NET TANGIBLE ASSETS
EPRA NTA per end of December 2022 is € 886m, down 6.8% compared to the end of 2021 (€ 950m), largely as a result of a negative revaluation of the investment portfolio. Due to a small rise in the number of shares following the issuance of the stock dividend, EPRA NTA per share decreased by 8.4% from € 48.23 at the end of 2021 to € 44.17 at the end of 2022.
FUNDING
At the end of 2022 NSI amended and extended its € 80m Term Loan. The loan has been scaled back to € 50m and the maturity has been extended from its original maturity date in April 2023 to December 2026. Given the interest rate hedging already in place, the overall funding cost in Q4 2022 was not impacted.
NET DEBT
Net debt is down by € 16.6m compared to the end of December 2021. This is primarily due to disposals totalling € 17.2m (net of transaction costs).
At the end of 2022 NSI has circa € 283m of committed undrawn credit facilities at its disposal. The average loan maturity is 4.7 years (December 2021: 4.9 years), with only one loan maturing in 2023 (€ 66m) this ensures sufficient flexibility and capacity to fund the development pipeline and selective acquisitions.
At year-end 81% of debt drawn is unsecured (90% of available debt). The average cost of debt is slightly lower at 2.0% (was 2.2% per the end of 2021) due to lower swap costs and a lower level of utilisation of the RCF.
LEVERAGE AND HEDGING
The LTV is 28.7% at the end of 2022, 0.5 percentage points higher compared to December 2021 (28.2%), driven by negative revaluations of assets in 2022 and partly offset by lower net debt.
COVENANTS
NSI is using swaps to hedge interest rate risk on variable rate loans. Due to the reduction of the term loan, the volume hedge ratio has temporarily increased to 104% (target range: 70-100%). The weighted average maturity for the derivatives and fixed rate loans is 3.9 years at the end of December 2022. The maturity hedge ratio is 82.1% (target range 70-120%).
2ND GREEN FINANCING AGREEMENT
NSI is convinced that the pursuit of sustainability in all of its activities and initiatives is critical to the long term viability of NSI as a business.
This is also reflected by the inclusion of a sustainability linked mechanism in the in 2022 amended and extended term loan with ABN Amro, Rabobank, ING and Belfius.
The interest margin of this loan will be adjusted based on the performance on four indicators: an energy intensity reduction target in line with the CRREM1 decarbonisation pathway, the percentage of the portfolio that is aligned with the EU Taxonomy, the average BREEAM score of our portfolio, and our GRESB rating.
Alianne de Jong, CFO: “The inclusion of the sustainability-linked mechanism aligns with NSI’s belief that a more sustainable portfolio is vital to the business’ long-term financial viability and performance. This is the 2nd green financing arrangement, demonstrating how we place the importance of sustainability at the heart of how we operate.”
