Germany's largest real estate group Vonovia wants to sell around 66,000 apartments with a total value of around 13 billion euros in the coming years. "In times of higher interest rates, it makes sense to reduce debt," said company boss Rolf Buch on Wednesday in Bochum.
Vonovia has already identified apartments and apartment buildings that would be suitable for sale. "It has nothing to do with a sell-out," emphasized the manager. Vonovia has sold a total of 120,000 apartments since going public in 2013. A separation from the nursing home division is also being examined.
Vonovia is Europe's largest private housing company. The group owns around 550,000 apartments in Germany, Sweden and Austria. There are also around 71,400 managed apartments. The portfolio value is around 99 billion euros.
Operating profit increased
According to Vonovia Buch, the takeover of Deutsche Wohnen gave it a further boost. In the first half of 2022, Vonovia was able to increase operating profit (FFO) by 36 percent to EUR 1.06 billion, primarily through this step, as the real estate giant announced on Wednesday. Sales climbed in the first six months by almost 35 percent to 3.1 billion euros.
The bottom line is that profits fell by a third to almost 1.8 billion euros, mainly due to value adjustments, among other things because of the significantly lower share price of the Adler Group. A few months ago, Vonovia became the largest shareholder in industry rival Adler Group, which had gotten into troubled waters. The group secured a 20.5 percent stake in the competitor by realizing the pledge.
However, a takeover of Adler is no longer an option for the Vonovia boss. "The markets have changed and that's why the original idea of taking over the Adler Group is definitely off the table for us," he told the financial news agency dpa-AFX. The decision of that time can therefore also be critically questioned.
At the end of June, the group's rent rose to an average of EUR 7.44 per square meter - that was two percent more than a year earlier. Modernized apartments in particular contributed to the growth. The companies can partially pass on the costs of energy-related renovations such as thermal insulation and the replacement of old heating systems and windows to the rent. In Germany, the average rent at Vonovia at the end of June was EUR 7.32 per square meter.
Finding solutions together with tenants
Many people are currently very worried that they will no longer be able to bear the increased costs for heating due to the current energy crisis, said Buch when the quarterly figures were presented. Vonovia will find a solution together with the tenants if someone can no longer afford their apartment due to increased heating and hot water costs. The company has found similar solutions since the beginning of the corona pandemic.
In order to save as much natural gas as possible in the stocks, Vonovia has decided to lower the heating temperature for gas central heating at night within the legally prescribed framework, the company announced. In this way, the real estate group relieves tenants of the foreseeable sharp rise in energy costs and the environment. In addition, Vonovia adjusts the advance payments in order to avoid high additional claims at the end of the year.
The North Rhine-Westphalia SPD state leader Thomas Kutschaty practiced clear criticism of the real estate group. The social democrat told the "Neue Ruhr/Neue Rhein Zeitung" (Thursday) that people with low incomes currently have to turn over every cent twice. "The price shock hits them hard in all areas of daily life. Vonovia's callousness can almost leave you speechless." Making billions in profits and asking tenants to pay more and more for it, that's "anti-social market economy," Kuchaty criticized.
Vonovia Announcement
