Montea Comm. VA

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining our webcast this morning. The first half of the year demonstrates that Mantea Strategy is working exactly as intended. As momentum picks up across our markets, we see our clients taking strategic decisions, translated directly into leasing activity, investments, developments, and earnings growth. As in every quarter, I'm pleased to present these results together with our CFO, Els, and our investor relations manager, Inna. Els and I will take you through the results, after which Inna will lead the Q&A session. Our APS remains fully on track with 5% year-on-year increase underpinned by a strong 2.8% rental growth. Our portfolio as well as our development pipeline have seen exceptional leasing momentum with 255,000 square meters let, re-let, securing an average rental uplift of not less than 16%. This progress means that we have now secured 95% of track 27, bringing us within reach of the 1.15 billion target we set ourselves. At the same time, we have fully secured the funding required to deliver this growth. With both investment and financing largely locked in, we have a clear runway for future earnings growth and confidence on future execution of our strategy and our promised value creation. Before diving into results, I would like to give one slide on the market update. And what we see is, while geopolitical uncertainty remains a reality that is unlikely to change soon, we see that occupiers are starting to look through that. 51% of occupiers are now looking to expand in the next three years, an increase not seen since 2023. Businesses have increased their confidence with 3PLs, post and parcel delivery and e-commerce being most optimistic, along with Chinese occupiers that are increasingly active across Europe. I will come back on that later on. And last but not least, we see that occupiers are concerned because of the lack of good quality product. Also on that topic, I will come back later on. I said 255,000 square meters of letting and re-letting. 145,000 of that is in the existing portfolio, but 72% of that 145,000 square meters is leased to new tenants. And we were able to increase the rent by 16%. On average, in line with our ERV. When we look at the kind of leases we signed, we see that more than half of them were big bucks above 25,000 square meters with nice names like GD.com and CRG. Going into detail on some of the deals, the JD.com deal is a deal we did on the former Decathlon site. You remember we developed that building in 2017 for Decathlon. The lease was expiring in 2027 and we were already closing this deal today, de-risking the 2027 lease maturity profile already in 2026. Another nice deal we did over the last months was with CRG, the Claes Retail Group. You remember that six months ago we bought this building empty after the bankruptcy of Euroshu. We renovated the building and at delivery it was leased to CRG. A nice deal on a core location. We continue to sustain near full occupancy in our portfolio, outperforming the market by no less than 500 base points. 95% of the leases maturing in 2026 have now been let or re-let, only leaving us 0.6% to renegotiate over the last half year. And as I said, the tenants are struggling With the lack of good product, and this is something you see in my opinion in this graph, where you see that for good product like our portfolio, you still have an occupancy rate of 99.4%, where the average of the market is now roughly between 94 and 95%. We also see that we are able to catch rent reversion with an average rental growth of 4% since 2022, clearly demonstrating the capturing of the reversionary potential to both indexation and positive reversion. As of today, we still have 7% of rent potential to capture, meaning future rental growth potential. Let me now focus on track 27, our growth plan. As already mentioned, 95% of the 1.15 billion we want to invest is now secured. More than 800 million has been invested. Another 90 million is under execution today. And another 180 million is under exclusive negotiation. A part of this are the remaining directly yielding acquisitions we announced in Q1. which we expect to close in the very near future. And at an average yield of above 6.5, on average 6.6%. You know our four growth pillars, but I always want to repeat them. Development, acquisitions, partnerships, and green investments. Developments, 130,000 square meters of new leases signed. We'll come back on that. 33,000 square meters acquired in Brussels, and of course our ongoing partnership with the Weerts Group in Liège. Going to the first pillar, the developments, we were able to win a tender in the Port of Antwerp for the development of a new building for DP World. We were able to sign a lease with Bosch Siemens Households for development in Thiel. Aurelie Vande Cauter We bought 48 hectares of land, which is the former glasswork site. We remediated the site. We developed, and I start from the right-hand side, we developed for Interchama last year 95,000 square meters GLA, both logistics and a cross-dock platform. In the back of the site, we have a land lease with Struik Verwoe. for another longer period for the exterior storage of building materials. The one in blue next to InterGamma is the one we are starting now, the 67,000 square meters. of which 70% is pre-led to BSH. The one in green is the one we still have on the market on the commercial process where we are actively looking for tenants. Then the two purple ones we developed for Over D and are starting a development for Ario. And the one in the back, the small one, the yellow one, is a very interesting one. We leased it out. It's a land lease. to Mylands, and Mylands is building a trans-European charging platform for truck charging. And this is nice because we will be able to use the energy we produce on the roofs of this park to develop or to charge the trucks that come to the park. So this is really sustainability in action. In short, we have 188,000 square meters now under development in Halle for the Kolruyt Group, two projects in Tiel, and of course our 40% in the GV with Wertz in Liege, which gives us another 220,000 square meters in the near-term development pipeline and after that even 1.4 million square meters of future development potential in the portfolio. Second pillar, acquisitions. We did a very nice acquisition in Brussels, really at the entrance of Brussels. We know that Brussels is struggling to organize the last mile logistics. You know that we have had great experience in Antwerp with the Blue Grape project, and we really intend to do the same in Brussels. The building is now leased for a long period to BPOST. but this strategic plot will only become more strategic in the upcoming years. Talking about the partnerships, the beautiful Sketchers project we developed together with WIRTS and we're really proud of the successful partnership. The first three units of five have now been delivered to Sketchers who have now started the automation works in the building The remaining phases are fully on track for this beautiful, ambitious development. Looking at the pipeline of the project beyond the successful execution, what makes this project particularly attractive for us is the earning profile. Through our joint venture structure, Montea has been generating a return on every euro invested from day one, resulting in an immediate positive contribution to our earnings. Last but not least, and you know this is a very important one for me, I always emphasize on it, It's our land bank where we think it is our most important competitive advantage. We were able to add another 500,000 square meters of land under option in Q2, mainly in France. So we continue to secure strategic land with now close to 4 million square meters under control. Knowing Montea, you know that we always plan with the long term in mind. Our first priority today is the execution and remains the execution of track 27, but we are already preparing the future beyond track 27. One of the key growth drivers will remain this land bank and the in-house developments we can realize on them. And with the French land bank now as an anchor, where we are in the process of securing 500,000 square meters of permits, we intend to continue the growth. on this land bank beyond 2027. And to make this very concrete, in our land bank we see another 75% of rental growth in the upcoming years. But of course growth just for the sake of growth is not really the game we're at. We want to create value and we think that there is around 350 million of additional value remaining to be captured through these developments. This, in our opinion, highlights the unique strengths of the Montea platform. A substantial portion of our future earnings growth and value creation is already embedded in the assets we own today. And with this positive message, I would like to give the floor to Els.

