Akademiska Hus Interim Report January 1 – March 31 2017

During the first quarter, several investment decisions were taken to promote sustainable campuses with a focus on housing for undergraduate and graduate students. The result was primarily influenced by the positive changes in value in the property portfolio.

In early April the Board of Directors of Akademiska Hus decided to build housing with room for over 400 international graduate and undergraduate students at the Solna Campus. The investment of over SEK 430 million is well in line with the long-term campus plan for the area, which is now completed. During the quarter Akademiska Hus also decided to invest SEK 380 million in an innovation arena at Johanneberg Science Park in Gothenburg to further strengthen this world-class research and innovation environment.

Sustainable investments

One of the most crucial issues for the construction and real estate industry in Sweden is that no one be injured on construction sites. Consequently, Akademiska Hus is one of the orchestrators of the “Håll nollan” initiative, launched by the industry in March 2017.

“We also want to be a leader in improving gender equality in the property industry, so we have joined three other major companies in the industry and signed an agreement with the AllBright Foundation. Under this agreement, we commit to completing a four-step programme to further improve gender equality and become role models in the industry”, says Kerstin Lindberg Göransson, President of Akademiska Hus.

Interim Report in brief

Profit for the quarter was SEK 1,346 million, an increase of SEK 591 million on the same period in 2016. This increase is mainly attributable to a substantial increase in the fair value of the property holdings compared with the same period last year. The underlying net operating income of the property operations is essentially unchanged.

• Rental revenue was SEK 1,409 million (1,382).
• Net operating income was SEK 993 million (949), an increase of SEK 44 million, which is largely attributable to increased income and an additional consideration.
• Changes in property values with an impact on profit totalled SEK 902 million (308), corresponding with 1.2 per cent (0.5) of the value of the properties.
• Changes in the value of financial instruments totalled SEK –80 (–164) million.
• Profit before tax for the period amounted to SEK 1,737 million (991) and profit for the period was SEK 1,346 million (755). The increase can be attributed to positive changes in property values.
• Investment in redevelopment and new construction during the period totalled SEK 826 million (449).
• The yield (excluding properties under construction) was 5.6 per cent (6.3) on a rolling 12-month basis. The decline can be explained by an increase in property value while net operating income remained unchanged.

• Finance