Aroundtown returns to nine-month profit as German property sector recovers

By Marleen Kaesebier and Emanuele Berro

(Reuters) -Aroundtown, one of Germany's largest listed landlords, reported a nine-month profit of 882.3 million euros ($1.0 billion) on Wednesday, as it continues to recover from the country's worst property crisis in decades.

The result compares with a loss of 154 million euros in the first nine months of 2024 and comes after Aroundtown posted its first annual profit in three years in March.

The property group's funds from operations (FFO I), a key metric for real estate firms, however fell to 221 million euros from from last year's 235.6 million.

Shares of Aroundtown fell around 7% in early trading. Analyst Manuel Martin from ODDO BHF said the results did not contain big surprises but were overall a bit below the brokerage's estimates.

"Judging by the results, at first sight, the drop in share price seems to be exaggerated," Martin added, though he noted the market may have expected slightly higher FFO I.

Aroundtown confirmed its full-year guidance, naming cost-saving measures as a positive driver.

Germany's largest real estate group Vonovia said earlier in November that it had returned to profit in the first nine months of the year thanks to an upward revaluation of its hundreds of thousands of apartments.

Aroundtown similarly saw 383.7 million euros in property revaluations and capital gains in the January-September period, a drastic change from the loss of 591 million euros a year ago.

($1 = 0.8632 euros)

(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier and Emanuele Berro in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi)