Kojamo plc Stock Exchange Release, 8 May 2024 at 2.00 p.m. EEST

HELSINKI, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Total revenue and net rental income increased, no significant value changes in the investment properties

This is a summary of the January–March Interim Report, which is in its entirety attached to this release and can be downloaded from the company’s website at www.kojamo.fi/investors.

Unless otherwise stated, the comparison figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period of the previous year. The figures in this Interim Report have not been audited.

Summary of January–March 2024

• Total revenue increased by 4.7 per cent to EUR 113.3 (108.2) million.
• Net rental income increased by 1.9 per cent to EUR 60.6 (59.5) million. Net rental income was 53.5 (55.0) per cent of total revenue.
• Result before taxes was EUR 39.3 (24.0) million. The result includes EUR 11.1 (-9.0) million in net result on the valuation of investment properties at fair value and EUR -0.9 (0.0) million in profit/loss from the sale of investment properties. Earnings per share was EUR 0.13 (0.08).
• Funds From Operations (FFO) decreased by 11.5 per cent to EUR 25.5 (28.8) million.
• The fair value of investment properties was EUR 8.1 (8.2) billion at the end of the review period, including EUR 0.0 (7.5) million in Investment properties held for sale.
• The financial occupancy rate was 92.4 (92.2) per cent for the review period.
• Gross investments amounted to EUR 8.4 (54.9) million, or 7.4 (50.8) per cent of total revenue.
• Equity per share was EUR 14.83 (15.22), and return on equity was 3.5 (2.0) per cent. Return on investment was 3.5 (2.3) per cent.
• EPRA NRV (Net Reinstatement Value) per share fell by 3.3 per cent to EUR 18.60 (19.23).
• There were 113 (1,485) Lumo apartments under construction at the end of the review period.

Kojamo owned 40,860 (39,550) rental apartments at the end of the review period. Since March of last year, Kojamo has acquired 0 (985) apartments, completed 1,372 (1,397) apartments, sold 73 (0) and demolished or otherwise altered 11 (0) apartments.

Key figures

Outlook for Kojamo in 2024 specified

Kojamo estimates that in 2024, the Group’s total revenue will increase by 4–7 per cent (previously 4–8 per cent) year-on-year. In addition, Kojamo estimates that the Group’s FFO for 2024 will amount to between EUR 152–164 million, excluding non-recurring costs (previously EUR 154–166 million).

The outlook is based on the management’s assessment of total revenue, property maintenance costs and repairs, administrative expenses, financial expenses, taxes to be paid and new development to be completed, as well as the management’s view on future developments in the operating environment.

The outlook takes into account the estimated occupancy rate and rises in rents as well as the number of apartments to be completed. The outlook does not take into account the impact of potential acquisitions or disposals on total revenue and FFO.

The management can influence total revenue and FFO through the company’s business operations. In contrast, the management has no influence over market trends, the regulatory environment or the competitive landscape.

CEO’s review

Total revenue and net rental income as well as profit before taxes increased in the first quarter of the year. FFO decreased compared to the comparison period particularly due to the increase in financial expenses and maintenance costs resulting from the cold winter. The fair value of the investment properties did not change significantly during the review period. Our financial position is strong, and our liquidity is good.

Our occupancy rate slightly improved from the comparison period, and tenant turnover remained at last year’s level. The usual seasonal variation was visible in renting during the winter months, and the occupancy rate was lower than at the turn of the year. The balancing of demand and supply is still in progress. Although the number of new start-ups has been exceptionally low already for a couple of years, a large number of previously started properties were completed to the market. Therefore, the supply of rental apartments is still plentiful. After the completion of the ongoing projects in the market, the decrease in housing supply is expected to begin, and no new supply will be completed to a significant extent in the next two years. This is estimated to lead to a considerable decrease in the supply of rental apartments. In the end of the review period, we had only one ongoing development project, from which 113 Lumo homes will be completed by the end of June. At the beginning of the year, we have made higher rent increases than in recent years, and as the supply will turn to decline, the possibilities for rent increases are expected to improve further.

