HELSINKI, Finland, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Citycon Oyj Half-Yearly Report 12 July 2018 at 09:00 hrs

- Economic occupancy rate improved by 30 basis points.

- Divestments conducted in 2017 and in H1/2018 as well as weaker currencies impacted net rental income and EPRA Earnings as expected. Cost savings initiatives progressed well and administrative expenses decreased by 10% year-on-year.

- Good operating performance in shopping centre Iso Omena continued: strong footfall and tenant sales.

- Fair value change of investment properties was EUR -34 million mainly driven by Finland and Norway.

- Guidance related to Direct operating profit, EPRA Earnings and EPRA Earnings per share specified.

APRIL—JUNE 2018

- Net rental income was EUR 54.3 million (Q2/2017: 59.4). Divestments decreased net rental income by EUR 5.1 million and weaker currencies by EUR 1.0 million.

- EPRA Earnings was EUR 36.4 million (40.9) due to lower net rental income following disposals. Lower administrative and net financial expenses partly offset this reduction. EPRA Earnings per share (basic) was EUR 0.041 (0.046), negative impact from weaker currencies was EUR 0.001.

- IFRS-based earnings per share was EUR 0.00 (0.03) as a result of net fair value losses on investment properties and impacts from divestments and currencies.

JANUARY—JUNE 2018

- Net rental income was EUR 107.6 million (H1/2017: 116.0). (Re)development projects and acquisition of Straedet in Denmark increased NRI by EUR 4.1 million, while divestments decreased net rental income by EUR 9.2 million and weaker SEK and NOK by EUR 2.9 million.

- EPRA Earnings was EUR 72.5 million (79.2) due to lower net rental income. Lower administrative expenses as well as net financial expenses partly offset this reduction. EPRA Earnings per share (basic) was EUR 0.081 (0.089), negative impact from weaker currencies was EUR 0.003.

- IFRS-based earnings per share was EUR 0.02 (0.07) as a result of net fair value losses on investment properties and impacts from divestments as well as currencies.

KEY FIGURES

1) Change from previous year. Change-% is calculated from exact figures.
2) Citycon presents alternative performance measures according to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) new guidelines.
More information is presented in Basis of Preparation and Accounting Policies in the notes to the accounts.
3) Change from previous year (comparable exchange rates). Change-% is calculated from exact figures.

CEO MARCEL KOKKEEL: "Our strategic focus is to concentrate on multi-functional shopping centres in growing urban areas. Therefore, we continued our transformation journey during the first half of 2018 to improve the average quality of our portfolio. In line with our strategy, we have announced the divestment of four secondary assets so far this year. The total proceeds from the divestments amounted to approximately EUR 80 million, which were used to fund our development pipeline. We continue to aim to divest EUR 200-400 million of assets in the coming few years and use the proceeds to strengthen our balance sheet and to fund our development pipeline. Our redevelopment projects have been successful and Iso Omena is a great example of a well-performing prime asset after a redevelopment project. It is also an excellent case study of how to integrate community services in a shopping centre. The footfall doubled and tenant sales grew by 30% in H1/2018 compared to previous year. We are also very much looking forward to opening our next prime asset, Mölndal Galleria, in Gothenburg at the end of September 2018.

Our performance in January-June 2018 was in line with our expectations. We were pleased with our solid operational performance, albeit our EPRA earnings of EUR 0.081 declined during the first half of the year as a result of disposals and negative currency impact. Our total net rental income amounted to EUR 108 million during the period. As of H1/2018 we start commenting a pro forma like-for-like net rental income figure, which includes the impact of shopping centres Iso Omena and Buskerud for the April-June 2018 period. Our pro forma like-for-like net rental income grew by 1.1% illustrating the good progress we are seeing in Iso Omena and its positive impact on our numbers. Excluding Iso Omena and Buskerud, our like-for-like net rental income declined by 0.4% during January-June 2018. In addition, we were pleased with the continued good performance of our operations in Sweden, while the performance in other countries was more subdued. Economic occupancy rate improved by 30 basis points, although we continue to see pressure on non-core asset rental levels, particularly in Finland. During H1/2018, administrative expenses declined significantly due to cost reduction initiatives.

In the retail industry a noticeable divergence between the best and other assets is clearly visible. We also see this polarization in our asset portfolio. We continued to see good performance in our prime shopping centres in major urban areas during the first half of 2018, while the development in secondary shopping centres, particularly in Finland, was softer. As a result, the fair value changes of our investment properties amounted to EUR -34 million during January-June 2018 driven by Finland and Norway.

With half of the year now behind us and after the announced divestments, we have specified our guidance range. We now expect our EPRA EPS to be in the range of EUR 0.155-0.170 for the full year 2018."

OUTLOOK 2018 SPECIFIED

1) Change compared to the previous year

These estimates are based on the existing property portfolio and on the prevailing level of inflation, the EUR–SEK and EUR–NOK exchange rates, and current interest rates. Guidance for 2018 includes EUR -4 million impact from weaker currencies. Premises taken offline for planned or ongoing (re)development projects reduce net rental income during the year.

EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING PERIOD

After the reporting period, on 3 July Citycon purchased the third and final part of shopping centre Straedet and additionally divested shopping centre Glasshuspassasjen in Bodø, Norway for EUR around EUR 4 million on 5 July.

AUDIOCAST

Citycon's investor, analyst and press conference call and live audiocast will be arranged on Thursday 12 July 2018 at 10 am EEST. The audiocast can be participated by calling in and followed live at: https://citycon.videosync.fi/2018-half-yearly-report

Conference call numbers are:
Participants from Europe +44-203-194-0552
Participants from the US +1-855-716-1597

For more investor information, please visit the company's website at www.citycon.com

Espoo, 11 July 2018
Citycon Oyj
Board of Directors

For further information, please contact:
Eero Sihvonen
Executive VP and CFO
Tel: +358-50-557-9137
eero.sihvonen@citycon.com

Mikko Pohjala
Head of Investor Relations
Tel:+358-40-838-0709
mikko.pohjala@citycon.com

Citycon is a leading owner, manager and developer of urban, grocery-anchored shopping centres in the Nordic region, managing assets that total approximately EUR 4.5 billion. Citycon is No. 1 shopping centre owner in Finland and among the market leaders in Norway, Sweden and Estonia. Citycon has also established a foothold in Denmark.

Citycon has investment-grade credit ratings from Moody's (Baa2) and Standard & Poor's (BBB). Citycon Oyj's share is listed in Nasdaq Helsinki.

www.citycon.com

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SOURCE Citycon Oyj