quarter with growth in rental income, net operating income and income from property management. In a market characterized by rising vacancies and interest rates, this is a sign of resilience. A key contributing factor is our project portfolio, where 6 commercial projects and 1 tenant-owned dwelling project have been completed over the past 12 months. Net letting amounted to SEK 15 million during the second quarter and SEK 7 million for the first half of the year. Of the quarterly figure, SEK 13 million relates to project properties and SEK 2 million to the investment property portfolio. Rental income increased by 6.2% and net operating income by 2.1% despite the nonrecurring cost of SEK 7 million related to electricity charges that had not been invoiced for several years. Income from property management amounted to SEK 320 million, an increase of 1.1%. We continue to generate project returns amounting to SEK 41 million during the quarter and SEK 117 million year-to-date. Yield requirements remain largely unchanged and have been stable for the past 2 years. Minor adjustments were made to a small number of properties in the management portfolio, resulting a total value decline of 0.1% during the quarter. Investments during the quarter totaled SEK 674 million, and the property value amounted to SEK 62 billion. We currently have ongoing projects, representing investments of SEK 9.2 billion, of which SEK 6.2 billion remains to be invested. Three projects were completed during the quarter, Sickla Central, the Upper Secondary School in Slakthusomradet and Malarterrassen. I will return to these projects shortly. Our primary focus remains Stockholm, which now accounts for 81% of the total property value. The portfolio consists of 66% offices and 20% retail with an economic letting rate of 86.5%. It should be noted, however, that recently completed projects have entered the management portfolio. In addition, the vacancy rate is measured as of July 1, 2026, and does not include premises that have been leased but not yet occupied. The loan-to-value ratio amounted to 43.8%, stable compared with the previous quarter. We continue to see cautious demand in the wake of the economic slowdown and an uncertain global environment. The market is becoming increasingly polarized with positive developments in the A segment, while challenges remain in the B and C segments. There are, however, encouraging signs new office supply in Stockholm remains at record low levels. Several major tenant searches events have been announced and employment continues to recover. Household consumption, which represents a significant share of GDP continues to develop positively. Between March and May, we recorded a clear increase in both visitor numbers and sales across our retail destinations. Performance was strong in March and May, while April was weaker, both in our retail portfolio and in Sweden overall. We are also seeing increased activity in the residential market. Households expect rising housing prices, bidding activities increasing and price development remains positive, although at a somewhat slower pace. The sales rate in our tenant-owned dwelling project increased from 71% to 83% during the quarter. During the quarter, we signed the largest office leasing transaction in Swedish history, 58,000 square meters on a 15-year lease with an annual rental value of SEK 360 million. The agreement is conditional upon the execution of a land allocation agreement and the development agreement which are expected to be completed during autumn 2027. Consequently, the letting is not yet included in net letting. The buildings are highly efficient with a net operating income margin of approximately 85%. This transaction is expected to generate a significant contribution to both future net operating income and project returns comfortably exceeding our project return target of 20%. Other examples of lettings during the quarter include stadium outlet, leasing almost 1,300 square meters in Granbystaden, Uppsala; Curoflow Technology, a provider of digital health care platforms, leasing 530 square meters at Slussen; and an additional restaurant and club operator leasing 460 square meters at Malarterrassen. Office tenants account for 53% of contracted annual rent, retail tenants for 20% and culture and education tenants for 10%. Our 10 largest customers account for 20% of total contracted annual rent. Including Ericsson's new agreement, that figure would increase to 28%, while Ericsson's share of total contracted annual rent would increase from SEK 0.03 to 13%. Of the 20% represented by the 10 largest customers, 11 percentage points related to public sector tenants. The average remaining lease term is close to 5 years. We have only 5 lease contracts exceeding 10,000 square meters, of which 2 are office contracts. Our retail portfolio benefits from broad diversification, both in terms of tenant categories and the number of operators. Fashion accounts for 13% of retail sales, while grocery stores alcohol, retail and pharmacies together account for 40% of total turnover in our shopping centers. We continue to see a positive trend in both visitor numbers and tenant sales. With that, I hand over to our CFO, Anna.

