Profit boost for GTC

Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Globe Trade Centre (GTC) generated a total revenue of EUR 59 mln in H1 2016 (similar to the figure of EUR 60 mln recorded in the first half of last year), with the company’s profit before tax having increasing to EUR 46 mln over the period, up from EUR 11 mln in H1 2015. GTC made a EUR 24 mln net profit from the revaluation of its investment properties in the first six months of this year (compared to a loss of EUR 2 mln in H1 2015), which was mostly driven by projects under construction, including the Galeria Północna shopping centre in Warsaw. Meanwhile, the company has managed to decrease its net financial expenses from EUR 16 mln in H1 2015 to EUR 13 mln in H1 2016, mainly due to its refinancing and deleveraging activity. The value of GTC-held properties grew from EUR 1,324 mln at the end of last year to EUR 1,455 mln by June 30th, 2016. This was the result of, among other factors, the acquisitions of the Pixel office building in Poznań and the Premium Plaza and Premium Point office buildings in Bucharest. “GTC has published remarkable results for the first half of 2016. The realisation of our growth strategy became evident with our EUR 95 mln investment in value-accretive office properties and a plot of land for an office development in the Budapest CBD,” explained Thomas Kurzmann, the CEO of GTC. Erez Boniel, the CFO at the company, also pointed out that GTC successfully disposed of a number of non-core assets in H1. The developer sold commercial land connected to its Konstancja development near Warsaw in the period. The company also secured refinancing loans valued at more than EUR 226 mln in H1 2016, which has positively impacted its financial situation and allows it to obtain attractive investment opportunities, revealed Erez Boniel. In the second half of the year, GTC is aiming to focus on the development of its key commercial projects, but is also planning to further expand the portfolio through the selected opportunistic acquisitions of value-accretive properties in its core markets. According to Erez Boniel, the recent listing of GTC on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which was announced a few days ago, will help the company attract the South African institutional investors who are becoming increasingly interested in the CEE and SEE property markets.