Thank you very much, Jo. All of our growth is backed by a very strong balance sheet. During the first half of the year, we secured and refinanced 207 million euros of funding. This means that we now have all the means in place to execute track 27. At the same time, we further improved the quality of our financing. We refinanced all debt maturing in 2027 well ahead of time, while keeping our long-term, well-diversified financing profile with long-term interest rate protection. We also continue to maintain the cost of debt at a very low level of 2.2% on average, well below our maximum guidance of 2.5% under track 27. In short, we have the funding, the balance sheet and the flexibility to deliver our growth plans and take new opportunities whenever they arise. Our funding position has been strengthened further. With the refinancing done, we now have no debt maturing before 2028. At the same time, we extended the average maturity to 5.5 years, creating a well-balanced repayment profile. The funding platform has been strengthened by adding three new lending relationships. Overall, our funding is well spread over time, supported by a broader group of financing partners and fully aligned with the execution of Track 27. Our financial strength is not only reflected in our funding profile, it is also recognized externally. Fitch reaffirmed our BBB plus investment grade credit rating with a stable outlook, recognizing both the resilience of our portfolio as our disciplined financial management. For the first time, we also obtained a strong F1 short-term credit rating, all while keeping our leverage and coverage ratios within the expected levels. We continue to operate within a resilient financial framework. All remaining TRAK27 investments are fully funded and covered within our around eight times adjusted net debt on EBITDA barrier. We maintain our financial discipline and we continue to protect the strength of our balance sheets while keeping the flexibility to capture new opportunities and of course market momentum. Based on this strong first half year performance, we reaffirm our guidance for both 26 and 27, keeping us firmly on track to deliver the 7% annual EPS growth ambition of track 27. We have our 2027 EPS target of 5.60 euros inside, thanks to the strong performance of our existing portfolio, the continued like-for-like rental growth, additional income from recently completed projects, and of course from new directly yielding investments. With our growth pipeline secured, funding in place and earnings feasibilities continuing to improve, we remain confident about the road ahead. I will now hand back to you Jo.

