Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s largest landlord, Vonovia, benefited from higher rental income in the first quarter of the year.

The business involving ancillary services, such as tradesmen’s services and energy supply, also contributed to the growth in its operating profit, the company announced on Thursday.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 1.4% year-on-year to €712 million ($836 million).

However, the bottom line saw adjusted profit attributable to shareholders fall by 7.2% to just under €366 million, primarily due to higher financing costs. The company confirmed its targets for the current year.

At the end of March, Vonovia managed just under 471,000 of its own flats in Germany. In Sweden, the figure was around 40,000 and in Austria around 20,000, making a total of just under 531,000 flats.

Like all landlords, Vonovia continues to benefit from high demand for housing in metropolitan areas.

The average monthly rent in Germany stood at €8.26 per square metre at the end of March, 3.8% higher than a year earlier. Across the group, it rose by the same amount to €8.46 per square metre. In Germany, the vacancy rate stood at 1.9% at the end of March, which means the portfolio is almost fully let.

In Germany, the Berlin area accounts for the largest number of Vonovia’s flats, with just over 138,000. Of these, only 0.8% were unlet at the end of March. The average rent there stood at €8.23 per square metre.

The highest vacancy rate, at 3.3 per cent, was in the Hanover area, whilst the highest average rent was in the Munich area at €10.57 per square metre.

Source: dpa.com