The several office buildings, logistics and retail properties in Romania owned by Austrian real estate investment fund CA Immo generated a rental income of EUR 31.7 million last year, almost three times than in the year before, and at a level similar to Hungary's. It was the second highest rental income last year, after Poland's EUR 43.2 million. The fund bought Europolis last year, taking over its portfolio of office buildings in Romania. CA Immo now owns four office buildings in Bucharest: Bucharest Business Park (in picture), Europe House, Opera center, and Riverplace, as well as the Europolis logistics park. Its projects in Romania also include the Retail Park in Sibiu.

The German market, where the fund owns 788,000 sqm of properties, brought some EUR 83 million in rental revenues from investment properties. CA Immo's total rental income stood at EUR 252 million last year. Eastern Europe contributed EUR 149 million to this amount.

Yields on investment properties in Romania are the highest of all CA Immo's markets: 8.6 percent, topping the 8 percent in the Czech Republic, according to the fund's most recent financial report.

With 21 percent of the fund's property assets, Romania is listed as the most important market in South Eastern Europe. The book value of its properties in Romania is of EUR 411 million, for some 327,000 sqm, with a 91.5 percent occupancy rate. Carrefour Romania is listed among CA Immo's major tenants regionally, with a 1 percent share of the annual rental income coming from the retailer.

The investment fund has a land bank worth EUR 41.3 million in Romania, but no projects under construction, or under zoning procedures. Half of the land is destined for office properties.

CA Immo's outstanding financial liabilities for Romania stay at EUR 225 million, with a loan to value (LTV) ratio of 61 percent. The highest LTV is in the Czech Republic, of 72 percent. The loan-to-value ratio is one of the key risk factors as it assesses the amount of a mortgage as a percentage of the total value of the property.

“2011 was a good year for CA Immo. We have reached our main targets and can therefore, as planned, distribute a dividend to our shareholders for the first time,” said Bruno Ettenauer, CEO of CA Immo.

editor@romania-insider.com