Castellum falls as it braces for 'a tougher rental market'

Castellum

14/02/2024 12:59

** Shares of Castellum  CAST.ST  fall 3.8% after the Swedish
real estate company reported a further loss in property value in
Q4 and said it is unlikely to fully reach operational targets in
2024
    ** Castellum does not provide a guidance but says it is "not
likely that the targets of increasing income from property
management by 10% per share and investments corresponding to 5%
of the property value will be fully achieved in 2024 either"
    ** It posts yet another quarterly loss in property value at
SEK 6.30 billion ($595.83 million), compared with 6.39 billion a
year earlier
    ** "We are preparing for a tougher rental market," Castellum
CEO Joacim Sjöberg says 
    ** Adds, weaker business climate in the wake of the fight
against inflation will potentially affect more tenants 
    ** Annual income from property management declines by 3%
year-on-year to SEK 4.4 bln in 2023, due to rising cost of
financing and lower profit share from associated company Entra,
UBS analysts say
    ** UBS says it prefers Hufvudstaden  HUFVa.ST  among the
Swedish peers, saying it has "one of the strongest balance
sheets in our coverage"
    ** Castellum shares are among the bottom performers on the
STOXX 600 index  .STOXX 
($1 = 10.5734 Swedish crowns)

 (Reporting by Tilla Sjaavaag)
 ((tilla.sjaavaag@thomsonreuters.com))