Fastighets AB Balder disclosed mixed results for the first quarter, with a notable decline in reported profit from property management per share following the announcement of a planned distribution of Norion Bank shares to shareholders.
The company said profit from property management decreased 12.7% to SEK1,348 million in the quarter. Reported on a per-share basis, the metric fell 12.3% to SEK1.14. Balder noted that when Norion Bank is excluded from the calculation, profit from property management actually rose by 3% for the period.
At its annual general meeting on Thursday the board proposed distributing Balders entire holding of 90,501,180 Norion Bank shares to its shareholders. That stake represents about 47.7% ownership in Norion Bank.
On a net asset value basis, Balder recorded a 3.1% increase in NAV per share to SEK96.92 for the first quarter, a smaller gain than the 6.4% rise reported in fiscal year 2025.
Activity in the portfolio continued during the quarter. Balder acquired 28 properties with a combined value of SEK4,983 million in the period, compared with SEK9,770 million of acquisitions in fiscal year 2025.
Operationally, rental income rose 1.3% to SEK3,460 million year-over-year, and like-for-like rental growth matched that rate at 1.3%, a slowdown from 2.7% in fiscal year 2025. Occupancy across Balders portfolio slipped to 94.7% at the end of March, from 95.6% in fiscal year 2025; however, occupancy for associated companies moved higher to 95% from 94%.
Valuation movements were modest: asset values increased by SEK418 million, an uplift of 0.2% year-to-date, with an average yield requirement of 4.9% across the portfolio.
Leverage and coverage metrics showed small deteriorations. The loan-to-value ratio climbed to 49.2% from 48.1% in fiscal year 2025. The interest coverage ratio eased slightly to 2.6 times, down from 2.7 times, and net debt to EBITDA rose to 13.6 times from 12.0 times; Balder said Norion contributed 1.1 times to that multiple.
Capital allocation activity included a share buyback: Balder repurchased 6 million of its own shares for SEK376 million during the quarter, bringing total treasury holdings to 10 million shares.
Context and implications
The results are mixed: headline property-management profit fell due to the proposed distribution of the Norion Bank stake, but underlying property-management performance adjusted for Norion was positive. NAV per share and rental income recorded modest increases, while acquisitions continued at a lower pace than in fiscal year 2025. Key leverage and coverage ratios edged in the less favorable direction during the quarter.