TECHNOPOLIS PLC PRESS RELEASE October 31, 2013 at 8:15 a.m.
Technopolis Produces Strong Growth in 3rd Quarter
Net Sales up over 16%, EBITDA up over 17%
Technopolis Plc performance improved during January 1 – September 30. The EPRA-based (European Real Estate Association) direct result rose to 29.3 million euro from 19.8 million euro from the corresponding period last year and the direct result per share was 0.39 euro (0.29). The company’s net sales totaled 91.6 (78.7) million euro. There was an increase of 16.5% over last year. The company’s EBITDA rose 17.1% to 47.2 (40.3) million euro. The improvement was mainly due to an increase of 15.5% in space.
CEO Keith Silverang: ”We are on the right track and ahead of schedule in the realization of our growth and internationalization targets. Our selective investment policy and the successful integration of previous acquisitions have contributed to profitable growth. You can see this especially in the EPRA-based direct result, which increased by 47.9% over last year”.
Silverang expects occupancy to rise toward the year end with a significant amount of new deals already done that will yield benefits in 2014. “Occupancy rates have increased in both completed buildings projects under construction in our international units. Rents have also been on the rise abroad. We expect our occupancies to improve steadily during the rest of the year and we’ve already signed 11,400 m2 worth new deals from 2014”, Silverang says.
This month Technopolis announced the signing of two significant acquisitions worth almost 300 million euros. On October 11 the company announced that it will expand to Norway by acquiring a campus in the growing Fornebu area in Oslo. The value of the acquisition is approximately 220 million euros. Technopolis has also signed an agreement to acquire the Falcon Business Park in Otaniemi, Finland for value of 77.5 million euros.
“The Oslo deal was certainly significant by Nordic standards and brings us into a completely new market. As for Falcon, it will be the single biggest real estate transaction in Finland this year, but to us the more important thing is to have more scale in Otaniemi, which is the number one hot spot in Finland. Our idea is to integrate Falcon and Innopoli into a single over 60,000 m2 super-campus”, says Silverang.
The new acquisitions signed in October will provide a strong platform for growth in 2014 and beyond. Silverang gives no specific numbers, but says that the deals will bring Technopolis within striking distance of its 2016 strategic target to generate 50 million euros in net sales from its international operations.
Technopolis has announced that in order to fund the acquisitions, it will arrange a rights issue which aims to raise approximately 100 million euros from its current shareholders.
Technopolis Plc
Keith Silverang
CEO
Tel. +358 40 566 7785
About Technopolis
Technopolis Plc is a listed real estate company that specializes in leasing space and providing services. Its core business idea is to combine business support services with modern, flexible, multi-user business environments. There are approximately 26,000 people and almost 1,400 companies and organizations in Technopolis premises in Finland, Russia, Estonia and Vilnius. The company’s net sales for 2012 totaled EUR 107.3 million and its EBITDA was EUR 55.8 million. The Technopolis Plc share (TPS1V) is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.
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