Pandox AB (publ) interim report January–March 2023

Stable earnings development

January–March 2023

• Revenue from Property Management amounted to MSEK 780 (634). For comparable units, the increase was 21 percent, adjusted for currency effects
• Net operating income from Property Management amounted to MSEK 662 (543). For comparable units, the increase was 21 percent, adjusted for currency effects
• Net operating income from Operator Activities amounted to MSEK 52 (-49)
• EBITDA amounted to MSEK 675 (467), an increase of 45 percent
• Cash earnings amounted to MSEK 259 (178), equivalent to SEK 1.41 (0.97) per share
• Changes in the value of properties amounted to -212 (279) MSEK, of which MSEK -410 unrealised and MSEK 198 realised. Unrealised changes in the value of derivatives amounted to MSEK -344 (930)
• Profit for the period amounted to MSEK -203 (1,044), equivalent to SEK -1.17 (5.67) per share
• During the first quarter Pandox acquired The Queens Hotel in Leeds and Best Western Hotel Fridhemsplan in Stockholm. The divestment of InterContinental Montreal was completed

Comment from CEO Liia Nõu

Stable demand and good growth
Hotel demand remained stable and positive in the first quarter, taking into account the hotel market’s past seasonal patterns where the first quarter is normally the weakest one of the year.

Pandox’s growth was good, and our cash flow was strong. For comparable units, net sales and total net operating income increased by 47 and 41 percent respectively, compared with the corresponding quarter the previous year – a quarter that was impacted by pandemic restrictions. Growth was particularly strong in Operator Activities.

Although the first quarter had a cautious start, demand increased gradually and the hotel market is still perceived as robust. Development was particularly strong considering the significant new capacity which, in the aftermath of the pandemic, has been added in many markets over the past few years, such as in Copenhagen and Helsinki.

Strong business momentum with a focus on value-creation

During the quarter we acquired The Queens Hotel Leeds within the Operator Activities segment and Best Western Hotel Fridhemsplan within Property Management. Both of these acquisitions had attractive prices and good yield levels. I’m particularly glad that we have made another acquisition in Stockholm – especially because we see great potential in the hotel property at Fridhemsplan. We have a long and successful history of acquiring underperforming hotel properties and increasing their profitability and value in various ways. Our focus and our speciality is identifying valuable strength factors, particularly in the current market.

 

For various reasons, transaction activity in the hotel property market is low and our acquisition pace is currently below what we would like it to be. The situation is better in terms of investment in the existing portfolio and we believe there is good potential to continue to add profitable projects in cooperation with our tenants.

 

Solid financial position and good bank relationships
Pandox’s financial position improved further during the first quarter. The loan-to-value ratio fell to 46.2 percent. Adjusted for distributed dividends in April, our loan-to-value ratio was 46.8 percent. We only have bank financing where the security is in the form of our properties, and the loans are in local currency. During the quarter we secured refinancing equivalent to around MSEK 5,200 in the form of loans with longer terms to maturity. As is our normal procedure, we have a close working relationship with our banks and lenders about refinancing maturing loans.

Driven and proactive
Our variable revenue business model provides effective protection against both inflation and higher financing costs. This, combined with a company that is driven to succeed and is financially strong, allows us to both actively defend our positions and proactively utilise the business opportunities that are created.

Up to now, in April, both hotel demand and average price development have been good in most markets. There is still recovery potential in business and international travel. At the same time we are seeing stronger trade fair and exhibition calendars than in 2022 in important markets. Our cautiously optimistic view of the hotel markets in 2023 still holds.

Liia Nõu, CEO

Presentation of the interim report
Pandox will present this interim report to investors, analysts and the media in a conference call webcast on 26 April 2023 at 08:30 CEST. As a service to Pandox’s stakeholders there will also be an external update on the hotel market.

To follow the webcast, go to https://ir.financialhearings.com/pandox-q1-2023

To participate by phone, please use one of the following phone numbers:
SE: +46 8 505 163 86
UK: +44 20 319 84884
US: +1 412 317 6300
Pin code: 4762730#

Attachment: Interim report January–March 2023

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Liia Nõu, CEO, +46 (8) 506 205 50
Anneli Lindblom, CFO, +46 (0) 765 93 84 00
Anders Berg, SVP Head of Communications and IR, +46 (0) 760 95 19 40

This information is information that Pandox AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, for publication on 26 April 2023 at 07:00 CEST.

About Pandox
Pandox is a leading owner of hotel properties in Northern Europe with a focus on sizeable hotels in key leisure and corporate destinations. Pandox’s hotel property portfolio comprises 158 hotels with approximately 35,600 hotel rooms in 15 countries. Pandox’s business is organised into Property Management, which comprises hotel properties leased on a long-term basis to leading hotel operators, and Operator Activities, which comprises hotel operations executed by Pandox in its owner-occupied hotel properties. Pandox was founded in 1995 and the company’s B shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.pandox.se