Dutch real-estate company Wereldhave NV (WHA.AE) Wednesday said it doesn't foresee more write-downs on real-estate values in 2010, and that it expects more property to be available for sale in 2010 in markets where it is looking to expand.

"The write-downs in 2009 were sufficient," said Chief Executive Hans Pars, citing the quality of Wereldhave's real estate portfolio.

Investors welcomed the news. At 1332 GMT, Wereldhave shares traded up 2% at EUR68.28, outperforming a 0.3% rise in the AEX market in Amsterdam.

Like many real-estate investors, Wereldhave has been hit hard by hefty write-downs on the value of its properties, as the economic downturn has led to a surge in vacancies, resulting in lower rental income. In 2009, the market value of Wereldhave's portfolio, mainly consisting of offices and shopping centers in Europe and the U.S., dropped 9.1% to EUR2.4 billion.

The write-downs cast a shadow over Wereldhave's earnings last year. The company Wednesday posted a EUR107.1 million net loss for 2009 from a net profit of EUR493,000 a year earlier.

But Wereldhave's direct result--a measure that excludes changes in the value of real-estate assets and used by property companies to track operational performance--rose to EUR111.1 million from EUR109.4 million in 2008, mainly due to lower interest charges, especially in the U.S.

Investors watch this figure closely, as it is used to calculate dividend payments.

Although the worst may be behind it, Wereldhave remains cautious and it gave a mixed outlook for the real-estate sector. The company warned that the office market remains challenging, with strong competition and pricing pressure, but painted a rosier picture for its retail portfolio, which mainly comprises malls.

The outlook seems to justify Wereldhave's new strategy, under which the company wants to expand its retail portfolio as shopping centers have proven to be more stable investments during the economic downturn compared to offices. Underpinning this strategy, Wereldhave last month bought four malls in the Netherlands from Franco-Dutch rival Unibail-Rodamco SA (UL.FR).

In the coming year, Wereldhave is looking to snap up shopping centers in the U.K., and office buildings in Paris and Madrid. CEO Pars noted that the U.K. is currently the most interesting market for acquisitions, as the outlook for office markets in France and Spain remains gloomy. Pars said that Wereldhave currently has around EUR220 million available for acquisitions.

Theodoor Gilissen analyst Friso Berghuis said that Wereldhave has an "excellent position" for acquisitions due to its solid balance sheet, but maintained his hold rating due to the problems at the company's office portfolio.

-By Maarten van Tartwijk and Anna Marij van der Meulen, Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 571 5201; maarten.vantartwijk@dowjones.com
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