The results of the Group, which owns City Gate, Cascade Office Building, Premium Point and Premium Plaza in Bucharest in Romania, are due to strong operational performance, combined with a lower revaluation / impairment loss of assets of EUR 130 million, partially offset by an increase in financial costs of EUR 8 million and the recognition of tax expenditure of EUR 14 million.
2021 financial highlights
- Gross margin from rental activity at €128 million in 2021 (€119 million in 2020)
- Adjusted EBITDA at €113 million in 2021 (€105 million in 2020)
- FFO at €74 million in 2021 (€66 million in 2020), FFO per share at €0.15
- LTV adjusted for capital increase and disposal of assets in Serbia at 42.0% (45.2% as of 31 December 2020)
Transitioning from secured to predominantly unsecured debt
- Green bonds issued in 2021: €54 million of unsecured bonds issued on the Hungarian market in March 2021, €500 million of unsecured Eurobonds issued in June 2021
- Repayment of 9 loans from €500 million green bonds completed (9 loans repaid with a total of €452 million)
- Unsecured debt at 50% and unencumbered properties up to 45% (9% as of 31 December 2020)
2021 portfolio highlights
- Investment of €339 million into the acquisition of income-generating assets and landbank for future development
- Investment in assets under development of €51.5 million in 2021 (€39.4 million in 2020)
- Leasing volume (new and extension) of 180,000 sqm of office and retail space
- Occupancy at 90% as of 31 December 2021 (91% as of 31 December 2020)
- Retail assets: footfall is still below pre-Covid 19 levels (74% in Q4 2021 v 2019), but turnovers picking up quickly (95% in Q4 2021 v 2019)
- Commencement of construction of GTC X in April 2021
- Disposal of Serbian office portfolio completed in January 2022
- Today, 88% of assets with green certificates
“2021 was an extremely important year for GTC. It was one of the most dynamic years in the Group’s history. We traded assets on a big scale shifting our portfolio to higher-rated countries, developed new assets, leased both retail and office space, issued debut Eurobonds and increased capital. And all of that still in Covid-19 impacted environment. On top of that, we achieved very good financial results with FFO reaching €74 million and EPRA NTA increasing to €1.3 billion. We started new investments and acquired land plots to secure further dynamic growth of the Company,” commented Zoltán Fekete, GTC’s President of the Management Board.
“The decision to change our financing structure which was taken in late 2020 resulted in a very thorough analysis of our Group by the world’s most reputable rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s which rated us at BBB- (Fitch) with a stable outlook and Ba1 with a positive outlook (Moody’s). This allowed us to tap the international bonds market and approach the largest investors in the unsecured debt universe. We debuted with the issuance of a €500 million bond which allowed us to repay roughly 50% of our secured debt. The very fast growth of 2021 resulted in the short-term LTV hike, which was brought down to 42% with the disposal of Serbian assets and a very successful capital increase conducted in late 2021. In addition, we have secured our first revolving credit facility in the amount of €75 million to support our liquidity. We achieved a very low average interest rate of 2.16% and extended debt maturity profile to over 5 years creating a much safer investment for our shareholders,” commented Ariel Ferstman, GTC’s CFO and Member of the Management Board.
