Corporate News
Truststone publishes 2024/25 half-year report
- Growth in rental income Pully (VD) and Renens (VD): The renovation of the buildings in Pully and Renens (VD) will lead to higher rental income (CHF 136k/year by mid-2025), the creation of six new apartments from March 2025 will generate an additional CHF 130k/year
- Reduction of vacancy in Etoy (VD): 1,100 m² of commercial space has been re-let, reducing the vacancy rate (space) to 28%. Negotiations are currently underway for the re-letting of a further 500 m², with the aim of achieving full occupancy by mid-2026
- Other projects: The sale of the condominiums in Pully (VD) is planned for 2025-26 and will enable additional profit. In the medium term, the conversion of the properties in Muttenz (BL) will increase their market value
- Outlook: The reporting period is considered a transitional half-year with many construction sites. In the current half-year, an improvement in results is expected due to the new leases that have been signed.
Residential and mixed-use portfolio
Growth in rental income in Pully and Renens
The residential buildings in Pully (VD) and the mixed-use buildings in Renens (VD) are currently being renovated, which will result in higher rents and lower maintenance costs. An additional floor is being added to the building in Pully to create six additional apartments.
The rents of the existing apartments will be reviewed from mid-2025, resulting in an expected increase of CHF 136k/year (+14% of the current rental income from these properties) during the five-year fixed-rent period.
The six new apartments created by the vertical extension will generate additional income of around CHF 130k/year from March 2025.
These increases in income, totalling CHF 266k/year, will improve the net results from the 2025/26 financial year onwards. The reduction in maintenance costs for these two buildings should already be felt in the current financial year.
The apartments in Renens, which were temporarily vacant to meet the needs of the construction site, were re-let in August 2024, thus significantly reducing the technical vacancy rate.
Once the lock-up period has expired, rents can be gradually adjusted to market rates, resulting in additional rental income estimated at CHF 240k.
In addition, the Renens property has a building land reserve that allows for the construction of 1,700 m² of gross floor area, equivalent to 14 apartments. These apartments could be earmarked for rental, or sold as condominiums, with an attractive profit distribution.
The tenant turnover also allowed for a refresh of various apartments during the half-year. Investments of around CHF 40k resulted in an increase of CHF 17k/year in rental income (pro-rata increase for this year).
Condominium project at Ruisselet 16 in Pully (VD)
Due to the need to obtain an additional building permit, the sale of the three condominiums at the Ruisselet 16 project in Pully (VD) has been postponed to the financial year 2025-26.
The targeted profit from this transaction will strengthen the distributable result for this financial year.
Etoy – significant reduction in vacancy
The commercial building in Etoy (VD) accounts for almost the entire economic vacancy of the portfolio.
Approximately 1,100 m² has been re-let to several tenants, reducing the vacant area to 2,404 m² (28% of the total area vs. 41% previously).
Negotiations are currently underway for the re-letting of a further 500 sqm, which should be concluded by the end of the current financial year.
A key event will be the opening of the restaurant on the premises in the first quarter of 2025. This will further improve the letting momentum and accelerate efforts to re-let the last vacant spaces. These represent a theoretical rental potential of CHF 820k/year.
The aim is to achieve full occupancy of the building by mid-2026, with an expected gross yield of 5.6% p.a.
Other commercial properties
The properties in Muttenz (BL), Yverdon-les-Bains (VD) and Bulle (FR) generate stable rental income and offer attractive conversion potential.
In the medium term, the conversion of the properties in Muttenz (from commercial to residential) and the ‘Brügglimatt’ densification project are likely to significantly increase their market value.
Outlook
The reporting period should be seen as a transitional phase characterised by numerous construction sites.
The effects of the new leases signed in the first half of the year should contribute to a further improvement in results in the second half of the year.
These positive developments are expected to lead to higher net profit and a stronger dividend capacity in the 2024/25 financial year compared to the previous year.
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The half-year report is available on this page under the heading ‘Documents’ (English version available from 15 December).
