Bulgarian Land Development H1 pretax profit at 0.09 million British pounds
September 29, 2006 - Dnevnik
Bulgarian Land Development, a property fund listed on the AIM segment of the London Stock Exchange, said Thursday that half year pretax profit was 90,000 British pounds.
'We look forward to investing additional funds into these potential projects and exploring further opportunities via our exclusive 3 year arrangement with Address Group, delivering increased shareholder value in the process,' chief executive Christo Iliev was quoted as saying by news agency Dow Jones.
'The Bulgarian property market remains strong. The average price of properties rose by 20% year on year in Q2, 2006. Substantial growth is expected in the holiday apartment sectors along the coasts and in the mountains. There is demand for high value residential space in Sofia. Mortgages are becoming more easily available. Demand from overseas purchasers includes some from the estimated 1.7 mln Bulgarians who live outside the country (the present population is 7 mln),' said Iliev.
In March this year, BLD raised 33.8 mln Euro via flotation on the AIM market of The London Stock Exchange.
The Company now has three projects underway. Harmony Hills, Rogachevo is on a freehold site 4 km from the Black Sea coast and 38 km north of Varna and its international airport. The completed development will comprise 177 apartments and 22 villas with an estimated sales value of 10 mln Euro.
Sales marketing began in August 2006 and reservations have already been taken for 11% of the units. Depending on the progress of the marketing, building work is expected to start early in January 2007 and to be completed 15 months later. Construction is expected to cost 5.5 mln Euro and to be funded from bank loans and apartment pre-sales deposits.
Contracts were signed in September 2006 whereby BLD acquired the right to develop the BLD Sofia Tower site in the centre of Sofia. BLD will build a 13 storey building of 32,000 sq m in a mixed development comprising 22,000 sq m of residential space containing about 150 luxury apartments, 6,000 sq m of retail/ office space on the lower floors and 4,000 sq m of underground space. The land is already zoned for planning for this use. The company believes the project has a projected sales value of more than 65 mln Euro.
The Company expects that off-plan sales will start at the beginning of 2007 after a leading international firm of architects has completed design work. BLD expects the building stage of the project to be completed in the spring of 2009 at a cost of 23.5 mln Euro).
Kavarna BLD has agreed to buy 85,000 sq m of freehold agricultural land right on the Black Sea coast, 48 km north of Varna. This has been achieved by assembling the site by off-market purchases of 8 plots. The total cost is 3.2 mln Euro.
The company will now go through the planning process (which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2007) to create a 100,000 sq m holiday complex designed for the international holiday market with an estimated gross sale value of 100 mln Euro.
The site is in the Balchik-Kavarna area, one of the most exclusive areas on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Three internationally designed golf courses are already under construction in the area and existing spa facilities are nearby.