Chairman's statement

The first six months of 2009 were marked by financial and economic turbulence of a kind that many of us had not seen before. You have to go back to the oil crises of the 1970s to see similar key imbalances. Then, as now, the disruption was too sudden for the economy to adapt in time. Uncertainty and shortages of energy supplies then, uncertainty and shortages of financial resources now. It took ten years to recover then, and many are predicting that it might take as long now.

But information in our times is available more quickly and accurately, and this should permit more effective remedial measures to be put in place.

In addition, the emergence of the BRIC countries has added the economic activity under free or quasi-free market conditions of over 2 billion people to the global economy, which should lead to a more rapid recovery, although the emergence of these new countries does in turn also bring about shifts in power and the economic playing field.

What has WDP done in the first six months of this year to withstand the crisis and prepare for the post-crisis period?

1.   The acquisition in exchange for shares, already announced in 2008, of three properties belonging to DHL was successfully completed in the first quarter.

2.   In addition, a placement of new shares was initiated in May and June 2009, an operation that was crowned with great success on 30 June, with demand clearly exceeding supply.

These two operations have helped to strengthen our capital base without adversely affecting dividend payments. Following these transactions our gearing as at 30 June 2009 was 55.36%. WDP has therefore both built up a buffer against potential property impairments and created a platform for achieving additional growth when confidence and rationality return to the markets.

3.   These strategic steps were taken while maintaining a clear focus on day-to-day tactical operations, as attested by the high occupancy rate, the effective collection of receivables from customers, predictable interest charges due to hedging and the low cost base. Moreover, all solar panel projects started up production in full in the second quarter. Though some fine-tuning is still required, the proceeds were in line with expectations.

4.   In conjunction, these factors have produced financial results in the first half of 2009 that are in line with expectations and therefore satisfactory. In terms of absolute figures, the net current result grew from EUR 13.885 million in the first half of 2008 to EUR 16.019 million in the first half of 2009. This equates to earnings per share of EUR 1.70, an improvement by 5% compared to 2008. This flatter increase per share is of course attributable to the issue of additional shares for the DHL acquisition.

It is difficult at present for any company to provide forecasts for the second half of the year. WDP currently has no indication that the second half of 2009 will differ significantly from the first.

The expectation previously given of a net current result of EUR 33 million, now adjusted to EUR 33.6 million due to the lower interest charges resulting from the successful capital operation, is maintained.
 

 
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