Thank you, Annica. We delivered a stable second quarter with rental income, operating surplus and profit from property management, all increasing compared with the second quarter of 2025. Rental income amounted to SEK 770 million in Q2, an increase of 6.2% compared to Q2 2025. This is primarily driven by the 6 commercial projects completed over the past 12 months. Campus Sickla and PV-Palatset in Hagastaden were completed last autumn; Hus 49, Stora Marknadshallen in Q1 and now Slakthusomradet Upper Secondary School, Sickla Central and Malarterrassen in Q2. We also benefited from additional income from our now fully owned co-working company, A House. The occupancy rate decreased from 88.1% to 86.5% during the quarter. A large decline is related to completed projects. Approximately 1 percentage points are attributable to Sickla Central and Malarterrassen, which are not yet fully let. However, not all tenants have moved in yet, and occupancy in these projects will therefore improve during the remainder of the year. We also saw a decrease in occupancy within the standing portfolio mainly due to schools moving out of a property in Malmo. These were known lease terminations that have previously been included in net letting. Operating surplus also increased by 2.1%, although not at the same pace as rental income. This is mainly due to the additional costs related to the co-working business. A House is currently in an establishment phase where costs succeed revenues. And going forward, it will remain a business with lower gross margins than traditional property management. In addition, the quarter was affected by a one-off cost of SEK 7 million. Vattenfall had not invoiced us for an electrical substation in Granby, Uppsala since October 2018. The original claim amounted to SEK 24 million, but we have negotiated down to SEK 7 million through 2025. Going forward, there is also an annual cost of approximately SEK 3 million from January 2026 onwards. This is, of course, unfortunate, but it is what it is. Net financial items were essentially unchanged during the quarter, slightly better than last year. The average interest rate was the same as in the comparison quarter. At the same time, completed projects have increased the debt volume and interest on that debt now impacts profit from property management rather than being capitalized. This effect is offset by the revised principal for capitalized interest that was introduced in 2026. The new principle increased capitalized interest by approximately SEK 9 million during Q2. Altogether, profit from Property Management amounted to SEK 320 million in Q2, representing an increase of 1.1% compared with Q2 2025. Turning to value changes. We adjusted property values downward by 0.1%, corresponding to SEK 79 million. During the quarter, we made minor yield adjustments in the valuations of a few properties in Stockholm. These adjustments had a positive impact on values and helped offset part of the decline. However, we also made minor downward revisions to cash flow assumptions in the valuations of a handful of properties in Malmo, Gothenburg and other Stockholm, meaning properties located in Stockholm, but outside our 4 major development areas. Overall, these changes resulted in a net value decrease of SEK 79 million. On the positive side, our projects continued to generate project gains. Commercial projects contributed SEK 28 million during the quarter, while residential projects contributed SEK 13 million. Total project gains amounted to SEK 41 million in Q2 and SEK 117 million year-to-date. Let's take a closer look at the development in the like-for-like portfolio. For the first half of the year, rental income declined by 0.7%, while operating surplus decreased by 1.8%. Starting with rental income indexation contributed just under 1%. More precisely, 0.9%. On the other hand, the vacancy rate is higher than it was a year ago. In addition, we get an effect from the renegotiation of the Ericsson lease in Gothenburg 1 year ago. Previously, when Ericsson occupied the entire building, they paid all utility costs directly. Today, we have several tenants in the property, meaning that we now pay these costs ourselves and recharge them through operating cost supplements. As a result, rental income increased by SEK 6 million during the quarter, but costs also increased by SEK 6 million. Turning to costs. In addition to the SEK 6 million increase related to Ericsson in Gothenburg, we continue to see the impact of the SEK 7.5 million increase in heating and snow removal costs that affected us already in Q1. Customer losses were also SEK 10 million higher than last year. In the first half of last year, customer losses amounted to only SEK 2 million compared with SEK 12 million this year. Other costs declined reflecting continued strong cost control. Overall, operating surplus in the like-for-like portfolio decreased by 1.8%. Looking at the different segments. The decrease in rental income is primarily attributable to the office segment, where vacancies have increased. The increase is mainly found in the retail segment, reflecting customer losses as well as a relatively high share of heating and snow removal costs. However, as Annica mentioned earlier, retail is currently performing quite well which is clearly visible in the rental development within the retail segment. If we isolate Q2, both rental income and operating surplus in the like-for-like portfolio were more or less unchanged. A few words on the impact from transactions. As you know, we acquired the remaining shares in A house in February and have consolidated the company from the first of February, for the first half of the year, A House contributed a net SEK 23 million to rental income and had a negative impact of SEK 14 million on operating surplus. As mentioned earlier, A House is currently in an establishment phase, and our ambition is to reach profitability during 2027. In June, we also entered into an agreement to sell the property Malmen 12 in Malmo at an underlying property value of SEK 84 million. The transaction