PPI Public Property Invest AB (publ) (PUBLI) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everyone. Welcome, and thank you for joining us today to our presentation of PPI's results for the fourth quarter. My name is Andre Gaden, newly appointed CEO from the 1st of January. Alongside me is our CFO, Ylva Goransson; and our EVP, Finance and ESG, Marianne Aalby. First, let's have a look at today's agenda. We will go through some highlights for the quarter. We will look at operations. Marianne and Ylva will give you our financial update. Then we move on to summary and concluding remarks. And in the end, we will have a Q&A session. So let's first go to highlights for the quarter. 2024 has been an eventful year for PPI. And in Q4, we continued to take significant steps forward. In the quarter, we achieved a rental income of NOK 177 million, an increase of 26% compared to the same quarter last year. At the same time, our net income from property management amounted to NOK 61 million, which is up 69% year-over-year. If you look at our run rate, net income from property management per share, we increased with 10% to NOK 1.59 in the quarter. An important focus for the company is to reduce our interest expenses, and we are happy to see that our interest rate came down from 6.04% in Q3 to 5.18% in this quarter. We had a positive portfolio value change of NOK 220 million, which is an increase of 2.1%. And we delivered a strong quarter when it comes to our letting, signing leases with an annual rent of NOK 28.3 million. Our transaction team also delivered a strong quarter with the acquisition of 3 properties and a portfolio of 8 preschools. On the financial side, PPI obtained an important milestone by achieving a BBB investment-grade rating from Fitch. Additionally, we established an EMTN program and issued a EUR 300 million eurobond in order to improve our financing structure. And last, our Board is proposing a dividend of NOK 0.5 per share for 2024, to be paid quarterly already in our first year of operations. The proposal is to pay out NOK 0.1 per share in July and October '25 and NOK 0.15 in January and April 2026. So let's look at some portfolio highlights. Our portfolio includes 72 properties with a total BTA of 395,000 square meters. Our assets are mainly social infrastructure properties where 92% of our income is backed by the government, making our income secure and predictable. We have a high occupancy rate of 97% and our WAULT increased from 4.6 to 5.1 years in the quarter. Our normalized gross rental income is currently NOK 774 million, and we have a relatively low average rent per square meter of NOK 1,984. The portfolio value stands at NOK 10.9 billion, with relatively high net yield of 6.5%. EPRA NRV per share is calculated at NOK 27.2%, up from 26.2% in the last quarter. Then on the next slides, we will move on to operations. Our property management team has done a great job also this quarter, signing several important lease renewals and new leases. In Q4, we signed leases with an annual rent of NOK 28.3 million, covering almost 14,000 square meters. We had no terminated contracts and our occupancy rate remained strong at 97%. Our WAULT increased from 4.6 to 5.1 years. Our largest signing for the quarter is a new 10-year lease with NAV in Gyldenløves gate in the city center of Kristiansand of almost 6,000 square meters. PPI's core strategy is to be an owner, developer and operator of social infrastructure properties in the Nordics. With around 92% of our rental income coming from government tenants, we have a high-quality tenant base, providing long and secure income to the company. We have a proven stickiness in our portfolio. And on average, our public tenants have stayed for over 18 years and 24 years if you include renewal options. A good example of this is the extension of our contract with the court administration at Lillehammer, which we did in this quarter, where we signed -- where we had a lease renewal of 20 years starting from 2028. When the contract expires in 2048, the tenant will have been here for over 50 years. In 2024, we signed lease agreements for a total of NOK 103 million, and our renewal rates on the contracts that we have worked with in 2024 has been close to 100%. Going forward, we have an even distribution of our maturities for the coming years, as you can see in our maturity profile. PPI aims to be a leading consolidator and to pursue an opportunistic growth strategy focused on value-accretive transactions within social infrastructure properties in the Nordics, while at the same time, maintaining a strong balance sheet. We are very satisfied that we have managed to complete several transactions in Q4, adding 26,500 square meters to our portfolio and close to NOK 60 million to our annual rental income. With the acquisition of Jærveien, Rigedalen and Strandgaten, we have increased our presence in significant Norwegian cities. And we also bought a portfolio of preschools with a WAULT of 35 years on triple net leases. Furthermore, we have signed 3 transactions that we closed in Q1 2025. We have strengthened our presence in Bergen with the acquisition of Damgårdsveien, which is fully let to the municipality and university of Bergen. We have also made our first entry into the other Nordic countries with the acquisition of a preschool in Trelleborg and 2 school properties in Espoo, Finland. Common for all of these acquisitions are that they are fully let social infrastructure properties with government-backed leases on long duration. These acquisitions will add almost 16,000 square meters to our portfolio and another NOK 49 million to our annual rental income going forward. We believe that we are at a very attractive point in the market cycle, presumably at the bottom or close to it. These graphs from Colliers' Nordic Property Outlook in January illustrate our view in a good way. After a 3-year downturn, our property values have been written down significantly. We are now presumably at or near a turning point where transaction volumes have picked up, and we have started to see positive value revisions again. Then I will leave the word to Ylva and Marianne for our financial update.

