Eastnine AB (publ) (EAST) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and a very warm welcome to our quarterly report. Today, we have myself and Britt-Marie presenting. Since this live-sending is a little bit delayed, or coming with a little bit delay between what we speak and what you see, we would like to ask you to pose your questions whilst we speak, and we will collect them and answer at the end of the presentation. So with this, I would like to start our quarterly brief, where we'll talk about the highlights. We will talk about the new acquisitions, tenants and sustainability. And Britt-Marie will go deeper into our financial performance. Eastnine in brief. Eastnine actually is a listed Swedish real estate company listed on Nasdaq, Mid Cap. But our core properties are actually all in the Baltics. And what is also, that maybe differs us, is that most of our tenant relationships are Nordic or international. Our vision is to create and provide prime venues where ideas can flow, people can meet and successful business can be developed. And we worked actually very, very hard to make a competitive advantage to all of our tenants once -- we're providing actually the best properties and the best service. Our property revenue is around EUR 374 million, 120,000 square meters of lettable area to be increased relatively soon, once we take over the new acquisitions that were announced recently. Our total assets are around EUR 500 million; rental income around EUR 20 million; LTV, relatively low, 36% in total and 46% on the properties. We also generate a 90% surplus ratio, which is among the highest in the industry. Our market cap, SEK 2.8 billion, and our properties are actually evaluated at a mere EUR 3,000 per square meter. If we go to the highlights of the quarter, we had a relatively stable quarter, a little bit of a hesitancy in the market, of course, due to corona pandemic. It takes longer time to lease out the vacant premises. But in general, we have seen a relatively stable situation. No major discounts, no major changes. The vacancies that increased in Riga have been planned since before. And they are very much connected to the development of The Pine, in the future that I will address a bit later. What is also very, very ensuring and we are happy about is that the performance of MFG is very strong. And we also have been working for some time on the acquisitions, which are materialized just after the quarter. And those are the new acquisitions. Two fantastic properties, one in Vilnius and one in Riga. If we start with Uniq, Uniq is in the area that actually complements our Vertas proposition. These are modern properties completed in 2016, almost 7,000 square meters, nice parking and it's leased to Danske Bank IT services, 100%. Zala1, Riga confidence our offering in Valdemara and in the central part of Riga. It's a smaller property, but has a very big parking, which is also very supportive to our Valdemara property as such. Our own tenants, we have Microsoft and CBRE, and we welcome those new relationships here. If you look on the map in Vilnius, you see very clearly 3 clusters S7, marked as number one, with 3 properties, leased to Danske Bank and Telia. We have 3Bures, that's number two, where we have 3 towers. And we're actually a combination of high towers, high rises and relatively flat surfaces in other properties. So actually, we can combine various types of demands for different customers. And you see the Vertas and the Uniq in number three. They're just across the street. And actually, it complements the offering from our side. Vertas location is very strong, and historically, it has been very, very attractive. And it's also located next to the Parliament in Vilnius. If we look on Riga, Valdemara Centrs, it's our most central property; number four, Zala, the new addition, is just a couple of hundred meters away and complements our offering. And our offering is now concentrated around Valdemara Street. We'll talk maybe more about the Alojas Biroji: Alojas and The Pine, marked as number three. Alojas have now a bigger vacancy. This, at the end of -- since the end of last year, and it was actually planned that some of the tenants would move out, and we will have higher flexibility when it comes to lease out of The Pine project because The Pine is adding on to Alojas, and it will be actually connected to Alojas itself, so making this whole complex of around 28,000 square meters in total. And we work quite actively actually in Kimmel project. Kimmel is now undergoing architectural competition. We have received 12 very exciting proposals, and the jury now is evaluating them. And once the winners will be selected, we will inform you more about the process of that development. It's a full quarter development. So -- but you can see that all of them are very concentrated in 1 single area. Now to our other investments. We start with MFG, that actually performed extremely well during the quarter. You see a 35% growth in rubles, very, very strong performance despite the pandemic situation and despite that some of the stores are actually limited in amount of visitors and so on. So despite this very, very tough situation, the company is performing extremely well. And we are comparing to precorona quarters, so to speak, so last year. Online sales are up, comprising now to 32% of total. Online continues growing faster than the total and faster than the underlying network. But if you look on the sort of the store network has grown by approximately 30%, online sales through partners growing at 46% and own online is growing 100%. So this share of online is bound to increase even further. Also had a positive EBITDA for the first quarter, which is also a very strong performance given, sort of, historics of the company. And during the quarter, the company was not revalued. The only implication is actually that ruble has strengthened. So the company is following the plan that has been set overall. Also, good news is we plan for dividend -- to receive dividend from Melon, which will be approved at the AGM next week, hopefully. If we look on our property fund, has also performed quite well with a total return of 1.7%. And the total value of that holding is approximately EUR 23 million in our books, comprising approximately 4.6% of our total. So now to tenants and sustainability. Our tenants picture didn't change very much. I mean we have 110 tenants, 150 lease agreements with average remaining term of around 4.2 years. Danske remains our biggest relationship, and it will increase somewhat through the acquisition of Uniq. But at the same time, we have planned that Danske will move out of some of our property -- premises in 3Bures. So that total increase will not be that significant. And of course, we still have high concentration among the biggest tenants, but it also gives us quite a significant stability, whilst we're building up our portfolio further and are growing. So this is also very important. On sustainability side, I mean, we've done quite a lot last year. This is mainly repetition of what has been achieved already last year. We are on top 20% of -- among real estate companies globally, in terms of our sustainability work evaluated by GRESB. We have done a -- we received Dark Green evaluation by CICERO for our financing framework. 87% of our properties are either LEED Platinum or BREEAM Excellent certified. We're adding 2 more LEED Platinum properties in our portfolio, so this figure will grow. We also were ranked in top in terms of gender equality among Swedish-listed companies by Allbright Foundation. We implemented green leases in Vilnius now. And last but not the least, we have 95% Trust Index among our employees, and 100% of our employees are actually motivated and feel that Eastnine is a great place to work. And of course, on this ground I hope we stay committed to deliver further growth and further results. Now over to you, Britt-Marie.

