EQS-News

HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH: positive operating result with continued strategic growth - Seite 2

Financial development

HOWOGE posted a positive operating result for the financial year 2023. Earnings from lettings and leasing rose by 3.4 per cent to EUR 385.2 million due to the growth in our portfolio from new builds.

Despite rising costs particularly for maintenance and staff, the adjusted EBIDTA, at EUR 257.2 million, remained more or less stable (2022: EUR 268.1 million). The downward adjustment of around 10 per cent in the value of our portfolio, which was due to market developments, led to an increase in the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of around 4 percentage points to 32.1 per cent (housing segment: 29.6 per cent). However, the LTV is still clearly within our target corridor of below 50 per cent. The fair value of the HOWOGE portfolio, including building plots and school buildings, was around EUR 12.6 billion as of 31^st December 2023.

To secure the financial independence and the conservative risk profile of the company, HOWOGE attaches great importance to its long-term-oriented and diversified financing structure. Since 2021, the company has had issuer ratings from the two international rating agencies Standard and Poor’s and Fitch of A and AA- respectively - with both agencies attesting a stable outlook. These ratings were confirmed most recently in the summer of 2023 and are a reflection of the good creditworthiness of the company.

HOWOGE’s Debt Issuance Programme (DIP) with an overall volume of EUR 4 billion enables the company to issue corporate bonds at short notice.

The company carried out only small-scale refinancing and borrowing in the financial year 2023. The average weighted interest rate of currently 1.1 per cent is significantly below current market interest rates. The average residual term for all financial liabilities was approximately eight years as of the balance sheet date. In the current financial year, the refinancing of a corporate bond in an amount of EUR 500 million is scheduled. The company has already made use of the recent fall in interest rates to secure the relevant interest rate conditions.