Interim Report for Piren AB January - March 2000

Interim Report for Piren AB January - March 2000 * Earnings from core operations totalled SEK 30 million, an improvement of 48 percent. * After the acquisition of Skanska's and Latour's blocks of shares, and after the public offer to other shareholders, Rodamco Continental Europe owns more than 99 percent of all the shares in Piren. 2000 1999 1999 Jan 1-Mar 31 Jan 1-Mar 31 Jan 1-Dec 31 Rental income, SEK million 1 1 5 Profit from core operations, 1 SEK million Income before tax, SEK 1 million Profit for the period, SEK 1 million Equity, SEK million 2,224 1,800 2,196 Equity ratio, percent January - March 2000 Interim Report for Piren AB Revenues and earnings Consolidated operating revenue for the period January-March 2000 was SEK 157.2 (147.2) million, including rental income of SEK 156.5 (146.0) million. Income before tax equalled SEK 29.8 (20.1) million. Depreciation was SEK 13.9 (13.2) million, including depreciation on buildings and amortisation of goodwill totalling SEK 13.4 (12.7) million. Piren reported profit for the period of SEK 28.3 (20.1) million. Rentals Of the floor space in Piren's property holdings (excluding Fisketorvet Shopping Center), 95 (95)* percent was under lease at March 31, 2000. On that date, the financial vacancy rate equalled 3 (3)*) percent. Fisketorvet Shopping Center in Copenhagen In central Copenhagen, Piren is building a completely new shopping centre complex: Fisketorvet Shopping Center. The total investment is expected to equal the amount budgeted, DKK 1,300 million, or about SEK 1,500 million. The direct yield is estimated to about 9 percent. Fisketorvet Shopping Center will contain about 54,000 square metres of leasable space. In addition to some 100 shops and resaturants, the complex will include a cinema centre seating a total of 3,200 persons in 10 cinemas and some 2,000 parking spaces. The shopping centre will be inaugurated in September/October 2000. At April 12, 2000, 70 percent of the space had been leased. Investments During the January-March 2000 quarter, Piren invested SEK 218 (353) million, of which SEK 149 (320) million was in the Fisketorvet Shopping Center project. The renovation and expansion of Solna Centrum has begun, an extension of retail space by about 2,000 square metres. The Hotel Winn will also gain 118 rooms. The total investment is estimated to SEK 225 million. Sales trends at Piren's shopping centres During the first three months of 2000, sales at Piren's shopping Centres averaged some 11 percent higher than in the corresponding period in 1999, based on current prices. According to statistics from the Swedish Research Institute of Trade (HUI), comparative sales for the Swedish retail trade increased 7.5 percent. Financial position Group liquid funds (cash on hand and bank balances) at the end of March were SEK 174 (79)* million. At March 31, bank overdraft and loan facilities granted but not exercised totalled SEK 46.2 (27.6)* million. In addition, there is DKK 330 million that has not yet been utilized of the agreed financing of Fisketorvet Shopping Center totalling DKK 900 million. At March 31, 2000, the Group's loans totalled SEK 4 434 (4 201)*, SEK 100 (100)* million of which was a convertible loan. The total amount includes loans for DKK 900 (650)* million, roughly equal to SEK 1,002 million. The conversion rate was SEK 1.1128 SEK/DKK. The average interest rate for the Piren Group's borrowings at March 31, 2000, was 6.0 (5.8)* percent, not taking into account interest subsidies. Interest subsidies for the first three months of 2000 equalled SEK 0.3 (0.4) million. At March 31, 2000, interest rates on Piren's loans were fixed for an average of 21 (22)* months. At March 31, 2000, the equity ratio equalled 31.3 (32.3)* percent. With full conversion, the equity ratio would have been 32.7 (33.7)* percent. Forecast for 2000 Rental income excluding Fisketorvet Shopping Center is forecast to be some 5 percent higher in 2000 than in 1999. Earnings from core operations are expected to be better than in 1999. New majority shareholder On January 24, 2000, Piren's two largest shareholders, Skanska and Latour, announced that they had agreed to sell their holdings in Piren AB to Rodamco Continental Europe N.V. (RCE). The price was SEK 69.60 per share. In addition, the agreement provided for the dividend on 1999 earnings to be paid to the sellers. RCE also made an offer to the other shareholders to sell all their shares on the same terms and conditions as agreed with Skanska and Latour. An offer prospectus was distributed to the shareholders at the end of February 2000. Following expiration of the acceptance period and after purchases on the market, RCE currently owns 99 percent of all shares and votes in Piren. Rodamco Continental Europe N.V., based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is one of Europe's leading property management companies. Prior to acquiring the shares in Piren, RCE owned properties in several European countries with a total market value of about SEK 16,000 million. About 75 percent of that total consists of shopping centres and retail properties. 2000 Annual General Meeting Participants At Piren's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 12, 2000 RCE and its wholly owned subsdidiary, Rodamco Northern Europe AB, collectively represented 40,827,950 shares. In addition three shareholders represented 4,335 shares. Members of the Board At the Annual General Meeting, Robert F.W. van Oordt (chairman), Joost A. Bomhoff and K. Willem Ledeboer were elected to the Board for the first time, while Lars Söderblom (managing director) was re-elected. The newly elected members of the Board constitute the Management Board of Rodamco Continental Europe N.V. Auditors Leif Lundfors and Ingemar Nilsson, both authorised public accountants, were re-elected auditors of the Company. Bengt Arnedal and Lars Bauman, also authorised public accountants, were re-elected deputy auditors. Dividend In accordance with the proposal of the Board of Directors, the Annual General Meeting voted to pay a dividend of SEK 1.75 per share with the record date of Monday, April 17, 2000. Next report The semi-annual report for January-June 2000 will be released on August 29, 2000. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/27/20000427BIT00750/bit0001.doc The full report http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/27/20000427BIT00750/bit0002.pdf The full report