Property group Colonial hopes asset valuations will pick up soon, profit doubles
Sees most of its asset valuation repricing behind
Net profit doubles in first quarter
Forecasts EPS in 2024 between 0.30 and 0.32 euros
Recasts story with outlook, adds CEO quote in paragraphs 2 and 10, analyst comment in paragraph 7, YTD share move in paragraph 10
By Matteo Allievi
May 13 (Reuters) -Spanish real estate group Colonial COL.MC said on Monday the European Central Bank's expected interest rate cut soon should halt the drop in valuation of its assets, as the firm reported that first-quarter profit doubled from a year earlier.
"We don't exactly know whether asset repricing is over, as monetary policy is still in an uncertain phase, but we believe that the major adjustment in asset values took place in 2023," CEO Pere Vinolas told reporters.
Real estate companies such as Colonial and Spanish peer Merlin Properties MRL.MC earn profit on the rental of their assets and are required to include the impact of an updated valuation of their properties every six months in their results.
Without the updated valuation of its assets, Colonial's net profit in the first quarter doubled to 54.5 million euros ($58.81 million), supported by inflation-linked rental income and high occupancy rates.
The company updates its asset valuations only twice a year. At the end of 2023, its asset valuations were 9% lower than a year earlier, Colonial said in February.
The real estate sector has been under pressure since the end of 2022, as volatile markets and tightening financial conditions have slowed property investment.
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates in June after keeping them at a record high since last September, which should make investments in real estate more attractive.
"In the first half of this year, asset valuations may continue to fall slightly, but as interest rates fall we expect to see stable or slightly higher valuations by the end of the year," Renta 4 analyst Javier Diaz said.
Colonial's portfolio, which includes buildings in Spain and France, rose 6% year-on-year in like-for-like rental income as lease contracts were adjusted upwards due to high inflation.
Occupancy in the buildings rented by the group was at 97% on average, with properties in Paris at full levels.
Colonial's shares have dropped more than 10% year-to-date as of Monday's close.
($1 = 0.9256 euros)
Reporting by Matteo Allievi; editing by David Latona, Jason Neely and Susan Fenton
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