immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Jahresvergleich

  • Construction activity remains stable

    Construction activity remains stable

    Construction activity realised a small year-on-year increase of 0.4 percent to CHF 4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025, the Swiss Federation of Master Builders(SBV) reported in a press release. It estimates construction activity to be stable despite the international trade conflicts. For the year as a whole, the association expects construction activity to grow by 1.1 per cent year-on-year.

    The SBC experts observed different developments in the individual sectors of the construction industry in the quarter under review. Commercial construction, for example, was 7 per cent weaker than in the first quarter of 2024. By contrast, construction activity in public building construction increased by 23 per cent at the same time. In civil engineering, a decline in private construction activity was largely offset by growth of 2.8 per cent in the much stronger public civil engineering sector. The bottom line is that construction activity in civil engineering fell by around 2 per cent.

    In the press release, the SBC emphasises the “surprisingly” positive development in residential construction. At CHF 1.7 billion, turnover here was 2.4 per cent higher than in the same quarter of the previous year. The SBC experts consider the 11 per cent year-on-year growth in new orders observed at the same time to be “particularly pleasing”. They attribute this to the increased number of building applications in the previous year, which is now “gradually being reflected in the order books”.

  • Construction investment increased slightly in 2023

    Construction investment increased slightly in 2023

    Construction investment in Switzerland rose by 0.2 per cent in nominal terms in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to a press release, investments in building construction fell by 0.3 per cent and those in civil engineering increased by 2.7 per cent. Compared to the previous year, 2.5 per cent less was invested in new construction projects and 4.4 per cent more in renovation projects. These are the provisional results of the construction statistics from the Federal Statistical Office(FSO).

    Total construction expenditure, i.e. construction investment plus public maintenance expenditure, increased by 0.3 per cent in 2023, although a price-adjusted decline of 2.5 per cent was recorded.

    Public clients – the federal government, cantons and municipalities – increased investment in civil engineering by 3.9% and in building construction by 8.5%. By contrast, private clients spent less on civil engineering (-2.3%) and building construction (-1.9%) in 2023.

    A decline of 2.5 per cent was recorded for investment in new construction. Private clients spent 4.8 per cent less on new construction projects. In contrast, investment in conversions increased by 4.4 per cent.

    In addition to private renovation activity, which increased by 3.9 per cent, the public sector also invested more in new buildings (6.9 per cent) and renovations (5.2 per cent) compared to the previous year, according to the FSO press release.

  • Revaluations reduce Fundamenta Real Estate’s profits

    Revaluations reduce Fundamenta Real Estate’s profits

    Fundamenta Real Estate has maintained its net actual rental income for 2023 at the previous year’s level of CHF 41.0 million, the Zug-based real estate company announced in a press release. At the same time, the vacancy rate was reduced from 1.6 to 1.3 per cent. Revaluations in the property portfolio reduced net profit from 22.3 million francs in the previous year to 8.3 million francs in the reporting year.

    Excluding revaluations, however, net profit was 2.3 per cent higher than in 2022 at CHF 20.3 million. Fundamenta Real Estate attributes this primarily to a year-on-year reduction in administrative expenses of 20.6 per cent and lower income taxes. At CHF 10.0 million, impairments also accounted for only 0.8 per cent of the volume of the property portfolio. The portfolio was valued at CHF 1.20 billion at the end of 2023.

    “Despite a significantly changed market environment with significantly higher interest costs and ongoing developments in the portfolio, we have demonstrated our operational profitability and stability,” said Andreas Spahni, Chairman and Delegate of the Board of Directors of Fundamenta Real Estate, in the press release. “We also see opportunities to further expand our portfolio, which is already highly sustainable and value-preserving, in order to continuously improve our earnings structure.”

    The shareholders of the property company are to participate in the profits with a dividend of CHF 0.55 per share. The necessary distribution totalling CHF 16.5 million corresponds to 81.3 percent of net profit excluding revaluation.

  • Prices for condominiums on the rise

    Prices for condominiums on the rise

    Prices for residential property developed differently in October, the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group reports in a press release on the current Swiss Real Estate Offer Index. The SMG Swiss Marketplace Group brings together the digital marketplaces of TX Group, Ringier and Mobiliar.

    Specifically, prices for condominiums rose by 0.7 per cent in October after a pause in September. The experts at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group have observed a year-on-year increase in prices of 2.1 per cent. By contrast, prices for single-family homes were 0.3 per cent lower in October than in September. In a year-on-year comparison, prices were 0.2 per cent lower.

