RomReal Ltd

OSE:ROM

Earnings Call Transcript 2020-Q1

[Harris Palaondas, Head of Investor Relations]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to RomReal's First Quarter 2020 Results Presentation. Myself, Harris Palaondas, will take you through this presentation today, and it will be uploaded for everyone to view on our website, www.romreal.com, after this presentation has ended.Please turn to Page 3 of this report. These are the highlights of the first quarter 2020 results. Net asset value was EUR 0.45 or NOK 5.13 per share, that being almost flat compared to the end of the fourth quarter 2019. Note that the Norwegian kroner has devalued significantly against the euro, and therefore, the net asset value in kroner-based value has had a significant increase. The year-end 2019 valuation was concluded by Night Frank in February 2020, and there were no further changes made to the value of the investments.On the Lakeside plot, the contract for the electricity connection of the area has been signed. In the Industrial Park, number 4 on the list, we received the building authorization for the road and utilities. And it is important because of the NATO infrastructure investment that will take place in the region, only 5 kilometers away from the plots.During the first quarter of 2020, the company entered a Lakeside sale agreement for 4 plots, for total a consideration of EUR 565,000 paid in full. On the 14th of May, about EUR 1.99 million, excluding VAT, was invested in infrastructure, primarily in Industrial Park and Lakeside.The net result for the quarter was EUR 310 million (sic) [ EUR 310,000 ] loss compared to EUR 976 million (sic) [ EUR 976,000 ] loss in the first quarter 2019. This is mainly due to the foreign exchange loss.Operating cash flow for the quarter was a positive EUR 639,000 compared to a negative EUR 552,000 in the same period last year. At the end of the quarter, the company had a cash position of EUR 2.9 million, plus about EUR 605,000 unsettled receivables. This totals to close of EUR 3.5 million or about EUR 0.1 per share.Please turn over. Here, we can see that the economic growth has decelerated in Romania in the first quarter compared with a 5% increase in the last quarter. It's expected that in the second quarter, due to COVID-19 lockdown, the Romania's economic growth will decelerate even further. To support the economy, the government announced a series of measures in March amounting to about 2% of GDP. On the 14th of May, the State of Emergency has changed to State of Alert, and this should lead to a stepwise easing of the lockdown.During the first quarter of 2020, the residential average price in Romania apartments slightly declined at the end of April by 1.7% compared with March 2020, at EUR 1,365 (sic) [ EUR 1,367 ] per square meter. Prices are still 11.3% higher compared with April 2019. Price in Constanta decreased about 1.4% compared with March 2020 and still 8.9% higher compared with April 2019.Please turn over. Here, we see the net asset value movement according to International Financial Reporting Standards for the first quarter of 2020. The investment property was at EUR 3.5 million. Cash stand at EUR 2.9 million, plus the unsettled receivables of about EUR 600,000. We have assets held for sale of EUR 2.3 million. And the NAV is at EUR 0.47 per share. It has shifted very little compared with the same quarter of last year.Please turn to the next page for the financial highlight. Operating revenue, first quarter, EUR 974,000, mainly from land bank sales and some limited income from the Balada Market. Operating expenses are at EUR 135,000. That provided a result for the period of negative EUR 310,000, mainly due to the other operating expense, which reflects the unsettled foreign exchange loss; cash position at EUR 2.9 million; and the NAV at EUR 0.45 per share.Please turn to the next page. This is the RomReal land bank that stands at 270,000 square meters, mainly in Constanta and Ovidiu. And for more information, you can visit our website. As to the operating highlights, the Lakeside plot, which is the most lucrative plot in this moment for the company, we have signed a contract for the grid connection, and also the contract for supplying gas has been signed. The company is awaiting for the authorization in order to start working in the area. A showroom is planned to be built around 1st of June in order to improve our marketing. And during the first quarter, the company entered a sale agreement for 4 more plots for a total consideration of EUR 565,500.On Oasis, the company is negotiating with the utility authorities, the cost for putting the grid connection there. The company is going to reauthorize the works, finalizing the house blocks erected on site in order to have more value to the whole plot. In Industrial Park, the building authorization has been obtained. The company is discussing the sale of around 15,000 to 20,000 square meters to international group. Balada Market. The sales area was reduced due to COVID, and the entire market is expected to open again.The new urbanistic plan for the Badulescu plot has been finalized towards the end of 2019. The company has already established specific contacts with interested investors in the area.Please move to the next slide. For the contestation against the Tax Authority decision, a new legal regulation issued by the government in order to protect the interest of the local companies, which means to subject to certain conditions of local commerce could be exempt of important debts to the state, the company will need to reassess the position in respect of this case with the assistance of the local Ernst & Young team. At the present, the restitution of claim, it's subject to a final solution by the municipality and subject to solving the litigation case. The piece of land has already agreed to be sold to the buyer of the company, the previous buyer of Mamaia North, subject to a final satisfactory conclusion.The Romanian macro development has decelerated to their GDP of Romania economic growth to 2.4% compared with 5% the last year. The statistic office announced the result presented on the May 15 could be revised, as it has been unable to collect sufficient data due to the COVID-19 restriction. The EBRD expects a 4% economic contraction for Romania for the whole year. There have been more than 11,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Romania, and so far, the country is currently under the State of Alert. It has changed the State of Emergency since the 15th of May.To support the economy, the government announced a series of measures in March amounting to about 2% of the GDP, which includes increased funding to the health care sector, loan guarantees and subsidized credits to small, medium enterprises. Please turn over. Now real estate. The first 3 months of 2020 amounted to about EUR 129 million (sic) [ EUR 120.9 million ], out of which 85% were office and industrial property acquisitions. With regards to retail, the closure of non-essential stores due to COVID is expected to affect the prices. While the level of new office space delivered in Bucharest was similar to Q1 2019, the leasing activity recorded a 50% year-on-year decrease during the first quarter of 2020.Please turn over to the next page. This show development of apartment price in Romania and Constanta. There has been a deceleration and decline of pricing as we see in April in both Romania and Constanta. Steel prices are about 11.3% higher compared to April 2019 in Constanta, 8.9% higher compared to April 2019. The next slide, here, you can see the top 20 RomReal shareholders as of 15th of May 2020. This table is placed here for your information only.Please turn over to next page. The highlights and the main focus going forward is that the company will still continue land value-enhancing activities in order to improve the shareholder value and exit. This includes, amongst others, investments to improve the salability of certain plots and to commence and, to some extent, conclude the regulation processes. The company is involved in several ongoing conditional sales processes.The Romanian parliament approved in January 2020 to upgrade and expand the NATO base located in Constanta. This is a significant project in a local context and should significantly help to underpin the labor and real estate market in the region. RomReal's nearest project Industrial Park is located about 5 kilometers from the expanded base area.It is not yet foreseeable to estimate how prices and the number of sales transactions resulting from COVID-19 will develop in the second and third quarter of the year.And with this, we have concluded our presentation for today. Thank you for listening in. For further information, you can contact myself, Harris Palaondas, Investor Relations; or Chairman, Kjetil Grønskag. Thank you very much for listening.