The Colonial Socimi has doubled its profit in the first quarter of 2024, to 54 million euros, driven by the increase in its rents in Paris. As explained by Pere Viñolas and Juan José Brugera, CEO and president of the company, the firm has rented 20,000 m2 of offices until March, and 60% of them were in the French capital, which also leads the growth in rents.
Revenue in the city of lights increased by 18%, thanks in large part to the entry into the market of two large projects: Louvre Saint Honoré and the Adidas flagship store at Chmps Elysées. Without these new buildings, rents in the city would have grown by 8%. “There we have the offices 100% occupied, without a single free meter,” Brugera stressed. Paris already contributes two thirds of Colonial’s income and 70% of its operating profit.
The company explained to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that until March it increased its income by 6%, up to 95.8 million euros, of which 64 million corresponded to its French business, 21 million to Madrid and 11 million to your rentals in Barcelona. The operating profit or ebitda was 72 million, 10% more. The recurring net profit – which does not take into account the capital gains from divestments but also the variation in the book value of the assets – shot up 25%, to 47 million.
Viñolas explained that the company has sold office properties worth 200 million euros so far this year, of which about 50 correspond to the former McKinsey headquarters on Sagasta Street in Madrid, an operation that plans to close in the next weeks.
The CEO explained that the company plans to carry out divestments this year worth 500 million euros, which will be added to the nearly 700 million euros it earned last year with the sale of properties, which it included in its normal activity of “ asset rotation” disinvesting in those considered “mature”, that is, those who have no expectations of additional increases in their income.
Viñolas warned, however, that society “could fall short of this objective.” Until now, he explained, the divestments have been a success because they have been carried out at prices higher than the appraisal, and they have been concentrated in Madrid. In Paris, on the other hand, “the market is still a little cold,” he acknowledged.
The divestments have allowed the firm to reduce its debt, up to 39% of the value of its assets, which reaches 11,000 million euros, and increase liquidity, which now stands at 2,944 million euros, which allows it to cover all the maturities of its debt until 2027. For this reason, explained the corporate director of the REIT, Carmina Ganyet, both Standard