Thank you, Kestutis. Then we continue with some financials. As you can see in the income statement, most figures have increased due to a larger property portfolio, but we have also seen higher vacancies in Riga, which has affected both rental income and the property expenses. In a comparable portfolio, rental income decreased by 7%. It has been difficult to show vacant premises during this period, but -- thereby, taking longer time than normal to lease out vacancies. But we have also vacated a building in Riga in order to prepare for the future construction of The Pine. Central administration increased mainly due to nonrecurring costs. Eastnine reported only minor unrealized value changes during the quarter. We haven't received any dividend so far this year. But as Kestutis mentioned, we have reason to expect dividend from MFG during the second quarter. No current tax, only deferred tax, in Lithuania. Continue with the balance sheet. No acquisitions during the first quarter. Increased property value refers to investments and small unrealized value changes. Long-term securities holdings were mainly affected by unrealized changes in MFG due to the strengthened ruble. Equity increased, thanks to the profit and amortizations during the period. Amortizations also decreased liabilities to credit institutions. Smallest increase in deferred tax liabilities due to unrealized changes in values of the properties mainly. Continue with the key figures, the occupancy is lower than at year-end since the vacancies has increased. And the occupancy was still 97%, which is really high in Vilnius, a bit lower in Riga. Surplus ratio is on the same high level as by the end of -- compared to first quarter last year. The average rent level is slightly higher than at year-end. LTV total and LTV properties is on the same level as at year-end. Return on equity is positive compared to the same quarter last year, when it was negative due to negative unrealized value changes of properties. Profit from property management per share was at the same level as last year. Earnings per share also positive this quarter compared to the same quarter last year. And the equity per share and long-term equity per share increased by 2% to 4% during the quarter, slightly more in SEK than in euro. The current earning capacity. As you know, the earning capacity is a theoretical assessment based on current agreements and certain assumptions. This is not a prognosis. There were only minor changes in the earning capacity during the quarter since we haven't bought any new properties during the quarter. And the recently announced acquisitions in Riga and Vilnius are not included in this one. Rental income from those is around EUR 2.2 million, and we expect to take possession of them during this second quarter. The level of the rental value decreased slightly despite rent indexation affecting the rental income in a positive way. We have vacated a building within Alojas Biroji related to this planned construction of The Pine. The rental income decreased during the last quarter due to increased vacancies, which also affected the NOI and the profit from property management. The prospective yield has decreased mainly as an effect of lower NOI in comparison to a higher property value. Continue with the share. There are some changes on the top 15 list of shareholders. Patrik Brummer has bought some shares during the first quarter, and ICA has increased their shareholding. The Eastnine share price was relatively stable during the quarter, closing slightly higher than in the beginning. The share was trading with a discount of 17% at the end of March. And hopefully, the AGM will today decide upon the proposed dividend of SEK 3 per share split on 4 occasions: 3 of them this year and 1 in February next year. Continue with the debt. Liabilities to credit institutions were almost unchanged. The loans are split among SEB, Swedbank and OP. The equity ratio is on high level, LTV on a low level. The average loan maturity was 2.7 years and the major part of the loans mature in 2023 and '24. The average interest maturity was 2.1 years. After the end of the quarter, we have raised new credit of EUR 10 million from Swedbank Lithuania securing an existing property, and the new acquisitions will be financed by SEB in Lithuania and OP Bank in Latvia, and they will mature in 2025 and '26. Kestutis, can you continue, please?

Okay. Thank you very much. So let's continue with our summary. And I really would like to reiterate that Eastnine today provides a fantastic assembly of probably the best Baltic office properties in the best locations. And those properties are leased to very stable multinational but also local tenants and generating very strong cash flow. So we have a very stable business, underlying business. At Eastnine, we work very hard with sustainability and try to lead that way towards more sustainable future for the whole Baltics, and we hope that you can join us on that journey. And we actually have a fantastic growth ahead. Partially, we plan to double our portfolio within the next 2 years, 3 years remaining. And not only that, but it's also the underlying growth in the Baltics, this convergence process that has started with independence back in early '90s, that continues. And we see a very, sort of, favorable benign conditions actually for that to develop further. So on those, I would like to finish, and we will move towards the questions. No, sorry, there's one more graph that was remaining, and that's our quarterly performance. And I would like to show you, just to reiterate that, sort of, see this long-term path of growth. We have a slight dip in this quarter, but it's mainly related to planned vacancies in Alojas Kvartals in Riga, but we will continue with the new acquisitions and the growth. So with this, we will start with the question session.