    “The continued growth in asking prices for condominiums is remarkable considering that the supply of available condominium units has increased significantly since the beginning of the year,” said Martin Waeber, Managing Director Real Estate at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, in the press release. “The housing market has also seen a slight increase in the supply of existing properties in recent months, which has contributed to the stabilisation of prices for single-family homes.”

    Asking rents rose by 0.4 per cent in October compared to the previous month. A year-on-year increase of 2.7 per cent was observed. The experts at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group attribute the increase to the continuing shortage of supply in the centres.

  • Schindler grows in the first quarter

    Schindler grows in the first quarter

    Schindler generated global sales totaling CHF 2.80 billion in the first quarter of 2023. This corresponds to year-on-year growth of 6.2 percent, the Lucerne-based lift manufacturer said in a statement. At 2.89 billion Swiss francs, however, incoming orders were 8.7 per cent lower than in the first quarter of 2022.

    “Delays at construction sites and the uncertainty on the international capital markets are having an increasingly negative impact on the real estate sector, despite strong demand in the residential construction sector,” Silvio Napoli, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Schindler, is quoted as saying in the release. “Even in this challenging environment, Schindler achieved sales growth in all regions and product lines.”
    The operating result at EBIT level increased year-on-year from CHF 211 million to CHF 282 million. Adjusted for the sale of the former factory site in Suzhou, net profit of CHF 186 million was 29.2% higher than in the same quarter of the previous year.

    In the same press release, Schindler also announced a change in the Group Executive Committee. The newly appointed Chief Technology Officer Donato Carparelli will replace Karl-Heinz Bauer, who is retiring.

    At the end of March, Schindler also won a lawsuit that had been ongoing for almost ten years. The background to the case is the capital increases at Hyundai Elevator, which were carried out against the wishes of shareholder Schindler. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea ruled in favour of Schindler in the liability suit against various members of the Board of Directors of Hyundai Elevator, according to the statement.

  • Andermatt Swiss Alps makes progress in sustainability

    Andermatt Swiss Alps makes progress in sustainability

    The Andermatt Swiss Alps Group and Andermatt-Sedrun Sport AG have defined sustainability goals for 2021. The “AndermattResponsible 2022 Progress Report” now provides a first interim status. For the report, the two companies had their greenhouse gas footprint calculated for the third time.

    In absolute terms, the emissions of the two companies in 2022 were 44.4 percent higher than in the previous year, informs the Andermatt Swiss Alps Group in a statement about the report. The company attributes the increase to the ongoing construction work in Andermatt Reuss and higher guest numbers. On the other hand, the average emissions per guest in the business have “mostly decreased, as the partly fixed greenhouse gas emissions of the skiing area, hotel business and gastronomy accrue to a larger number of guests”.

    Indirect emissions from the provision of energy were very low in 2022, as electricity and heat for the new buildings and the operation of the mountain railways are supplied with regional and climate-neutral electricity. In addition, energy consumption was reduced by 10 per cent compared to the previous year. In the reporting year, several projects were also carried out to reduce waste and combat food waste.

    In the reduction of waste, the two companies have already exceeded their set target of reducing the amount by 20 per cent. Specifically, 28.3 per cent less waste was generated in the reporting year than in the 2019 reference year. At 40 per cent, the rate of local staffing in catering was also already above the target of 35 per cent.

  • Prices drive revenue growth at dormakaba

    Prices drive revenue growth at dormakaba

    According to a statement from dormakaba, the globally active locking technology group from Glattal generated sales totalling CHF 1.42 billion in the first half of the 2022/23 financial year, which ended on 31 December 2022. This corresponds to year-on-year growth of 5.2 percent. Organic growth is put at 8.0 per cent in the press release. It was mainly generated by price increases, explains dormakaba.

    The adjusted operating result at EBITDA level was 4.6 percent below the previous year’s value at 184.6 million Swiss francs, and the corresponding margin fell from 14.3 to 13.0 percent. Similar losses were recorded in net profit. At 84.9 million francs, it was 15.7 million francs lower than in the same semester last year. The company attributes the decline in profitability to higher operating costs, a change in product mix and low volume growth in sales.

    “Dormakaba has consistently continued on its path of successive improvement,” CEO Jim-Heng Lee is quoted as saying in the statement. “Although this is a good result, there is still much to be done.” Here, dormakaba is putting the focus on improving profitability. “In the second half of the 2022/23 financial year, we will focus on measures to reduce the cost base across the company, increase efficiency and improve our operational performance,” Lee explains.