Thank you, Andre. As you can see on this page, our rental income was NOK 177 million in fourth quarter, representing an increase of 26% compared to the same period last year. The 11 properties acquired in Q4 contributed to an increase in rental income with NOK 3.5 million in the quarter. Rental income has shown a substantial growth throughout the year. In total, 24 properties were acquired during the year, and these contributed to an increase in rental income of NOK 70 million. Net income from property management was NOK 61 million in Q4, a decrease compared to the previous 2 quarters due to one-offs of approximately NOK 7 million. These one-offs are mainly related to the launch of our EMTN program and relocation of our office in Oslo. Additionally, there were higher interest expenses due to a time lag before repaying NOK 2.8 billion of existing bank debt in December with our new eurobond issued in November. We also had interest expenses coming from new acquisition-related debt. Despite this, net income from property management increased by 69% in Q4 compared to the same quarter last year. Our EPRA NRV per share increased by NOK 1, reaching NOK 27.2. On next page, you can see that total operating income came in at NOK 180 million in Q4 and for the year at NOK 665 million. In Q4, total income includes a one-off effect in other income of approximately NOK 3 million related to a land expropriation at one of our properties. Property expenses were NOK 18 million in the quarter and NOK 67 million for the full year, resulting in NOI of NOK 161 million for the quarter and NOK 598 million for the full year, which is an increase of year-on-year of 19%. Our NOI margin was 89.9%. Administration expenses were slightly higher this quarter, as mentioned on the previous page, affected by one-offs of approximately NOK 7 million in the quarter and NOK 15 million for the full year, mainly then related to the IPO and the establishment of our EMTN program. However, these administration expenses were offset by income from management of properties not owned by the group. This reimbursed property management fee amounted to NOK 6 million in the quarter and NOK 15 million for the full year. Normalized administration expenses, excluding these one-offs and reimbursed management fee, were NOK 19 million in the quarter and NOK 52 million for the full year. Net realized financials were NOK 74 million in the quarter, slightly higher than -- which I explained on previous page. Net income from property management amounted to NOK 61 million in the quarter and NOK 270 million for the year. Year-on-year growth in income from property management was 21%. Net unrealized financial expenses amounted to NOK 44 million in fourth quarter, mostly due to expense previously amortized financing costs related to the bank loan that was partially repaid in December as well as amortized bond costs. Value changes in both interest rate derivatives and investment properties had a positive impact on net profit of NOK 229 million in the quarter compared to a negative effect of NOK 404 million in the same quarter last year. The property portfolio was written up by 2.1% last quarter -- from last quarter for the like-for-like portfolio, mainly as a result of prolonged lease contracts. Net profit for the quarter was NOK 221 million compared to minus NOK 347 million in the same period last year. Then we can go to the next page and have a quick look at our balance sheet. By the end of Q4, the value of our portfolio was NOK 10.9 billion, up from NOK 9.9 billion in last quarter. This change is mainly a result of acquired properties and positive portfolio value changes, as I previously mentioned. All our properties are evaluated by an external appraiser on a quarterly basis. And the net yield of our management portfolio was 6.5% by the end of December. Investments in our properties amounted to NOK 27 million in the quarter, bringing total investment for the full year to NOK 144 million. Most of these investments were related to committed tenant alterations and ESG projects in Tønsberg as well as some smaller tenant modifications resulting from extended lease contracts. In Q4, we issued an unsecured bond of EUR 300 million under our EMTN program and repaid [ NOK 2.8 billion ] in outstanding secured bank loan. New debt related to acquisition during the period amounted to NOK 369 million. Gross interest-bearing debt at the end of the year was NOK 6 billion but with nearly NOK 1 billion in cash, our net interest-bearing debt was NOK 5.1 billion. PPI maintains a strong and solid balance sheet with a loan-to-value rate of 42.6% at year-end, and our interest coverage ratio for the last 12 months was 2.0. Our net debt to run rate EBITDA is 8.0x, making it one of the strongest figures in the Nordic real estate market. Then on the next page, we present our normalized annual run rate. Please note that it pertains to the property and debt portfolio as of 31st of December. We expect rental income of NOK 774 million based on the properties by the end of the year. This figure includes the bended CPI indexation applied from 1st of January. Property expenses are expected to be just below 10% of rental income, resulting in NOI of NOK 698 million. After deducting expected net administration expenses of NOK 64 million, the run rate EBITDA is expected to be NOK 633 million. Net financial expenses for the existing debt portfolio at year-end are calculated at NOK 291 million, leading to a net income from property management of NOK 342 million. This corresponds to a net income from property management at NOK 1.59 per share, representing an increase of approximately 10% since Q3. With a strong balance sheet, we expect a net debt to run rate EBITDA of 8x. However, as Andre mentioned and as previously announced, we will close transactions for 4 properties within the first quarter this year. These will increase annualized rental income by approximately NOK 49 million. These transactions will provide additional positive effects in our run rate estimate. And now I will hand over to Marianne, who will provide more details about our funding structure.

Thank you, Ylva. Good morning. PPI has taken significant steps on the financing side throughout the last quarter. At the end of November, we listed our EUR 2 billion EMTN program on Euronext Dublin. 10 days later, we successfully issued our first eurobond borrowing EUR 300 million from a wide range of international investors. The bond has since performed well in the secondary market. We obtained a BBB flat rating from Fitch on both the bond issue and on PPI as an issuer at the same time. The proceeds of the bond issue were primarily utilized to pay a substantial portion of about NOK 2.8 billion of our NOK 3.3 billion bank loan, leaving only one tranche of NOK 485 million outstanding. During the quarter, we also negotiated new or amended terms on existing loans on properties that we have acquired. This has proved to be an efficient way for us of establishing additional bank relationships. And today, we are obtaining new 5-year loans at margins of 170 to 180 basis points. All these financial market activities have resulted in a net average interest rate on our loan portfolio being reduced from 6.04% per annum in Q3 to 5.18% at the end of the fourth quarter. As you can see on the right-hand side on this slide, our debt maturity also increased this quarter from 3.2 years to 4.5 years. The large eurobond we issued in December and the subsequent prepayment of the large bank loan resulted in our share of fixed rate financing at quarter end of 90.4%. As a BBB-rated company, it's important for us to maintain a ratio of unencumbered assets to unsecured loans above 2x. At year-end, this was at 2.45x. So far in the first quarter of 2025, PPI has issued 2 new 3-year bonds under the EMTN program, a NOK 300 million senior unsecured bond with a coupon of 175 basis points and a SEK 250 million bond with a coupon of 174 basis points. PPI is planning to continue to grow while keeping our financial policy targets of low leverage and a ratio of net debt to EBITDA under 9x. And here, you can see the improved maturity structure of our debt facilities as well as our balance of cash and available credit facilities at the end of the year. Eurobond, originally a 5.25-year bond is our largest loan. As the company and our asset portfolio continue to grow and as our current debt facilities mature, we will seek out funding with longer maturities. Our long-term policy is to have weighted average debt to maturity over 5 years. The financing mix is tilted heavily towards bonds, as you can see here, and over 90% of our funding is currently at fixed rates. The financing mix will probably be a little bit more balanced in the future. Our average debt maturity is 4.5 years and the average interest rate on our debt at December 31 was 5.18%. Thank you for your attention, and back to you, Andre.

Thank you, Ylva and Marianne. Then I will move on to our summary and concluding remarks. As mentioned under the highlights, 2024 was a very eventful year for PPI. We completed our IPO and listing on Oslo Børs in April and established a new and professional organization. We have acquired a total of 22 properties, and we have fully refinanced our balance sheet and obtained a BBB investment grade rating. Our rental income grew by 15% for the full year and 26% in Q4 versus Q4 '23. We increased our total asset values by 40% from NOK 8.5 billion to NOK 10.9 billion. And we established a strong balance sheet with a run rate net debt-to-EBITDA of 8x. We maintained solid operations with a 97% occupancy as of year-end and signed leases for a total of NOK 103 million. We also reduced our portfolio energy consumption per square meter by 7% in 2024. Looking ahead to 2025, we are on a growth track, and we believe that we are at or around the bottom of the cycle. We will continue to progress our project and transaction pipeline, amid the transactions we already have signed, our run rate rental income will increase by additional 6.3% in Q1. We will continue to chase for improved credit margins going forward. Our goal is to be a dividend company and our Board has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting, dividend of NOK 0.5 per share already for 2024 to be paid quarterly. To further improve the liquidity in our share, the Board of Directors has also decided to initiate a process for a secondary listing on Nasdaq Stockholm with an aim to list in the first half of 2025. That was all from our side, and we will move on to the Q&A session. Marianne, Ylva, please join me on stage.