Thank you Els. So in conclusion, we see strong leasing momentum with 255,000 square meters signed over the last six months. We see significant progress on track 27, with 95% now secured and with a fully funded investment pipeline, as Els mentioned, that provide us confidence in the earnings trajectory ahead with a 7% earnings per share growth over the next years. Backed by a strategic land bank, sorry to repeat it again, but backed by a strategic land bank, deep local market expertise with our local teams and a high quality portfolio, Montea is well positioned to translate future market demand into sustainable long-term growth. And with this message, I will now hand over to Inna for the Q&A session.

Thank you, Jorg. And good morning, everyone. As you know, you have two options to ask your questions. If you're joining us via webcast, please feel free to raise your hands. And in case you're joining us through the dial-in option, please press pound key five to enter the queue. And if you want to withdraw your question, press pound key six. Our first question is from Suraj at Green Street. Suraj, your line is now open.

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Just a couple. First one is on the EPS. It just looks like it's lagging a little bit in 1H. I know you reiterated your 2026 EPS guidance. Is it possible to just help us understand how you bridge the gap? Maybe I'll ask a second question afterwards.

What you mean is actually that we are currently at the 5% growth, while the guidance is 7%?

Right, yeah.

Yeah, that's clear. Yeah, of course, the 2% remaining is the recognition of Montea in the Netherlands FBE for fiscal year 2024. So we are still awaiting that recognition, which will represent roughly 8 cents, the 2% that is missing.

Okay, thank you. And then the second one was just on France. You still, I think, mentioned that you're trying to aim for the 500,000 square meters of permitted land by end of 27, but have 150,000 a day. Just wanted to understand, is that still the realistic goal by the end of next year? And is planning maybe the main constraint to accelerating in France right now rather than occupying the month?

Well, as in every country, planning and permitting is the main challenge in our projects. But we are well on track. We see that when we make that message, it's because we have the visibility to get the permits in place. Let's not forget that a lot of the land in France that we buy is subject to obtaining those permits. So that also means that We did not have to invest in the land prior to obtaining the permit. So we are well confident that we will obtain these in this year or the beginning of next year. But in the meanwhile, they are less difficult for us because we don't have to buy the land until we have the permit.

And Jo, maybe to add, as of today, we've secured the 150,000 square meters already of the GLA that we were planning to do until the end of 2027. So we definitely have work ongoing there and we're confident that we can reach the remaining 350.

Absolutely. Thank you.

Thanks, Seraj. Our next question on the line is from Lynn at KBC Securities. Lynn, your line is now unmuted.

Hi, good morning, everyone. I have two questions. My first question is also on funds and the development potential that you have there. I was just wondering if the WDD-Argonne combination changes your perspective Thank you Lynn for your question. Let's say that WDP was our first competitor in the Benelux and Argan was our first competitor in France.

So them joining forces doesn't really change the needle for us. It's just the same people, it's the same that we were encountering on the The DNA of Argan, the DNA of WDP and the DNA of Montea is in that sense comparable that we all try to capture value by in-house developments. In that perspective, I think Mantea is well-equipped, as we already mentioned, by the land bank we developed. If you compare it relative to the total portfolio side, we have the largest land bank of all players in the European market. So we are really confident that we are able to continue our growth plan on our own land bank, and the merger of WDP doesn't really change for us on the French market.

Okay, perfectly clear. And then second question is on your operational margin or APRA cost ratio. Your guidance for Truf27 is 90% operational margin, but if I see it, it actually comes down a bit. And I understand there is some seasonality, but maybe could you elaborate on why it's been coming down and how comfortable you are in reaching that 90% next year?

Yeah, comparing to last year, it's more or less in line. So indeed, we have been speeding up in investing in the teams in the different countries to get the growth done, which has a slight impact on our operating margin or the EPRA cost ratio. But this being said, I think with this cost ratio, we are in the top 10 of the EPRA universe. with the best performing or the highest occupancy rates. And indeed, the targets for 2027 can be reaffirmed to 90% operating margin for 2027. Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Lynn.