  • Asking rents remain stable month-on-month

    Asking rents remain stable month-on-month

    The rental index, which is collected monthly by the digital real estate marketplace Homegate in cooperation with the Zürcher Kantonalbank , closed July at 117.7 points, Homegate informed in a press release . Compared to the previous month, advertised rents fell by an average of 0.2 percent across Switzerland. The analysts of the index have observed different developments within the individual cantons.

    Rents have remained relatively stable in most cantons. In Zug, Graubünden, Geneva and Glarus, however, the analysts observed significant declines of between 3.9 and 1.3 percent. Year-on-year, rents increased across all cantons.

    Of the eight cities examined in the index, the analysts only observed a month-on-month increase in asking rents in Basel and Lucerne. Rents fell slightly in the other cities, but more sharply in Geneva and Lausanne, each by 1.6 percent. Compared to July 2021, asking rents have risen in all cities, with the strongest increase in Zurich at 6.4 percent.

    When recording rental price changes for the rental index, the rental prices are corrected for different quality, location and size of the apartments, explains Homegate. This makes it possible to record the actual rental price development.

    Homegate is a division of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG . This combines the digital marketplaces of TX Group , Ringier and Mobiliar .

  • Increased costs reduce Forbo's profitability

    Increased costs reduce Forbo's profitability

    According to a statement from Forbo , the internationally active manufacturer of floor coverings, construction adhesives, as well as drive and light conveyor technology from Baar, generated sales totaling CHF 667.3 million in the first half of 2022. In a year-on-year comparison, this corresponds to growth of 7.1 percent. The company attributes the increase primarily to the increase in sales prices. Forbo writes that the demand from many customer segments has now “leveled out at a pre-pandemic level”.

    The company suffered declines in operating and net income. "Negative currency effects, significant increases in the cost of raw materials, transport and energy, as well as increased personnel and other costs have significantly reduced operating profitability," the statement said. At CHF 78.6 million, the operating result at EBIT level was 4.3 percent lower than in the previous year, and the corresponding margin fell by 1.4 percentage points to 11.8 percent. At CHF 60.3 million, consolidated profit was 5.0 percent below the previous year's figure.

    Due to volatile markets and "a difficult geopolitical and financial situation", Forbo does not make any estimates regarding sales and earnings for the year as a whole. However, the company sees itself well prepared for the upcoming challenges.

  • Switzerland attracts more foreign companies

    Switzerland attracts more foreign companies

    The location promotion of the Confederation, regions and cantons can look back on another positive year, explains the Conference of Cantonal Economics Directors ( VDK ) in a statement . Once a year, it compiles statistics on the number of new foreign companies settling in Switzerland. According to the latest VDK survey, a total of 282 foreign companies settled in Switzerland in 2021. This exceeded the previous year's figure by 62 settlements.

    The jobs created by the settled companies in the first year of operation increased year-on-year by 20 percent to 1396 jobs. With 3566 jobs forecast for the third year of operation, the high level of 2020 could be maintained, writes the VDK.

    Most of the companies that came to Switzerland in the year under review are active in the life sciences and ICT sectors. In terms of origin, around half of the new settlements come from the USA, Germany and France.

    The focus on future technologies set in the current strategy 2020-2023 of the national location promotion has proven itself so far, the VDK explains further in the communication. She also emphasizes the "successful cooperation" between the official Swiss organization for export promotion and location promotion, Switzerland Global Enterprise , and its representations abroad, which are run as Swiss Business Hubs, with the regions and cantons. According to the VDK, this cooperation is organized in such a way "that the Swiss location can be optimally marketed abroad as 'Team Switzerland'".

  • Plazza remains on course for growth

    Plazza remains on course for growth

    Plazza AG had another successful financial year in 2021, writes the Zurich real estate company in a statement . Specifically, the company, which has been listed on the SIX since 2015, was able to increase its real estate income from CHF 24.6 million in 2020 to CHF 26.1 million in the year under review. At the same time, the operating result before depreciation and revaluations increased from CHF 20.0 million to CHF 20.6 million.

    In the year under review, “market-related factors” again led to “high revaluations”, Plazza explains further in the press release. They increased the real estate company’s profit from CHF 63.3 million to CHF 71.9 million year-on-year. Without revaluations, the profit increased from CHF 17.0 million to CHF 18.1 million.

