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 It does not contain new, unpublished information.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.
Q1/2023
The Interim Report for January-March 2023 was published on 11 May 2023.
The publications, 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 investors in May-June via seminars and conference calls. In May, we participated in Van Lanschot Kempen’s European Real Estate Seminar in Amsterdam, and in June, we participated in EPRA’s Virtual Asia Week.
We have discussed a lot about the situation in the Finnish housing market. The amount of housing construction has slowed down sharply, and this year the number of new housing starts will remain very low. Housing sales have been sluggish throughout the beginning of the year. On the other hand, the situation in the rental market has developed steadily. Rental business typically have seasonal variation, and the spring and summer months are the busiest renting times.
We have made rent increases as usual. Since many apartments will still be completed this year, the supply is not expected to decline immediately. However, there will be few apartments completed next year, and with this, we expect the rent increase possibilities improve towards the end of the year and especially next year.
We have also been asked about yield requirements and fair values of investment properties. At the end of last year, Kojamo raised the yield requirement significantly, which, in the absence of trades, was based on the opinion of an external expert. Few significant transactions have been made in Finland in the first half of the year. The completed deals have also not been comparable to Kojamo’s housing supply, which is why there is currently no transaction-based evidence for new changes in the yield requirements.
One of the liveliest topics of discussion has been the availability of financing and the company’s plans to refinance maturing loans. We have no more refinancing needs this year. In the second quarter of the year, we entered into financing arrangements totalling EUR 500 million with banks, with which we refinanced all loans maturing in 2023. Additionally, EUR 150 million of the new financing was used in June to buy back bonds maturing in 2024 and 2025. The purpose of the tender offers was to proactively manage the maturity distribution of the company’s maturing debts, and thus, also part of the maturities of the 2024 loans have been taken care of well in advance.
Our balance sheet and liquidity situation have remained stable. We have continued in accordance with the decision made in the fall, and we are still not making any new investment decisions. We expect the situation in the housing and financing markets as well as pricing to stabilize, and it is of primary importance to us to ensure that our balance sheet remains strong and our key figures at a good level.
Other topics
In April, Kojamo signed a new EUR 75 million credit agreement with Aktia Bank Plc. The credit agreement is unsecured and has a maturity of five years. The loan was used for the refinancing of a EUR 50 million credit agreement with Aktia maturing in summer 2023, and the rest of it will be used for the group’s general financing needs.
In May, Kojamo signed a new EUR 425 million syndicated credit agreement linked to its sustainability targets together with six relationship banks. The loan is secured and has a maturity of three years with two one-year extension options. The loan will be used for the refinancing of company’s existing indebtedness as well as for the group’s general financing needs.
In May, we announced that Katri Harra-Salonen, Chief Digital Officer, will be leaving her current position at Kojamo. She will continue in her position until the end of August. Tuomas Kaulio, CTO (Chief Technology Officer), will be responsible for Kojamo’s Data and technology function from 1 August 2023.
Our work in reducing carbon footprint is yielding results. In June, we announced that Lumo homes’ carbon footprint per apartment has halved faster than the target. Kojamo is already at the halfway point to its carbon neutrality target – carbon-neutral energy consumption in its properties by 2030. According to the latest forecast made in April, the carbon footprint per apartment has already decreased by 50% in just over three years.
In June, we discussed about AI based Apartment agent, which was launched in the Lumo webstore. The new feature helps customers looking for a new home find their dream Lumo home easily with the help of a recommendation algorithm based on artificial intelligence. In the rental housing market, it is the first of its kind.
Janne Ojalehto has started his work in Kojamo as Executive Vice President, Housing, and a member of Management team on 19th June 2023. We announced his appointment to the position in January.
Our ongoing development projects are progressing as planned. In June, we announced that the historic chemistry facilities at the Helsinki University of Technology are currently undergoing a transformation into rental apartments. The renovation of the Old and New Chemistry buildings will be completed in November, and there has been a great interest in the apartments.
In June, Kojamo commenced offers to purchase outstanding notes due 2024 and 2025. As a result, Kojamo announced that it will accept for purchase in cash an aggregate nominal amount of the Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Offers equal to EUR 150,000,000. The difference between the nominal amount of the Notes accepted to be purchased and the aggregate amount equal to their purchase price will be recorded as financial income, and it is expected to have a positive impact on profit in an approximate amount of EUR 9 million.
Future events
Kojamo’s silent period starts on Tuesday, 18 July 2023, and the Half-Year Report for January-June 2023 will be published on Thursday, 17 August 2023. You can find information about future events and roadshows in Kojamo’s investor calendar.
Niina Saarto, Director, Treasury & Investor Relations, Kojamo plc, tel. 020 508 3283, niina.saarto@kojamo.fi
Kojamo is Finland’s largest private residential real estate company and one of the biggest investors in Finland. Our mission is to create better urban housing. Lumo offers environmentally friendly housing and services for the city dweller who appreciates quality and effortlessness. We actively develop the value 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 https://kojamo.fi/en/