Thank you, Lynn. Our next question comes from Steven at ABN. Your line is now muted.

Hi, good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. I have two. I'll ask them separately. First, looking at your recent leasing track record, large-scale occupied demand seems to be improving and being better than stated in Q1 and before. What changed most during the quarter? Is it tenant decision-making, pricing, sector demand, or anything else? And also, how should we reconcile your leasing and commons with the rising market vacancy that you show on slide 9?

Thank you, Steve, for that question. First of all, it's not repricing. Let's be very clear. If we were able to increase the rents by 16%, it shows that We have this when we say there is rent reversion potential in our portfolio. We really show that it is there. So it's not about lowering the prices. So let's be very clear on that. I think what a lot of the deals we did just take much longer as they did in the past. We all remember those, I would say, after the corona crisis, 21, 22, where parties needed to decide within two to three months because otherwise There was competition and somebody else was taking the space. Now we see that they take their time. It's taking longer to take a decision. So that's why there has been a bit of a delay. I think that uncertainty is the new normal. It's a bit of a catchphrase, but I think it's true. Uncertainty is the new normal. Those who said we are going to wait until we have more visibility in the market, they now understand that it's not about to come. Operationally, they were stressed and they needed to take a decision, and now they start acting again. Maybe last point I want to make, and it's a repetition of what I said during the presentation. We see the clear distinction between the A product, A product being a sustainable new product on a location, on top location, Thank you very much. but luckily we have this strategic well-positioned portfolio. We did a lot of, a lot of people forget that, but 10 years ago, we already did a lot of asset rotation in the portfolio. I've always said that we focus on those strategic long-term leases. If you look at the first break dates on average, In our portfolio, it's above six years, which is quite unique in the market, but it's really because we focus on that prime product. So I think that is, in my opinion, the main reason why you see that difference between our 99.4 and the average in the market, which stands around 94.5%.

Okay, very clear. Maybe a second question, if I may. If I recall correctly, you have started some small speculative developments, something you didn't do that much before. Can we expect more of those speculative development starts going forward, and to what extent?

Well, we've always been very clear, Steven, that for our developments, we would start based on a 50% pre-let. We've done that in France, we've done that in Holland before, and we are doing that now in Thiel. It's 70% pre-let. So we feel confident that there are already ongoing discussions for the remaining 30%. So there, our strategy is unchanged. Speculative development is part of our scope, but only if there is 50% pre-let. And on that, if I can assure you, every time we've done that in the past, we were able to lease out the entire building before the delivery date. So we have a very strong track record on that topic.

And looking at the total portfolio of developments in execution, the pre-let level still stands at 92%.

Yeah, that's very clear. Just wondering indeed for the future. But that's clear. Thank you.

Thank you, Steven.

Thank you, Steven.

Thanks, Steven. Our next question comes from John at Van Lanschot Kempe. Your lion is now alive.

Hi, good morning. Hope you can hear me. I want to follow up on Steven's questions. Looking at the leases that you signed, the JD leases are re-letting, I suppose refurbishment, and the BSH one is a new development. So the timelines until the tenant can move in are quite different. At the same time, you're mentioning that occupiers are concerned about the lack of good quality demand. They take longer to make decisions, but once a decision is made, do you sense that whether demand out there really has the patience to wait for the space that they're taking up, or Do they want it as soon as possible once they make this decision?

Well, we have the advantage in logistics that the throughput time of a project is rather We can deliver, once we have the permit, we can deliver within 9 to 12 months. For me, and I've always said that, it's not a reason to do speculative development. Sometimes in real estate you say you have to do spec in order to catch the demand at delivery. We are not really convinced of that. We really focus on pre-letting. So there we don't change our strategy. JD, they will start immediately. BSH, they can wait. And of course, DP World, it's a tender they organized themselves. It's a beauty contest they organized together with the Port of Antwerp. So they also, it's a process they manage, so they are well aware that there is a timing of 12 to 18 months, including their internal works that need to be done. So timing is not really an issue.