is conditional upon completion of an ongoing maintenance project in the property. We expect to hand over the property in July and recognize the transaction in Q3. We However, we do not expect any material earnings effect from the sale. The disposal is expected to reduce rental income by approximately SEK 6 million and operating surplus by approximately SEK 4 million during the second half of the year. During the quarter, we invested just under SEK 700 million. At the same time, residential buyers took possession of newly completed apartments resulting in net investments of just under SEK 600 million. Together with the value changes, this increased the value of the property portfolio by approximately SEK 0.5 billion during the quarter to SEK 61.6 billion. Interest-bearing debt increased by SEK 100 million during the quarter and amounted to SEK 27 billion at quarter end. Looking at our key financial metrics. Movements were relatively limited during the quarter. This reflects the fact that there were no major changes in property values, interest-bearing debt or net financial items. Overall, it was a stable quarter. The interest coverage ratio remained unchanged at 3x. The net debt ratio and loan-to-value ratio increased marginally to 13.5x and 43.8% respectively. Our key financial metrics remain fully in line with our financial framework. Net asset value amounted to SEK 54.25 per share. Turning to financing. We leave behind the quarter characterized by continued uncertainty in the external environment. However, both credit margins and market interest rates gradually declined during the quarter. Spreads in the bond market are now at their lowest levels since 2021. As an example, in June, we issued a 3-year bond at 77 basis points. For 5-year maturities, we estimate that we can currently issue at around 110, 115 basis points. Commercial paper with a 3-month tenure remains at a low level of approximately 33 basis points. We continue to have very good access to financing, both through banks and the capital markets. Although interest rates were highly volatile during the quarter, the overall trend was downward, albeit from relatively elevated levels. During the second half of June, when rates declined, we entered into a number of derivative transactions. The average interest rate remained unchanged at 3.1%, including commitment fees. Interest rate duration decreased slightly by 0.1 years to 2.5 years. We still maintain a very high share of fixed interest exposure amounting to 97%, which means we have limited short-term exposure to abrupt movements in market rates. As you know, we have a strong financing portfolio with an average capital maturity of 3.3 years and available liquidity of SEK 9.2 billion, primarily in the form of undrawn credit facilities. This comfortably covers all maturities during 2026 and 2027. Overall, we remain in a strong financing position with good access to funding. This is important for us as it enables us to continue financing our projects. And with that, Annica, I will hand over to you to say a few words about our projects.

We currently have 6 ongoing projects representing investments of SEK 9.2 billion, of which SEK 6.2 billion remains to be invested. As mentioned earlier, 3 projects were completed during the quarter. I will return to those shortly. During 2026, we will complete 1 additional project, Lilla Marknadshallen. Haglofs has signed a lease agreement that brings the letting rate to 72%. The economic letting rate in ongoing projects has now reached 56%. Ekeblad is the first of 3 buildings we will deliver to Ericsson. The building comprises 23,400 square meters and represents a total investment of SEK 2.7 billion. Construction has commenced, including the development of an underground parking garage despite the additional investment in the foundation works and the large garage, which will also serve 2 residential projects, we expect the project to deliver returns above our 20% project return target. The other buildings are expected to deliver returns comfortably above target levels. Completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 2031. The building is fully let today with the exception of a restaurant unit. We are reporting Sickla Central as completed this quarter based on our principle that the project is considered completed when more than 50% is ready for occupancy. We have completed an additional letting to A House covering 2 floors and approximately 2,600 square meters. A House has performed well in leasing its existing space and currently has a letting rate of 95%. Dreamlake is now operational and Handelsbanken will move in on September 1. However, we still have work to do, and the current letting rate stands at 38%. We have now handed over the property to SISAB, which took possession on 1 June. The school will accommodate approximately 800 students and contribute to activity and vitality in the area. Students will be welcomed after the summer. The letting rate is 100%. Finally, Malarterrassen is also reported as completed. The letting rate has now reached 75%. And we have been highly selective in choosing concepts that can contribute to the destination over the long term. Two restaurant premises remain available and discussions with prospective operators are ongoing. As a final reminder of our broader development portfolio, we are developing 4 large urban districts in Stockholm. The potential investment volume for projects expected to start before 2033 amounts to approximately SEK 40 billion. All locations have been selected based on the existence of our planned access to Metro infrastructure by 2030. For those of you who did not participate in our Capital Markets Day, I would like to highlight that the event was recorded and is available for replay in both Swedish and English. During the event, we presented a simulated scenario, illustrating the potential to achieve a net asset value of SEK 115 per share by 2033. And with that, we conclude this presentation. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great summer, and we'll see you next time.