annual financial statement 2011 - conwert Immobilien Invest SE

Annual Financial Report 2011
General information
conwert Immobilien Invest SE acted as the holding company of the conwert Group in the
financial year 2011 and was as such responsible for the management, financing and
liabilities of subsidiaries and lower-tier subsidiaries of the Group. Moreover, the company
invests directly in properties in Austria and holds stakes in properties in Germany, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Luxemburg and the Ukraine via subsidiaries. In addition,
conwert has direct and indirect investments in different property management and property
service companies, thus covering the entire value chain in the property industry.
In the Austrian investment market, demand was strong and the price level high in 2011. A
total of approximately 1.7 billion € was invested in properties. The transaction volume thus
increased by nearly 7 % in comparison to the previous year, but fell short of experts’
expectations due to the low level of investments in the commercial property segment. While
demand for retail space continued to be low in the commercial segment in the financial year
2011, the transaction volume in the market for apartment buildings from the late 19 th century
in Vienna increased. The trend towards rising prices and falling returns is also expected to
continue in this segment to a moderate extent in 2012. (CBRE Austria – Vienna Office Market View
2011, EHL Immoflash today 25 January 2012) The strong demand for German residential properties
in the major metropolitan regions was caused by the flight into tangible assets in 2011, which
is attributable to the persisting uncertainty in the financial markets in Europe, according to
experts. The highly stable residential property market in Germany attracted primarily
institutional investors from Germany and abroad. According to a CBRE analysis, the
transaction volume for residential packages and residential complexes of 50 or more
residential units in 2011 increased by 44 % on the previous year and amounted to
6.1 billion €. (CBRE Germany, press release 20 January 2012) In the investment market for
commercial properties in Germany, the transaction volume amounted to 22.6 billion € in the
past year, which corresponds to an 18 % increase on the previous year. (CBRE Germany, Q4
Investment market Germany) Regarding further details on the property markets, refer to the group
management report 2011.
The strong demand for residential properties by predominantly private investors led to record
proceeds on property sales for conwert Immobilien Invest SE in 2011. Especially in the third
quarter of 2011, most sales transactions were carried out in Austria. conwert Immobilien
Invest SE did not purchase properties in Austria in the year 2011.
In the financial year 2011, the revenues recorded by conwert Immobilien Invest SE soared in
comparison to the previous year due to the high number of sales and amounted to
63.0 million € (2010: 52.8 million €). This is equivalent to an increase by 19.3 %. The result
from ordinary activities amounted to 30.6 million € in the reporting period (2010:
51.3 million €) as the financial results declined significantly. One of the reasons was a
substantial increase in impairment of financial assets. The significantly lower financial income
amounted to 31.0 million € (2010: 58.0 million €). Income from investments totalled
122.3 million € in the year 2011 (2010: 79.3 million €), up 54.2 %.
As a property company, conwert pursues a strategy aiming to increase earnings and value.
The core of its operating activities consists of the profitable management of its present
property portfolio in compliance with environmental regulations, and of growth in selected
high-yielding regions.
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