IMMOFINANZ: Information on the influence of Covid-19 on retail activities
- Temporary declines in rental income from the retail business should be largely offset on a cash flow basis by the cost savings programme currently in progress
- Intensive cooperation with retail tenants to master the challenges together
- VIVO! and STOP SHOP demonstrate their relative competitive strength in a difficult market environment with a high share of goods for everyday needs and generally low facility costs
IMMOFINANZ's standing investment portfolio totalled approximately EUR 4.7 billion as of 31 December 2019: roughly EUR 3.0 billion, or 64%, of office properties and EUR 1.7 billion, or 35%, of retail properties.
The above-mentioned government restrictions will have an effect on IMMOFINANZ's retail locations in the involved countries. Visitor frequency in the IMMOFINANZ retail locations from the beginning of January to mid-March 2020 reflected the comparable 2019 level due to a very strong start into the year. However, declines have recently been noted as a result of the government actions - whereby the extent differs from country to country, depending on the specific restrictions.
Longer revenue losses as the result of mandatory shop closures will have a negative impact on the economic position of retailers, also for the entire financial year. This can lead to a difficult cost situation for individual tenants. However, the tenants in IMMOFINANZ's cost-efficient retail concepts - VIVO! for shopping centers and STOP SHOP for retail parks - benefit from generally low rental and operating costs.
The IMMOFINANZ Group is following developments very closely and continuously analysing the necessary measures - whereby the health and safety of our partners and their customers have top priority.
IMMOFINANZ has a conservative capital and financing structure and is well positioned to react quickly and flexibly to future challenges. The net LTV as of 31 December 2019 is estimated at approximately 43.1%, which is slightly below the level at the end of September 2019.