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Homburg Toronto, ON and Halifax, NS, June 13, 2008 - At its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in Toronto this morning, Homburg Invest Inc ("Homburg") (TSX: HII.A & HII.B and AEX: HII) provided an overview of the Company's record growth in 2007.
"2007 was a year of spectacular growth for Homburg Invest," said Richard Homburg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We more than doubled our total assets to $4.1 billion, bringing total asset growth to in excess of 900 percent since 2004. During the year, we also raised more than $220 million in our first Canadian equity issue. Our solid financial footing and shareholder support during 2007 enabled us to make some very strategic acquisitions during the year. We have pursued a unique growth strategy, and it is paying off handsomely for our shareholders."
Growth Strategy Shows Results
The Homburg growth strategy is based on geographical diversity, stable, predictable cash flows based largely on sale and leaseback transactions, the upside potential from the redevelopment of Homburg's existing properties, and the pure potential of the Company's development activities and its land bank. Each element of the Company's strategy contributed to its financial and operating success in 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008:
During 2007, Homburg made strategic acquisitions in the Baltic countries of Eastern Europe, in the northeast United States and in Montreal, Canada. These acquisitions included sale and leaseback transactions in Europe and Canada and a joint venture in the United States. The acquisitions helped Homburg to almost double its property revenues during the year to $211 million under IFRS standards, while increasing net operating income by more than 50 percent to $159 million. In addition, Homburg completed sales of properties under development in Calgary, Canada as well as in Germany for total proceeds of $191 million. "Homburg's growth strategy has produced a significant increase in funds from operations over the past four years. As a result, our dividend has grown rapidly to $0.48 per share, a level that we strongly believe we can sustain going forward," concluded Mr. Homburg.
Funds from operations grew 152 percent to $98.7 million in 2007. During the first quarter of 2008, Homburg continued to consolidate its 2007 acquisitions, leading to a further 60 percent increase in funds from operations.
Election of Directors and Appointment of Auditors
Homburg also announced that shareholders had re-elected Richard Homburg, Michael H. Arnold, Rudolf D. Bakhuizen, Dr. Trevor A. Carmichael, Walter F. Fitzgerald, Edward P. Ovsenny and George E.A. Pacaud as Directors of the Company. Shareholders also appointed Ernst&Young LLP, Chartered Accountants of Halifax, as Auditors of the Company.
About Homburg
Homburg, with its head office in Halifax, Nova Scotia, owns and develops a diversified portfolio of quality real estate including office, retail, industrial and residential apartment and townhouse properties throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. At March 31, 2008, the Company's properties totalled approximately 18.2 million square feet, representing in excess of CAD$4.1 billion in total assets.
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For further information, please contact:
Mr. Richard Homburg, Chairman and CEO Homburg Invest Inc. 902-468-3395
or
J. Richard Stolle President and COO Homburg Invest Inc. 31-20-573-3855
This news release may contain statements which by their nature are forward looking and express the Company's beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future performance, future events or trends. Forward looking statements are made by the Company in good faith, given management's expectations or intentions however, they are subject to market conditions, acquisitions, occupancy rates, capital requirements, sources of funds, expense levels, operating performance and other matters. Therefore, forward looking statements contain assumptions which are subject to various factors including: unknown risks and uncertainties: general economic conditions; local market factors; performance of other third parties; environmental concerns; and interest rates, any of which may cause actual results to differ from the Company's good faith beliefs, expectations or intentions which have been expressed in or may be implied from this news release. Therefore, forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks. Information and statements in this document, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and reflect management's current views of future events and financial performance that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions and developments within the real estate industry, competition and the management of growth. The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.