Okay, that's clear. Thank you. And then in Q1, you mentioned that you had four acquisitions signed. I suppose the process one is... One of those four and you close that. Could you provide a bit more color on the progress for the remainder and also whether closing these are included in your 26 DPS guidance?

I'm always looking ahead, so if we are looking back, then I give the floor to Inna.

No, John, so you're referring to the 90 million to close at above 6.5% net initial yield. So we're indeed, one of which was BPOST. It was an 18 million acquisition that we now closed in June. And the remaining mix, it's a couple of acquisitions. I don't think we've confirmed exactly how many we will be doing. but the remaining mix is 70 million which are now in final stages of closing. So we expect to provide news on that very shortly and we indeed confirm the same target of yields at above 6.5% which of course will feed directly into our earnings towards the end of this year as well as next.

Okay, that's fair, thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, John.

Thank you, John. And our next question comes from Francesca at ING. Your line is now open. Hello.

Good morning, everybody. Can you hear me?

Yes. Good morning, Francesca.

Hello. I have questions. The first one is escalating a bit the question of lean and KBC on sector consolidation. We have an important consolidation trend across the logistics sector. How Mondea is looking at this? What is your view and how What type of strategic opportunities of strategic risk do you see in the recent deals that we have seen? Should I go one by one?

Yes, that's maybe easier, Francesca. I will take that one. I agree. But what we see today in the market is definitely a mismatch between the Public and the private markets. If we look, if we want to buy an asset, the yields we have to buy, and we then look at the share prices on the public market. There is indeed a mismatch there, which leads to more pressure on M&A. We, from our side, we want to continue to focus on value creation, as I said, through the land bank, through our local teams, through rent reversion. So we are not really playing on that market today, and every opportunity that would come by would of course have to lead to EPS growth or significant NTA growth. Otherwise, if it's just growing for the sake of growing, we will never do it because it would dilute the potential of our land bank in more shares. So yeah, we are well aware of that mismatch today, but it's not our first focus today.

Okay, another question for you, Jo. You're always looking ahead, so that's the question for you. TRAC 2027 is approaching its completion. Today, you look more confident when it comes to dynamics among tenants. When should we expect an update about your next strategic plan and key priorities, let's say up to 2030?

You will understand, Francesca, that I will not give you a date on that, unfortunately. I cannot give it. But let me assure you that if you look at the land bank, if you look at the potential we are building there, of course we want to continue the growth story. We want to continue on those strong KPIs, both on EPS growth, on NTA growth. So, yes, there will, of course, one day be a new growth plan. It's not for today, unfortunately, but... We are working on it behind the scenes. And I think when we say that we have now a land bank of 4 million square meters, that should be the best indicator that we are still able to continue that growth plan.

Okay. And maybe another question. We see peers becoming more active, a little bit more active when it comes to asset rotation. Is this something that might be of interest also for yourself?

Absolutely. But as I mentioned, we already did a lot of asset rotation Back, I would say, between 10 and 15, between 2011 and 2016, we already did quite some asset rotation, light industrial. I remember some of my competitors saying at the time, well, every time you sell a building, you're selling a client, which was partly true. But on the other hand, it gave us the equity to continue the growth and to continue in those strategic, Thank you very much. I want to create shareholders' value by rotating in the portfolio. That's an exercise we're really making in every individual country, on every individual asset line. It's not our preferred scenario. We would like to continue both growing EPS, NTA, but also the portfolio. It's our ambition to grow. But if it doesn't create value, then asset rotation will definitely be part Thank you very much. The question is on Decathlon. Out of curiosity, why isn't there a new disease in their building? We did not understand your question. I think there's a problem with the line, Francesca. Could you repeat it?

Can you hear me? Why is the leasing renewed?

Francesca, I think the line was quite bad again. Perhaps I can either ask you to submit the question via the chat, or we can pick it up offline afterwards, if that's okay for you.

Thank you, Francesca. Thank you.

It appears we don't have any remaining questions in the queue, so over to you for the concluding remarks.

Thank you very much, Inna, and thank you very much for your questions. I hope that through this call we were able to prove to you that Montea's momentum is building, and we are confident that there is much more space for growth to come. Thank you all for joining the call. Thanks for your time, and I already wish you a great weekend. Thanks.