alstria office REIT-AG: Revenues and FFO above expectations after 9M 2021 - guidance uplift

Hamburg (pta032/03.11.2021/17:40 UTC+1)

Revenues and FFO above expectations after 9M 2021 - guidance uplift

* Revenues at EUR 135.9 million (+3.4% yoy) and funds from operations (FFO) at EUR 87.5 million (+4.8% yoy)
* Strong balance sheet: Net LTV at 30.0% and REIT equity ratio at 68.3%
* EPRA NTA at EUR 18.26 per share
* Guidance uplift for FY 2021: Revenues of EUR 181 million (old: EUR 177 million), FFO of EUR 115 million (old: EUR 108 million)
* Publication of Sustainability Report 2020/2021

Hamburg, November 3, 2021 - alstria office REIT-AG (symbol: AOX, ISIN: DE000A0LD2U1) ("alstria") announces a stronger than expected result for the first nine months of 2021 and a guidance uplift for FY 2021.

Revenues at EUR 135.9 million and FFO at EUR 87.5 million 
Rental income increased by 3.4% to EUR 135.9 million (9M 2020: EUR 131.5 million), mainly due to revenues from new signed leases and a positive revenue effect from transactions.

The operating result (FFO after minorities) grew by 4.8% year on year and amounted to EUR 87.5 million in the reporting period (9M 2020: EUR 83.4 million). The increase was driven by higher rental income but also by lower operating costs. These were the consequence of the lack of implementation of planned maintenance measures considering both, the pandemic and supply chain constrains. The combined effect improved the FFO margin to 64.4% (9M 2020: 63.5%).

Consolidated net income for the period under review reached EUR 82.0 million (9M 2020: EUR -3.0 million).

Investment properties up by EUR 145 million, EPRA NTA at EUR 18.26 per share
The fair value of investment property amounted to EUR 4,701 million as of September 30, 2021, compared to EUR 4,556 million as of December 31, 2020. The increase by EUR 145 million resulted mainly from the acquisition of two assets in Frankfurt and Berlin (AIC: EUR 85.9 million), a disposal of an asset in Trier (EUR 25.4 million) and the capex into the portfolio (EUR 87.7 million). As of September 30, 2021, alstria's cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR 293 million (December 31, 2020: EUR 461 million). The change in cash position is mainly due to the dividend payment of EUR 94.2 million (EUR 0.53 per share), property acquisitions, the investments in the real estate portfolio and FFO contribution.

Within the first nine months of 2021, alstria's equity slightly decreased by 0.3% to EUR 3,243 million, reflecting the net effect of the profit generated and the dividend payment in May 2021. On September 30, 2021, the company's EPRA NTA stood at EUR 18.26 per share (+2.0 yoy). The G-REIT equity ratio amounted to 68.3% and the company's Net LTV was 30.0% as per September 30, 2021. 

Gradually improving leasing market
While Q3 saw a gradual improvement of leasing activity (33,000 sqm in Q3 2021 vs. 37,400 sqm in H1 2021), tenants generally focused on shorter lease terms and lease extensions. In addition, enquiries for large office volumes remained low, as tenant needs remain uncertain after the pandemic. 

In the first nine months of 2021, alstria signed new leases for 26,800 sqm as well as lease extensions of around 43,600 sqm. Rent reversion of new leases with more than 1,500 sqm was on average 9%. At the end of Q3 2021, the EPRA vacancy rate stood at 8.5% (December 31, 2020: 7.6%). The increase is mainly based on the acquisition of the Frankfurt asset with a vacancy rate of 55% (vacant space: 5,800 sqm). alstria does not expect a full recovery of the letting market until tenants have gained clarity on their future office needs, which alstria expects to happen in early 2022. 

Sustainability report 2020/2021 published
In addition to the interim statement, alstria published its annual sustainability report for the financial year 2020. The report provides insights into the environmental, employee-related and societal strategies and performance of alstria. The report follows the GRI standards and the EPRA guidelines for real estate served and addresses the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). The report is assured by KPMG for all environmental and employee-related KPIs. 

Major sustainability accomplishments for 2020:

* the average operational GHG emissions of alstria's portfolio were about 50% below the EU benchmark,
* the avoided and embedded GHG emissions in alstria's development projects underline the effectiveness of the company's strategy to reduce its ecological footprint,
* the assessment of climate-related risks for the company has been extended in financial terms by publishing alstria's first Carbon Accounting Report and the underlying framework RECAP, 
* at the annual general meeting for FY 2020, a large majority of alstria's shareholders approved spending EUR 1.78 million on climate change mitigation projects that would not meet the company's risk-return expectations (Green Dividend),
* alstria's approach to deal with COVID-19 was recognized with the HR excellence award 2020,
* ESG ratings confirmed the company's leading industry position regarding sustainability e.g., member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe 2020 and member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index 2020.