Can you say something about the discussions in renegotiations of contracts with the public tenants? Do you experience that they are looking to reduce area?

Well, from our point of view, this is very much case by case. And in some cases, it's quite natural that they review their demand for space, depending on, for example, moving to a more flexible and more modern work environment. But as I said, this is case by case. The new lease we did in Kristiansand was made on exactly the same area that NAV had before. And what we see is that our portfolio consists of a very large share of specialized public properties like police stations, court houses and so forth. And here, we don't see the same demand for less space, rather the opposite, actually.

Can you say something about the development in the occupancy rate in 2025? [ Otervegen ] will lose its tenant from mid-2025, what's the time spend for development here?

Well, we don't have any new terminations other than those that have been already announced in connection with the IPO. Largest one is Otervegen at Kongsvinger. The time frame there is that -- or we are working on actually several different alternatives for that property. One is a rezoning of the property, which we have recently started the process with municipality. But we are also working on a conversion of that building into other use. The building is of excellent shape. It could be easily converted into, for example, elderly home or something else?

Your net initial yield seems relatively high at 6.5%. Do you see any upside?

Well, as I said in the presentation, the values have been written down significantly in the last period, and we believe that we are either at the bottom or at least near the bottom of the cycle. So we believe that this will improve going forward.

The administration cost adjusted for the one-off of NOK 7 million, it is NOK 25 million in the quarter or NOK 100 million annualized? The run rate model points to NOK 80 million. Please -- can you please explain the deviation?

Yes. In Q4, we had some one-offs approximately NOK 7 million. And we also had some full effects of certain costs in the quarter. For example, board remuneration, and we always try to do our best in the estimates in our annual run rate. But keep in mind that we are new -- relatively new established company, and we are on a growth track.

How has the new eurobond been ForEx hedged?

Well, at the end of the period, we hedged EUR 100 million for 5.25 years. We also had a cash balance in euros of EUR 58 million, and we also see good opportunities for further acquisitions of euro-denominated cash earning properties.

Is the preschool in Skåne to be taken over in February, included in the earnings capacity in the run rate?

In our annual run rate, it's only the properties owned by end of 2024. That is included. But as we have announced, we will close 4 more properties within the first quarter this year. And these properties will increase our annual rental income with approximately NOK 49 million.

You say that you will initiate the process for a secondary listing in Nasdaq Stockholm. Can you comment?

Well, it's what we see at Oslo Børs. We have a relatively small listed real estate sector with relative little liquidity. In Sweden and Stockholm, we have a much larger real estate -- listed real estate sector, with much more liquidity, and I think it will be good for our shareholders to improve the liquidity and the attractiveness of the share while by introducing it to Nasdaq Stockholm.

Q4 seems to have been a strong letting quarter. How has Q1 been so far?

Q1 started very good. We did a new lease with the tax authorities in Tønsberg. So it has started very good. We have a very sticky tenant base, as also said in the presentation, and we see that many of the tenants, they choose to prolong their contracts. So 2025 started really good. Our main focus, of course, is on the contracts that are in '26 and '27 and '28 going forward.

Can you comment on why you have decided to enter the Swedish and Finnish markets?

Well, we are a growth opportunistic company. We look to all the Nordic countries, but common for all is that we look at social infrastructure properties with government-backed tenants on long leases. And if we think that we can do good acquisitions also in the other Nordic countries, we will do that.

Your average interest rate on debt has come down to 5.18%. What are your thoughts on your future borrowing costs?

Oh, sorry, we still see a potential to lower our margins when we compare to our competitors, given our strong financials and, of course, our BBB flat rating. And so we will also continue to see to utilize the open and very positive bond market or actually financial markets that we see today.

Thank you very much. That concludes the Q&A.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much.