And I think we have received a question regarding the central administration costs, up from the last -- from -- during this quarter. And it was mainly nonrecurring costs, and it's related to an invoice that we should have received during, mainly 2020, but also 2019. But we received in this year, so that's why. So maybe it will be back on the same level as before, and it's better to look at the earning capacity as well.

Okay. We have one more question about, please tell more about 3Bures 4 timeline and size of project in square meters. Yes, indeed, I haven't mentioned during my presentation, but actually, we are looking at developing further the 3Bures complex and to add on another tower next to the 3 ones. We have a space behind the building, and there is a parking lot that should be utilized in a better way. So now we are in the process of planning and in the process of taking the architectural concept to that. And in total, we plan that it would actually be around 11,000 to 12,000 square meters -- up to 11,000, 12,000 square meters of new space that can be developed. However, it's a bit early to say. That's why it's not in our presentation yet. And we will come back to it a bit later once we are ready with that. But today, we are in the process of, again, taking it in the architectural concepts to it. There's one more question about, can you elaborate on the future lease out in Riga? Riga, in general, has been a bit more hesitant than Vilnius. It's -- but we also have smaller properties with smaller tenants as well compared to what we have in Vilnius. The biggest vacancy or increase/decrease in revenue is actually related to Alojas Biroji, which was planned to be developed in the coming years. And we wanted to have higher flexibility, that's why we plan for certain contracts to end at this -- last year. And -- but 1 big tenant moved out [indiscernible] who also managed to complete their own headquarters in Riga. And some of the tenants are probably -- will move in on a shorter contracts because we will still need some flexibility whilst we lease out. The total time we also might need to work with the tenants that might need to move in a bit earlier and then the planned construction finished and so on. So we want to have a higher flexibility in that property. So we'll probably see more volatility on that, but it's nothing to be afraid of. And longer term, we believe that The Pine project will improve the quality and the offering in total, and hence, potentially the pricing.

We have received some new questions. What is the near-term plan for MFG, potential disposals, spin-offs to existing shareholders or sales to related capital entities?

I don't think there is any ideas of doing any related property transactions. There is -- when it comes to Melon, of course, we have been looking for a different exit opportunities. And we haven't communicated any clear timeline now, due to very understandable reasons. But when you look at this company, the company has actually grown and is growing very, very fast. It has increased the online offering very significantly, which is today the highest among the Russian fashion peers. And longer-term, I see possibilities to have multiple exit routes, one being an IPO, but that is a bit too early to speculate on.

Yes. And we have received 1 question regarding the recent acquisition, I guess it's the coming acquisitions. The size of the Vilnius property is the double of the one in Riga. Is that indicative of the property value? Are the leasing terms similar to other properties you manage in each area [ and why ] similar? They are financed with cash and bank financing, as I mentioned, in 2 different banks. And the size, yes, that's indicative of the property value.

Yes, it's indicative of the property value. And I think in terms of rental, they are not over rented in any sense. The rentals are just slightly below maybe the current market levels.

Yes. I think we have some more questions. Please remind us about rent difference in Baltics versus Nordic, per square meter? What is time lag for this, do you think, to narrow in 10 years?

Well, the price gap is very, very big. If you look on nominal terms, in everything, basically, what you look at, both -- there's a big gap between the Baltics and the Nordics. If you look on the rental levels itself, we compare to -- if we compare to Stockholm, the price difference is maybe five to sixfold, if you're talking about the smaller cities in the Nordics. And you have to actually remember that the 3 Baltic capitals are among top 10 largest cities in the Nordic area, including Stockholm, including Oslo, including Copenhagen, Helsinki, Gothenburg, Aarhus and Malmö. So in this area, of course, the price gap against the Gothenburg and Malmö is lower, probably lower to Copenhagen as well. But overall, this is the -- out of this region. So the Baltics is actually among the lowest in terms of rental levels. We also -- it also comes in combination with relatively low salary levels. And salaries are still -- in nominal terms, are significantly higher compared to the Nordics. And in general, I think we see a very favorable conditions for future development of shared services. We have seen actually that during pandemic some of the shared services from very far away, actually, continue to establish. In Lithuania, we have the -- approximately 30,000 square meters of [ new data hub ], of which some big chunk has been taken by newcomers, both the shared service centers, but also some Belarusian companies actually entering the Baltic market. But if you can do services, if you can work from remote distances, which is actually this process being accelerated by the pandemic, we'll probably see much more of that type of establishments in the Baltics, which has a very, very significant cost advantage, both in terms of rental levels, the total cost for the company and salaries, whilst producing very high quality of service and very high quality of buildings.

So that was all the questions. Thank you for today.

Okay. Thank you very much for today, and see you next quarter.

Bye.

Thank you. Bye.