    Plazza cites the high proportion of residential properties in its own portfolio as the background to the good developments. The company writes that it increased from 73 to 76 percent in 2021 compared to 2020 due to the purchase of properties in Zurich’s Im Tiergarten district. At the same time, the vacancy rate in the residential sector fell from 3.1 percent to 2.6 percent.

    In the same announcement, Plazza communicates a change in management and board of directors. At the beginning of the year, Plazza’s Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Casata, took over as CEO from Ralph Siegle, who was retiring. On the Board of Directors, Peter Lehmann is to replace Markus Kellenberger, who is stepping down when he reaches retirement age.

  • Implenia posts double-digit million profit

    Implenia posts double-digit million profit

    In the 2021 financial year, Implenia generated sales totaling CHF 3.76 billion. In a year-on-year comparison, this corresponds to a decline of 5.6 percent. In a statement , the construction and real estate company from Opfikon informed that it was lower than expected “despite portfolio adjustments and longer project durations”. The order backlog increased by 7.7 percent year-on-year to a high of CHF 6.88 billion at the end of 2021. Implenia attributes the development here to “the strategic focus on large and complex projects”.

    Implenia’s operating result at EBIT level for the year under review was CHF 114.8 million. In the previous year, a loss of CHF 146.8 million was incurred here. The consolidated result increased from a loss of CHF 132.1 million to a profit of CHF 64.0 million from 2020 to 2021. All four of Implenia’s business areas were involved in the positive developments. For the current financial year, Implenia is aiming for an EBIT of more than 120 million francs.

    Following the loss in fiscal 2020, the company initiated a comprehensive transformation process. Implenia explains that this transformation is now well advanced. In the future, the company intends to continue to focus on construction and real estate services in Switzerland and Germany as well as on tunnel construction and related infrastructure projects in other markets.

    “The 24 percent increase in the operating result shows that we are consistently implementing our transformation,” Implenia CEO André Wyss is quoted as saying in the statement. “After portfolio adjustments, with a strategic focus on profitable, complex projects and thanks to Value Assurance, all divisions are well positioned to further increase profitability.”

  • Home ownership is becoming more expensive

    Home ownership is becoming more expensive

    According to a statement from the Federal Statistical Office ( FSO ), the Swiss residential property price index closed at 107.8 points in the third quarter of 2021. Compared to the previous quarter, this corresponds to growth of 2.4 percent. In a year-on-year comparison, the analysts of the FSO measured an increase in prices of 6.9 percent. The base value of the index was set at 100 points in the fourth quarter of 2019.

    With the changes compared to the previous quarter, the analysts identify higher prices for single-family houses in the reporting quarter for all types of municipalities. The strongest increase of 3.4 percent was observed in single-family houses in urban communities in a small agglomeration or outside an agglomeration. On average, prices rose by 2.4 percent.

    The prices for condominiums rose by an average of 2.3 percent in the same period. The price increase of 4.4 percent was most pronounced in urban communities within large agglomerations. In urban communities of small agglomerations or outside of agglomerations, however, the analysts observed an average decline in prices for condominiums of 0.5 percent.

  • Fundamenta Real Estate is growing at double digits

    Fundamenta Real Estate is growing at double digits

    According to a statement from Fundamenta Real Estate AG , the Zug-based real estate company generated net rental income totaling 17.9 million francs in the first half of 2021. In a year-on-year comparison, this corresponds to growth of 10.6 percent. The communication cites the completion of projects and the purchase of new properties as growth drivers. In addition, the company was able to reduce its vacancy rate year-on-year by 0.8 percentage points to 2.7 percent.

    The net profit in the reporting semester was 12.0 million francs, 36.7 percent more than in the first half of 2020. "The strong profit growth" is mainly due to the good operational development and a revaluation success of 5.3 million francs, writes Fundamenta Real estate. The company also points to a “disproportionate increase in operating expenses”.

    The balance sheet value of Fundamenta Real Estate's real estate portfolio exceeded the billion mark for the first time on June 30, 2021. Compared to the end of 2020, the value increased from CHF 991.9 million to a good CHF 1.06 billion. The company acquired three properties in the reporting semester and transferred two projects to the portfolio after completion. As of the reporting date, the portfolio comprised a total of 66 existing properties and two development projects. In July, Fundamenta Real Estate acquired another residential property with 13 residential units in Richterswil ZH.