Kojamo’s investor newsletter is primarily published after an Interim Report and the subsequent roadshow, before the beginning of the silent period. The purpose of the newsletter is to discuss 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 It does not contain new, unpublished information.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 and can be subscribed to the e-mail.
Q1/2022
The Interim Report for January-March 2022 was published on 12 May 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on Kojamo’s result, balance sheet or cash flows during the review period.
The Interim Report, webcast recording from the results news conference as well as transcript of the event are available at Kojamo’s Investors website.
Roadshows and investor meetings
We have met with investors in May-June through roadshow meetings and phone calls. In May, we also participated in Kempen's European Property Seminar in Amsterdam and EPRA's Corporate Access Day in London.
COVID restrictions were lifted in Finland in March, and this has begun to revive the rental market. The number of rental apartments available has decreased, and Kojamo’s rental during the spring and early summer has also accelerated. Currently, the demand for labour in the service sectors is strong, especially in the Helsinki metropolitan area, which contributes to the urbanization trend and the positive development of our occupancy rate.
Inflation has continued to be high in the whole euro area, and rising costs have also reflected in construction material prices. There have also been challenges in the availability of some materials. Nevertherless, Kojamo’s ongoing projects have progressed as planned and we have not been significantly impacted by price pressures due to our fixed project prices. In addition, we have been able to agree on the start of two new projects during this spring.
The rise in energy prices have raised a lot of questions. Kojamo’s heating costs at the beginning of the year were almost at the previous year’s level. It is good to note, that instead of the price of energy, the greater impact on costs is due to how cold or warm the winter is. In addition, the use of natural gas for heating is very limited in Finland. The most common form of heating is district heating, which has remained cheaper than direct electricity heating.
The sharp rise in financing costs has given rise to much debate and we have been asked about the cost and availability of new financing. The hedging ratio of our loan portfolio is very high and therefore the increase in interest rates will not increase the interest expenses of our current loans. The average maturity of the loans is also long. We have a significant cash position and already at the end of March we issued a EUR 300 million bond with a fixed interest rate. Our idea at the time was to secure financing for investments at low interest rates. The average interest rate of our loan portfolio has remained low and due to our strong liquidity situation, we will not need additional loan in the near future.
Other topics
In April we announced the agreement on the construction of 178 new apartments in Finnoo, Espoo. The apartments will be completed in early 2024. The agreement is part of the cooperation agreement signed with Hausia in 2019.
Our work on sustainability continues. In May we announced the demolition of Puotila’s old shopping centre which was carried out in accordance with the Green Deal commitment, recycling more than 70 per cent of the property's waste and recovering as much of the movable materials as possible.
On June 23, we announced an agreement under which Kojamo’s subsidiary Lumo Kodit Oy will acquire 942 rental apartments in Finnish growth centres from a fund managed by NREP. The transaction concerns 13 high-quality properties completed between 2017 and 2021. The properties are located in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Turku and Jyväskylä. If completed, the transaction will increase Kojamo’s total revenue for 2022 by approximately EUR 4 million. The parties aim to finalise the transaction during June 2022.
Future events
Kojamo’s silent period starts on 19 July 2022, and the Half-Year Report for January-June 2022 will be published on 18 August 2022. You can find information about future events and roadshows in Kojamo’s investor calendar.
For more information: Niina Saarto, Group Treasurer, Investor Relations, Kojamo plc, niina.saarto@kojamo.fi, tel. +358 20 508 3283
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/