The saving programme we started last fall is progressing according to the plan. The personnel layoffs have been realized, and we have reduced our investments substantially, limiting ourselves to the completion of previously started development projects and modernization investments as well as repairs that support renting. The past winter was cold, and there was a lot of snow which, together with the larger property portfolio, increased the maintenance costs at the beginning of the year. In terms of administrative and marketing expenses, the savings have been realized as planned.

We successfully took the new ERP system into use during the first quarter of the year. The project was an extensive effort, and the implementation involved personnel throughout the organization for more than a year. The new system enables the further development of efficiency and processes as well as increasing the benefits of digitalization.

With the saving programme and the financial arrangements made, the loans maturing in 2024 and 2025 are covered. In January, we issued a EUR 200 million unsecured bond as a private placement. This was the first sizable euro-denominated bond issuance by a residential real estate company since 2022. In addition, at the end of March, we made secured EUR 250 million bank financing with our three relationship banks.

Jani Nieminen

CEO

News conference as a webcast

Kojamo will hold a news conference for institutional investors, analysts and media on 8 May 2024 at 3.00 p.m. EEST at the company’s head office at Mannerheimintie 168A, Helsinki. The event will be held in English. After the event, the media has a possibility to ask questions also in Finnish.

The event can also be followed as a live webcast through which it is possible to ask questions. No registration for the webcast in advance is needed. The event will be accessible at https://kojamo.videosync.fi/q1-2024.

A recording of the webcast will be available later at the company’s website at https://kojamo.fi/en/investors/releases-and-publications/financial-reports/.

For more information, please contact:

Niina Saarto, Director, Treasury & Investor Relations, Kojamo plc, tel. +358 20 508 3283, [email protected]

Erik Hjelt, CFO, Kojamo plc, tel. +358 20 508 3225, [email protected]

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki, Irish Stock Exchange, key media

Kojamo is Finland’s largest private residential real estate company and one of the biggest investors in Finland. Our mission is to create better urban housing. Lumo offers environmentally friendly housing and services for the city dweller who appreciates quality and effortlessness. We actively develop the value of our investment properties by developing new properties and our existing property portfolio. We want to be the property market frontrunner and the number one choice for our customers. Kojamo’s shares are listed on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki. For more information, please visit https://kojamo.fi/en/

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SINGAPORE, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Fintica AI Ltd, a leading provider of next-generation AI for the financial industry, and Spark Systems Pte. Ltd, a leading global foreign exchange trading platform, have announced a strategic partnership.

This strategic partnership will enable Spark Systems to accelerate its business development and market reach in Singapore and globally by bringing Fintica AI’s unique unsupervised artificial intelligence technology to its client base.

The finance sector in Singapore has witnessed a remarkable transformation in recent years, with the growing importance and relevance of AI technology as well as a rapidly expanding foreign exchange market at its forefront. Singapore has positioned itself as a global financial hub, and its financial institutions are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to pursue efficiency and profitability. AI-powered solutions, such as those created by Fintica AI, have revolutionized various aspects of finance, from AI-augmented investment decision and risk management to enhanced market liquidity and monitoring.

Fintica AI’s solutions enable analysis of vast amounts of data, giving financial institutions greater leverage to make data-driven decisions swiftly and accurately. This move therefore holds the potential to make Singapore’s financial sector not only more competitive, but also more innovative in the global arena.

The decision of Spark Systems to partner with Fintica AI is a key example of how the Singapore ecosystem is investing in becoming one of the most dynamic financial sectors in the world, driving further innovation and cementing the city-state’s reputation as a cutting-edge financial center.

Wong Joo Seng, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at Spark Systems, said: “Spark Systems is pleased to partner with Fintica AI and its cutting-edge AI technology team that is focused on trading financial markets. Artificial intelligence is neither artificial nor science fiction anymore, it’s real and happening now. Traders armed with AI will possess the most significant edge the industry has seen to date.”

“We are thrilled to partner with our esteemed Singapore counterpart to spearhead transformative initiatives in the foreign exchange trading space,” said Philippe Metoudi, Chief Executive Officer of Fintica AI. “This partnership will enable us to leverage each other’s strengths, tap into the immense potential of Singapore’s financial institutions and fintech ecosystem, and deliver innovative solutions that will shape the future of foreign exchange.”

