Operating profit (EBIT) increased to CHF 16.1 million, 12% up on the previous year, despite the noticeable rise in building costs. Net profit rose significantly, by 59% to CHF 19.1 million. This means that Ina Invest exceeded the targets set for 2022. The primary contributors to this were higher profit from rental income of CHF 11.3 million and positive revaluations of investment property of CHF 12.8 million. The latter were the result of operating performance and a positive financial income from the sale of an interest rate swap. The NAV per share increased to CHF 23.28 in the financial year (2021: CHF 22.70)

Real estate portfolio significantly expanded
Ina Invest increased the value of its real estate portfolio by 94% to CHF 842 million during the reporting period. The acquisition of CERES Group, and with it the strategic Bredella development site in Pratteln, took place in January; the integration is now complete. The development of the Bredella site, which covers an area of 82,600m2, is proceeding according to plan; an ancillary property has now been sold at a profit. The Grand-Pré development property in Geneva was also purchased and integrated in 2022, representing another key acquisition by Ina Invest. The Ina Invest portfolio now comprises a total of 40 buildings in prime, urban locations – double the number held at the end of 2021.

Portfolio development on track 
The projects that are at the execution stage are going to plan. The new “Elefant” complex in Lokstadt, Winthertur, is let out in its entirety to a health insurance company. It was handed over to the tenants in December 2022 to carry out the tenant fit-out. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel on the Baselink site in Allschwil has also been completed, and opened in January 2023. In addition, the Pratteln Municipal Parliament has unanimously agreed to put the Bredella West design plan out for consultation, with approval expected in the first quarter of 2024. Planning permission has been received for the “Schaffhauserstrasse” project in Zurich and building permit applications have been submitted for the Lokstadt-Hallen project in Winterthur and the “Birspark” commercial park in Aesch.

Ambitious sustainability goals set
In 2022, for the second time Ina Invest put itself under scrutiny in the GRESB¹ Real Estate Development Benchmark Assessment in its peer group in Western Europe. Scoring 93 out of a possible 100, we even exceeded the excellent result obtained the previous year (92 points). We are sticking to our aspiration of holding and continuously developing the most sustainable real estate portfolio in Switzerland. In light of this, during 2022 we set ourselves ambitious decarbonisation targets: all new buildings are to achieve “net zero” operational emissions by 2030, and “net zero” embodied emissions by 2040. Ultimately, we also want to achieve climate neutrality in relation to the operational emissions from existing buildings by 2050. 

Amendments to the Articles of Association and introduction of a capital band
On 1 January 2023, the new provisions of the revised law on public limited companies came into force. Among other things, this improves the protection of minority shareholders and modernises the requirements for holding an Annual General Meeting. Based on these new provisions, the Board of Directors will propose a revision of the Articles of Association to the Annual General Meeting on 29 March 2023 that both implements the requirements imposed by the reform of the law on public limited companies and takes into account current best practices in corporate governance. The Board of Directors will also propose introducing a capital band in place of the authorised capital valid until June 2022. This would mean that the subscription rights of existing shareholders would be fully preserved by the capital band in the event of capital increases. The capital band would give the Board of Directors the necessary flexibility to realise the investments in our real estate portfolio planned in accordance with Ina Invest’s strategy.

Confident outlook
In 2023 we will be focusing on transferring completed buildings to our existing portfolio, starting the construction phase of other projects in Zurich and Winterthur as well as focusing on our development pipeline throughout Switzerland.

The Board of Directors and Management Board of Ina Invest are looking ahead to the current year and further into the future with confidence. Although the economy has cooled down somewhat over the last year and interest rates have climbed from a record low, Switzerland remains an attractive location for property. There is still demand for owner-occupied or rented residential property in good locations. And Ina Invest also expects its commercial projects, designed to the latest standards, to be highly sought after. Ina Invest is pressing ahead resolutely with the implementation of its strategy and, underpinned by its balanced usage profile, is able to react flexibly to opportunities and challenges.

Against this backdrop, Ina Invest is reaffirming its medium-term goals of a portfolio valued at over CHF 2 billion and a return on equity of over 6%.

Thank you
We would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your trust in us, our employees for their great commitment and our partners for their targeted cooperation. We look forward to continuing to develop the most sustainable real estate portfolio in Switzerland together.

28 February 2023

¹GRESB is the leading assessment system for measuring the sustainability performance of property companies and property funds. Seven different aspects are weighted to produce the GRESB Score, which contributes significantly to the transparency of the real estate industry when it comes to sustainability issues.

 

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