Letter to the Shareholders: Commercial Portfolio Value of DIC Asset AG increases by over 10% Like-for-like after Strong Operative Performance in 2018

Press Release

Letter to the Shareholders: Commercial Portfolio Value of DIC Asset AG increases by over 10% Like-for-like after Strong Operative Performance in 2018
Frankfurt am Main, 22 January 2019.

• Value of the Commercial Portfolio rises by around 10% like-for-like
• Vacancy in proprietary portfolio reduced by 24% to 7.2%
• FFO increased to EUR 68 million, up 13% year-on-year

Dear Shareholders,

Today, with the new year just getting under way, we would like to brief you on the first preliminary figures for the operating activities in 2018, which have just become available.

DIC Asset AG is looking back at a highly successful financial year. In an increasingly demanding real estate market, our long-term expertise and regional market know-how paid off. We scored major operating achievements during the year now ended, meeting or indeed exceeding all of our annual targets:

• The intense efforts of our asset management and property management in managing the Commercial Portfolio achieved a noticeable reduction of the EPRA vacancy rate by 24% down to 7.2% (previous year: 9.5%) and a rise in weighted average lease term (WALT) to 5.8 years (previous year: 5.1 years). The resulting like-for-like market value increase amounted to c. EUR 160 million or 10.4%.With transactions taken into account, the market value climbed to EUR 1.7 billion by the end of the year (previous year: EUR 1.6 billion).
• At the same time, we continued to expand our platform in the fund business, and significantly increased our revenues from this business line by EUR 12.7 million to EUR 31.6 million by launching two additional institutional funds, and by selling share certificates and properties.
• As far as acquisitions and sales went, our transaction team generated the impressive volume of over EUR 1 billion across segments in 2018, demonstrating a high-powered performance here as elsewhere.
• All things considered, the real estate assets under management (AuM) rose to a record level of EUR 5.6 billion as of 31 December 2018.
• The sound operative performance in all three segments resulted in a substantial increase in Funds from Operations (FFO) by 13% to a total of EUR 68.0 million.

On 08 February 2019, we will publish the full-length annual report for 2018 with a detailed outlook for the company’s prospective performance in the current year.

At this time, we would like to thank you for the faith in our company that you have shown in recent years, specifically during the 2018 financial year concluded. True to our belief “dynamics create growth”, we will do everything we can to continue our successful approach in the years to come and to deepen your faith in the high productivity of our company.
 

Kind regards,

Sonja Wärntges, Dirk Hasselbring, Johannes von Mutius
(Members of the Management Board of DIC Asset AG)

For more details on DIC Asset AG, go to the internet at www.dic-asset.de.
 

About DIC Asset AG:
DIC Asset AG is one of Germany’s leading listed property companies, and specialises in commercial real estate. With around 20 years of experience on the German real estate market, the company maintains a regional footprint on all major German markets through six branch offices, and has 181 assets with a combined market value of
c. EUR 5.1 billion under management. DIC uses a hybrid business model to manage its business divisions Commercial Portfolio, Funds and Other Investments. Taking an active asset management approach, DIC employs its proprietary, integrated real estate management platform to raise capital appreciation potential in its business divisions and to boost its revenues.

In its Commercial Portfolio division (EUR 1.6 billion in assets under management), DIC acts as proprietor and property asset holder, and thus generates revenues both from the management of the assets and through the value optimisation of its own real estate portfolio. The Funds division (EUR 1.9 billion in assets under management) generates its revenues by acting as issuer and manager of special real estate funds for institutional investors. Gathered in the business unit Other Investments (EUR 1.6 billion in assets under management) are strategic financial investments, the management of properties in which the company holds no equity stakes, equity investments in property developments and joint venture investments. DIC Asset AG has been included in the SDAX(R) segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since June 2006. The Company’s shares are also included in the EPRA index, which tracks the performance of the most important European real estate companies.
(as of: 30/09/2018)