About Fintica AI Ltd:

Fintica AI is a fintech firm dedicated to developing cutting-edge autonomous AI technology for capital markets. Among the company’s core solutions are Orion, an AI-augmented foreign exchange hedging solution tailored for corporate and institutional clients; Spectrum MRI, a platform for identifying market regimes across various asset classes, and providing predictive analytics and risk decision support tools for investment managers; and Bluestream, a liquidity enhancement solution designed for market infrastructures. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Fintica AI maintains a presence in several global financial hubs.

About Spark Systems Pte. Ltd:

Headquartered in Singapore, Spark Systems is a builder of next-generation; fast, smart and efficient trading platforms. From local banks to hedge funds, and retail traders to corporate treasuries, Spark Systems aims to serve specific requirements of the various FX trading sub groups. Its objective is to enhance usability and improve trading efficiency to perfect the user experience by providing a stable, ultra-low latency aggregator with algorithms for optimized execution. Spark Systems provides an innovative solution to today’s segmented and under-served FX market participants.

For further information:

Visit www.fintica-ai.com / email [email protected].

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– Innovative solar panel manufacturer announces a new record in silicon heterojunction back-contact solar cell efficiency of 27.30%, cementing its leadership in the global solar energy industry.

– LONGi also unveils its all-new Hi-MO 9 new solar module, featuring industry-leading silicon solar module conversion efficiency of up to 24.43%

MADRID, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. announces that the company has broken another world-record for silicon solar cell efficiency only 4 months after it last set a world-record in this area on May 7. As certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), new silicon heterojunction back-contact (HBC) solar cells designed by LONGi have reached an efficiency of 27.30% under laboratory conditions. The new record was announced at a celebratory event where they also unveiled a new product, the Hi-MO 9. Guests at this event included LONGi’s founder and president, Li Zhenguo, Vice President Dennis She, Chief Scientist Dr. Xu Xixiang, and client representatives from across the globe.

LONGi has cemented its leadership in the global solar energy industry

The announcement represents the 17^th time that the company has set a world-record in solar cell efficiency since April 2021.

The achievement has firmly established LONGi as a leader in crystalline silicon photovoltaics – the company is now the twin world-record holder both for efficiency in crystalline silicon solar cells and for efficiency in crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells. In November 2023, LONGi announced that the company had set an additional world record in the efficiency of crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells of 33.9%.

Introducing the Hi-MO 9 module

At a celebratory event held in Madrid, Spain, on the evening of the 7th of May, LONGi launched its all-new, flagship Hi-MO 9 module. The Hi-MO 9 is a solar module with capabilities of up to 660W, based on the 2^nd generation Hybrid Passivated Back Contact (HPBC) solar cell technology and the TaiRay wafer, an silicon wafer launched by LONGi in March 2024, and the Hi-MO 9 module boasts a conversion efficiency up to 24.43%, built to excel in a range of tough environments (including lakes, mountains, and deserts).

Dennis She, Vice President of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., said: “Our new Hi-MO 9 module allows world-leading power generation and outmatches other technologies on the market in an equal land-use scenario. What’s more, it retains this performance throughout its life, as the module is designed to the highest standards of reliability. Power plant owners can rest assured that a plant built from the Hi-MO 9 module will help them make the most efficient use of their land and get the most value out of sunlight.”

The panels will be produced at the company’s Jiaxing Production Base which has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Global Lighthouse Factory, a group of factories which have been judged to be accelerating the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies in manufacturing.  

About LONGi

Founded in 2000, LONGi is committed to being the world’s leading solar technology company, focusing on customer-driven value creation for full scenario energy transformation.

Under its mission of ‘making the best of solar energy to build a green world’, LONGi has dedicated itself to technology innovation and established five business sectors, covering mono silicon wafers cells and modules, commercial & industrial distributed solar solutions, green energy solutions and hydrogen equipment. The company has honed its capabilities to provide green energy and has more recently, also embraced green hydrogen products and solutions to support global zero carbon development. www.longi.com

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