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Deutsche Wohnen AG / Final Results 26.03.2010 07:02 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORPORATE NEWS Deutsche Wohnen continues on road to success - 2.2 % increase in EBITDA to EUR 133.5 million - 34.4 % increase in FFO to EUR 0.43 per share - Significant reduction of vacancy - Optimised financial structure - Positive outlook for 2010 Frankfurt am Main / Berlin, 26 March 2010. Despite the difficult market environment, Deutsche Wohnen brought the financial year 2009 to a successful close: The EBITDA rose by a further 2.2 % to EUR 133.5 million. This was due to an optimised income and cost structure, a reduction in corporate expenses and, in particular, the company's successful rental business. The EBT increased from EUR -328.8 million to EUR 3.4 million and the FFO rose by 34.4 % to EUR 0.43 per share. 'We have managed to turn the company around: taking into account non-recurrent expenses, we are almost back in the black (earnings are at EUR -13.3 million, up from EUR -255.9 million in the previous year). In the financial year 2009, we also successfully completed the restructuring of the company following the integration of GEHAG. Deutsche Wohnen now represents a competitive, scalable platform for sustainable growth', says Michael Zahn, CEO of Deutsche Wohnen AG. Significant improvement of operating results Despite the disposal of a total of 199,358 sqm of floor space (3,371 apartments) in the years 2008/2009, the result from rental business rose by 2.2 % to EUR 151.0 million (previous year: EUR 147.8 million). This was achieved, inter alia, by an average increase in net cold rent and a simultaneous decline in vacancy. Compared to the previous year, Deutsche Wohnen raised rent levels as of the balance sheet date of 31 December 2009 by 3.1 % to EUR 5.26/sqm. In the same period, the vacancy rate improved by 30 % to 4.2 %. Costs per unit amount to EUR 376. In the sales segment the group sold a total of 1,573 apartments (previous year: 1,798). With a transaction volume of EUR 85.7 million and distribution costs of EUR 6.2 million, the contribution margin amounted to EUR 79.4 million. Taking into account book value disposals, the resulting profit amounts to EUR 9.7 million (previous year: EUR 13.2 million). After loan repayments, the net cash and cash equivalents amount to EUR 42.5 million, which corresponds to 49 % of sales proceeds. In the nursing home segment, the annual result increased from EUR 8.7 million in the previous year to EUR 9.1 million despite tighter socio-political and market framework conditions (+4.6 %). Optimisation of financial structure At 28 %, the equity ratio improved substantially due to the capital increase carried out in 2009. The same is true for the Net Net Asset value (NNAV), which increased from EUR 646.6 million in the previous year to EUR 870.3 million. In relation to the issued shares, the NNAV amounted to EUR 10.63 per share as of 31 December 2009. Financial liabilities were reduced substantially from EUR 2,089.2 million to EUR 1,802.7 million (-13.7 %). The ratio of net financial liabilities to real estate assets (Loan-to-Value-Ratio) thus improved from 70.6 % to 61.5 %. 'In the context of the reorganisation of our financial liabilities, we renegotiated loans with a total volume of approx. EUR 900 million. It was our intention to standardise loan agreements and financial ratios as well as optimising repayment structures. We succeeded in this aim in 2009', says CFO Helmut Ullrich. Positive outlook for 2010 In 2010, Deutsche Wohnen will be concentrating on a further improvement of its business operations to underpin the company's ability to pay dividends on a sustainable basis. Furthermore, the company will exploit all existing expansion potential as well as generating sustainable external growth. Deutsche Wohnen expects a further rise in rental income in the next two years as well as lower vacancy-related charges, which should largely compensate rental shortfall due to single privatisation. In terms of single sales, the privatisation target has remained at 500 residential units. The loan repayments will take full effect in the coming months and interest charges will once more decline substantially. As a result of these developments, the successful completion of the restructuring project and the absence of further restructuring expenses, Deutsche Wohnen expects to generate its first positive overall result in 2010 as well as a significant increase in the FFO from currently EUR 0.43 per share to approx. EUR 0.48 per share. This does not include the operating performance contribution made by valuation, bloc sales and acquisitions. Deutsche Wohnen Deutsche Wohnen is the second-largest listed real estate company in Germany. In terms of operative focus, the company concentrates on the management and development of its portfolio. All in all, the portfolio comprises 49,496 units of which 49,026 are residential and 470 commercial. The company has 81.84 million shares listed in the SDAX segment of Deutsche Börse and is also listed on the MSCI and EPRA indices. 26.03.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Deutsche Wohnen AG Pfaffenwiese 300 65929 Frankfurt Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)30 89786-0 Fax: +49 (0)30 89786-509 E-mail: ir@deutsche-wohnen.com Internet: http://www.deutsche-wohnen.com ISIN: DE000A0HN5C6, DE0006283302 WKN: A0HN5C, 628330 Indices: SDAX Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------