This is Kojamo’s first investor newsletter that is primarily published always after an Interim Report and the subsequent roadshow. The purpose of the newsletter is to discuss the topical issues and themes related to Kojamo as an investment that are relevant for investors. It does not contain new, unpublished information. The newsletter is available on Kojamo’s investor pages or you can subscribe to it via e-mail.
Q1/2019
The Interim Report from January–March 2019 was published on 9 May 2019. The first quarter of the year went according to expectations, and the revenue, net rental income and cash flow before the Funds From Operations (FFO) changes increased. We specified the 2019 outlook for FFO: it is projected to amount to between EUR 130–143 million excluding one-off items, whereas the previous estimate was EUR 126–141 million. For other parts, the guidance remains unchanged.
We showed strong development in our service offering as the number of tenant agreements made via the webstore exceeded 10,000 and the My Lumo mobile service launched earlier in the autumn became available to our residents. We will continue our service development in collaboration with our partners and customers.
Our financial position was strong at the end of the review period, and we are in a good position to invest when suitable opportunities are identified. We are currently in the middle of a so-called reverse tendering process where we have asked construction companies to submit proposals for approximately EUR 100 million investment initiatives.
Following the Interim Report, we held a press conference where our CEO Jani Nieminen and CFO Erik Hjelt presented the result of the review period. After the presentation there was a Q&A session. The topics discussed included the factors affecting the specification of the FFO forecast, among others. In addition to strong operative development, the repair costs and modernisation investments are estimated to be less than predicted. A recording of the webcast is available on Kojamo’s investor pages.
Roadshows and investor meetings
Kojamo took part in the European Small & Mid Cap seminar organised by Goldman Sachs in London on 10 May 2019, the European Property seminar organised by Kempen in Amsterdam on 23 May 2019 and also took a roadshow to Paris on 14 May 2019. In connection with these three events, we met a total of 65 investors or analysts from 44 different companies.
Kojamo’s operating model, which is different from that of its European peers, created a lot of interest. A lot of interest has been created by Kojamo’s service-oriented operating model, which, based on the feedback, seems to be unique by the European standards. For example, the webstore that makes it possible to create a rental agreement in fifteen minutes, the use of AI in heating and the provision of service sharing have been very positively received in the discussions, and these are seen to provide a competitive edge.
In addition, there a discussion regarding the way properties are valuated: in Finland, residential buildings are primarily valuated using the transaction value method, that is, based on actual home sales. In Europe, yield based valuation is a more common method. The reason for the different valuation practices is historical: in Finland, there have been plenty of data available as regards the prices of home sales, whereas historically, there is very little data available on portfolio sales due to their small number. Other differences include, for example, rental policies. Based on the received feedback, Finland is considered a tempting market in this respect. Discussing these different premises and practices has been one of the central themes of the meetings.
Other topical matters
Kempen started the coverage on Kojamo at the start of May. Subsequently, as far as Kojamo knows, it is now followed by 5 analysts.
On 6 June, we announced that from 31 December 2019 onwards, we would begin to use the yield-based valuation technique in the valuation of investment properties. The change is not accounted for retrospectively. Read more in the stock exchange release.
Future events
The Interim Report for January–June 2019 will be published on 23 August 2019. You can find information about future events and roadshows in Kojamo’s investor calendar.
Maija Hongas, Manager, Investor Relations, Kojamo plc, maija.hongas@kojamo.fi, tel. +358 20 508 3004
Kojamo is Finland’s largest private residential real estate company and a frontrunner in the rental housing business. Our mission is to create better urban housing. We operate in Finland’s most significant growth centres and our Lumo brand provides rental housing and new services for urban housing with 50 years of experience. We actively develop the value and number of our investment properties by developing new properties and our existing property portfolio. We want to be the property market frontrunner and the number one choice for our customers. Kojamo’s shares are listed on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki. For more information, please visit kojamo.fi/en/