Germany’s LEG Immobilien narrows loss after further writedown

DUESSELDORF (Reuters) – LEG Immobilien, one of Germany’s largest listed landlords, on Friday posted a smaller second-quarter loss than a year earlier after further writing down the value of its properties, as Europe’s largest economy goes through its worst real-estate crisis in decades.

The company said that it was nevertheless raising its full-year earnings forecast.

The writedown of its properties was 1.6%, bringing total devaluations to nearly 17% from a 2022 peak. Its loss of 143.3 million euros ($156.48 million) for the quarter compared with a loss of 1.12 billion euros a year earlier.

“After a long time, the overall market is also giving us a tailwind again. The devaluation cycle is coming to an end in the foreseeable future,” Chief Executive Officer Lars von Lackum said.

It said that it was raising a key profit metric – adjusted funds generated from operating activities – to between 190 million and 210 million euros, up from 180 million to 200.

($1 = 0.9158 euros)

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; writing by Tom Sims; editing by Miranda Murray)