TAG Immobilien AG announces operatinal turnaround, unveils preliminary figures for 2009
TAG Immobilien AG / Preliminary Results03.03.2010 07:44Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted byDGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.---------------------------------------------------------------------------PRESS RELEASETAG Immobilien AG announces operational turnaround, unveils preliminaryfigures for 2009 - Successful vacancy reduction by 40% results in Group-wide vacancy rate of 7.3% - Rental profit on par with previous year at EUR 35 million (2008: EUR 34 million) despite property sales of EUR 73 million in 2009 - Second-half earnings before taxes (EBT) and before reappraisals came to EUR 2.1 million after EUR -13.1 million for the first half - EBT for all of 2009 was EUR -11.0 million (2008: EUR -23.4 million) - Outlook for 2010: Earnings before taxes (EBT) EUR 10 millionHamburg (03 March 2010) - TAG Immobilien AG (TAG) publishes preliminary,as-yet unaudited results for fiscal 2009.The two halves of the year 2009 were as different as can be for TAG. Afterthe CEO changeover at the end of the first half, the management decided forreasons of transparency to simultaneously adjust the value of theproperties by EUR -15.3 million and of the discontinued lines of businessby EUR -9 million. These items resulted in a pre-tax loss (EBT) of EUR 28.4million at the end of the first half of 2009. In contrast to this, thesecond half of 2009 was dominated by vacancy reductions and cost cuts. TAGsaw initial successes from these measures during Q3/2009, and was able tobuild on them in Q4 by maintaining the required focus. The uptrend isevident in the quarterly results. For example, in Q3/2009 TAG had EUR 3.0million in pre-tax earnings (EBT), followed by EUR 0.7 million in Q4. Dueto the non-cash expenses from the first half, earnings before taxes (EBT)for the full year came to EUR -24.7 million.The aggressive vacancy reduction was a direct contributor to the positivesecond-half performance. Vacancy was cut by 40% across the Group. Inresidential property alone, vacancy was reduced by nearly half, bringingthe vacancy rate down from 16.4% to 10.1%. In Berlin, rental activitiesbrought vacancy down to currently 14% (2008: 25.6%). This successfulvacancy reduction is reflected in the rental profit, which at EUR 35million at year-end 2009 is on par with that of the previous year - evengiven a high (property) sales volume of EUR 73 million in 2009. On anannualised basis, the vacancy reduction added EUR 2.4 million to the netincome, which would be equivalent to a rise in NAV of 1 EUR per share.Some additional preliminary figures: The net actual rents increased to EUR 46.9 million (2008: EUR 46.0million), even though a significant portion of the property holdings wassold.The balance sheet figures are also on a solid foundation. The Group'sbalance sheet total came to EUR 798 million at 31 Dec 2009 (2008: EUR 841million). Equity has declined to EUR 196 million after deducting forminority shares in the amount of EUR 228 million. As a result, the NAV pershare dropped from EUR 7.01 to EUR 6.03 at 31 Dec 2009. Financial debts andliabilities totalled EUR 517 million as compared with EUR 538 million atyear-end 2008. With LTV at 67% and an equity ratio of nearly 25%, the TAGGroup has a relatively solid balance sheet for the industry.Consolidation within the Group is largely completed and the operationalturnaround has been achieved - in other words: all of the Group's costs canbe covered with the rental income alone. As planned, there were no morewrite-downs during the second half of 2009, and future personnel costs aswell as non-property-related costs were reduced significantly. In addition,the portfolio was optimised with a focus on cash flow and yields.As part of its operational development, TAG Immobilien AG took thestrategic step of increasing its holdings in Bau-Verein from 71% to 91% atthe end of the year, thereby underscoring its focus on the residentialsegment. On this basis, TAG is well positioned to effectively advance thepositive development of its business in 2010. The management expectsearnings before taxes (EBT) to reach EUR 10 million in 2010.Within the TAG Group, there are the following preliminary results to reportfor Bau-Verein zu Hamburg AG in for 2009:Bau-Verein generated earnings before taxes (EBT) in the amount of EUR -10.7million (2008: EUR -18.4 million) in 2009. Due to property sales, thebalance sheet total was down year-on-year from EUR 354 million to EUR 297million at year-end 2009. In parallel to this, equity declined from EUR 102million to EUR 94 million at 31 Dec 2009. The equity ratio increased from28.9% to 31.7%.The above figures for TAG and Bau-Verein are preliminary and as yetunaudited. The final figures for the 2009 financial year will be publishedon 21 April 2010.Press enquiries:TAG Immobilien AGInvestor & Public RelationsBritta Lackenbauer / Dominique MannPhone +49 40 380 32 300Fax +49 40 380 32 390pr@tag-ag.com03.03.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP.Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: EnglishCompany: TAG Immobilien AG Steckelhörn 5 20457 Hamburg DeutschlandPhone: 040 380 32 300Fax: 040 380 32 390E-mail: ir@tag-ag.comInternet: www.tag-ag.comISIN: DE0008303504WKN: 830350Indices: SDAXListed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------