SBB reports smaller Q4 loss, will continue to cut cost and sell assets

OSLO (Reuters) - Swedish real estate group SBB reported on Wednesday a smaller pretax loss for the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier and said it would continue to cut costs and divest assets in order to boost its finances.

The company was one of several European real estate groups forced to trim debt and restructure in the face of high interest rates in recent years, although conditions began to improve in 2024 as central banks eased monetary policies.

SBB, which owns properties such as hospitals and care homes across Sweden, reported an October-December loss before tax of 613 billion Swedish crowns ($57.25 billion), compared with a loss of 3.37 billion in the final quarter of 2023.

"By the end of 2025, the objective is to increase quality and normalise the central cost level, entailing a significant reduction in the cost level," SBB CEO Leiv Synnes said in a statement.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Louise Rasmussen)