Acquisition of forest
alstria acquired 200 ha of forest located in Brandenburg in 2021. The company intends to manage this forest with the highest sustainable standard and is disclosing it as part of our biodiversity contribution. Furthermore, this acquisition is mainly driven by the anticipated increase of importance of wood in the supply chain of the company. alstria anticipates that timber demand will substantially increase in the coming years, while the supply will be constrained. With this acquisition, the company is aiming at securing the company's access to a critical resource needed to the proper refurbishment of assets. These 200 ha secure around 2% of the annual timber demand of the company. Further forest acquisition is being planned to future proof the business of the company.

Uplift of full-year guidance for 2021
Based on the results of the first nine months of 2021, alstria increases its guidance for the full year 2021 with expected revenues of around EUR 181 million (old: EUR 177 million) and an operating profit (FFO) of around EUR 115 million (old: EUR 108 million). 

"The increased guidance highlights the fact that alstria has grown the portfolio over 2021 and has become a net buyer of real estate with a positive effect of roughly EUR 4 million on revenues and FFO," says Olivier Elamine, CEO of alstria. "Furthermore, covid-related bottlenecks at construction companies mean that we had to postpone some of the scheduled maintenance capex with an effect of approx. EUR 3 million on FFO in the first nine months. However, we plan to make up for the pent-up maintenance in 2022, rather than building up a backlog." 

The interim report for the first nine months of 2021 is available at
www.alstria.com/investor/#reports

Invitation to the conference call on November 4, 2021 
The alstria management board, CEO Olivier Elamine and CFO Alexander Dexne, will present the 9M 2021 results during a conference call at 10:00 a.m. (CET). 

Please use one of the following dial-in numbers:
Germany: +49 69 201 744 220
UK: +44 203 009 2470
PIN: 19368539#

Please note that you can follow the management's presentation live via webcast on www.alstria.com. Briefly before the conference call begins, the presentation slides will be available for download.

Investor Relations: 
Julius Stinauer 
Steinstr. 7 
20095 Hamburg, Germany 
Tel: +49 40 22 63 41 - 344 
Email: jstinauer@alstria.de 

Press Contact: 
Philip Angrabeit
Steinstr. 7
20095 Hamburg, Germany 
Tel: +49 40 22 63 41 - 389
Email: pangrabeit@alstria.de

More information on: 
www.alstria.com 
www.linkedin.com/company/alstria-office-reit-ag
www.beehive.work/en/

About alstria: 
alstria office REIT AG is the leading real-estate operator focusing solely on German office property in selected German markets. Our strategy is based on the ownership and an active management of our properties throughout their entire life cycle, strong added-value services to our customers and deep knowledge of the markets in which we operate. alstria strives for sustainable long-term value creation while taking advantage of short-term arbitrage of inefficiencies in the real estate markets. As of September 30, 2021, the portfolio comprises 111 buildings with a lettable area of 1.5 million square meters and a total portfolio value of EUR 4.7 billion. 

Disclaimer:
This release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares. As far as this press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the business, financial condition and results of operations of alstria office REIT-AG (alstria), these statements are based on current expectations or beliefs of alstria's management. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those reflected in such forward-looking statements. Apart from other factors not mentioned here, differences could occur as a result of changes in the overall economic situation and the competitive environment - especially in the core business segments and markets of alstria. Also, the development of the financial markets and changes in national as well as international provisions particularly in the field of tax legislation and financial reporting standards could have an effect. Terrorist attacks and their consequences could increase the likelihood and the extent of differences.

The current COVID-19 outbreak is creating substantial uncertainty in the marketplace. Although alstria has diligently reviewed the information contained in this release it is based on its own analysis and estimate, as well as available public sources and not on active discussion with tenants. As such the current liquidity risk of the tenants can materially differ from alstria's own estimate, and the actual impact of the COVID 19 outbreak may differ substantially from the current previsions.

alstria undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Emitter:	alstria office REIT-AG Steinstraße 7 20095 Hamburg Germany
Contact Person:	alstria office REIT-AG
Phone:	+49 40 226341-344
E-Mail:	ir@alstria.de
Website:	www.alstria.de
ISIN(s):	DE000A0LD2U1 (Share)
Stock Exchange(s):	Regulated Market in Frankfurt; Free Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate
Other Stock Exchanges:	London, Börse Luxemburg, SIX, Wiener Börse