– Rent collection remained strong being 93% in H1 validating Citycon’s strategy

– After a drop in March and in April, footfall numbers are returning to normal levels being 95% at the end of July, and all tenants are currently open for business

– Although tenant sales decreased, average consumer spending in their centres was higher than in 2019

– COVID-19 increased pressure on real estate valuations and fair values declined by 2.1% from year-end 2019

– Successful issuance of a 200 MEUR tap bond further improved liquidity

– Investment grade credit rating now from all three major credit rating agencies

– NOK and SEK exchange rates recovered from Q1 lows (NOK + 19% and SEK +8%) – however, exchange rates continued to negatively affect the result

APRIL—JUNE 2020

– Net rental income was EUR 50.2 million (Q2/2019: 56.1). Net rental income was negatively impacted by COVID-19 pandemic through discounts granted to tenants as well as decreased turnover based rents and parking income. The acquisition of SPII in Norway, closed in February 2020, increased net rental income by EUR 2.3 million. This was offset by impact of weaker currencies and divestments made in 2019 that reduced net rental income by EUR 2.3 million and EUR 1.2 million respectively. 

– EPRA Earnings decreased to EUR 36.3 million (38.7) as result of a decrease in net rental income, currency changes, lower share of profit of joint ventures and associated companies. EPRA Earnings per share (basic) was EUR 0.204 (0.217), negative impact from weaker currencies being EUR 0.0105 per share.

– Adjusted EPRA earnings was EUR 32.2 million (38.7) due to hybrid bond coupons.

– IFRS-based earnings per share was EUR -0.23 (0.04) as a result of higher fair value losses, lower net rental income and hybrid bond coupons and expenses.

JANUARY—JUNE 2020

– Net rental income was EUR 102.6 million (H1/2019: 109.7). Acquisitions increased NRI by EUR 4.1 million, while divestments and weaker SEK and NOK decreased net rental income by EUR 2.4 million and by EUR 3.9 million respectively. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic was mostly materialized during the second quarter.

– EPRA Earnings decreased to EUR 71.0 million (74.5) as result of lower net rental income, currency changes, lower share of profit of joint ventures and associated companies. EPRA Earnings per share (basic) was EUR 0.399 (0.418), negative impact from weaker currencies being EUR 0.018 per share.

– Adjusted EPRA earnings decreased to EUR 63.0 million (74.5) due to hybrid bond coupons

– IFRS earnings per share was EUR -0.17 (0.12) as a result of higher fair value losses, lower net rental income and hybrid bond coupons and expenses.

CEO F. Scott Ball states:

"The current operating environment validated the stability of the markets Citycon operates within as well as our strategy that focuses on community based urban hubs. Our tenant mix, that is heavily reliant on municipality and grocery anchor tenants, brings resilience to our portfolio which was reflected in our Q2 results. Our centres located in the Nordics remained open throughout the quarter. The legitimate government restrictions temporarily affected our footfall. We were pleased to see that while footfall declined, average spend per consumer increased in our centres. Acknowledging the large variance in resilience across tenant sectors, however, we offered certain short-term easements to some tenants suffering the most in order to support their businesses through the exceptionally challenging times. This affected Citycon’s results and our like-for-like net rental income declined by 4.1%. COVID-19 also put increased pressure on real estate valuations that declined by 2.1%. The decline in valuations remained modest considering the circumstances and reflects the resilience of our portfolio and strategy that focuses on grocery-anchored mixed-use centres."