Wereldhave Swings To Profit As Property Valuations Improve
November 11 2010 - 1:43AM
Dow Jones News
Dutch real estate company Wereldhave NV (WHA.AE) said Thursday
it swung to a net profit in the first nine months of 2010 due to
acquisitions and improved property valuations, and expects higher
earnings for the full year.
"The cautious optimism in Europe and the U.S. that gained
strength during the year can also be noticed in the markets where
Wereldhave is active. In most office markets leasing activity has
increased, although the pace of decision-taking is still rather
slow," said Wereldhave Chief Executive Hand Pars.
For the first nine months of 2010 Wereldhave posted net profit
of EUR78.6 million, from a net loss of EUR106.5 million in the same
period last year.
The company's direct result--a measure which excludes changes in
the value of real-estate assets, used by property companies to
track operational performance--rose to EUR87.6 million from EUR85.8
million a year ago, partly due to a higher gross rental income. The
company said it expects an increase in its direct result per share
for 2010.
The CEO said there is still a lot of interest from retailers
that do not yet have a shop in one of its Dutch, Belgian or Finnish
shopping centers, which boosted its direct result.
The indirect result, which includes property valuations,
narrowed to a loss of EUR9 million, from a loss of EUR192.3 million
in the period a year ago following improved valuations results.
-By Anna Marij van der Meulen; Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 5715
216; annamarij.vandermeulen@dowjones.com