(AOF) – Capelli suffered a net loss, group share, of 2.6 million euros in the first half, ending at the end of September, against a profit of 1.8 million euros at September 30, 2021. time, the real estate group continued to reduce its structural costs (-0.5 million over one year) thus allowing, despite the “temporary” drop in volumes over the period, to record an Ebitda of 10.5 million euros. euros (9.7% of revenue) and an EBIT of 8.1 million euros (8.1% of revenue), “i.e. margin levels equivalent to those recorded at March 31, 2022”.
However, margins were 10.8% and 8.6% respectively a year earlier.
Turnover amounted to 107.3 million euros against 141.1 million euros a year earlier “due to the voluntary postponement of the launch of construction sites”.
Capelli explains that it has chosen to favor its margins by shifting several projects so as not to suffer for 24 months from operations with sharply degraded margins. “While this difficult decision had an impact on the volume of activity for the half-year, it will enable the group to carry out these operations in the coming months under good operational conditions due to negotiated construction costs which are returning to normal. “, underlines the real estate group.
As of December 12, 2022, the group’s backlog remains at a historically high level. It stands at 667 million euros, including 150 million euros internationally. As of September 30, 2022, the marketing rate represented more than 86% of reserved or recorded lots.
Capelli has secured its growth with land purchases for a total amount of 240 million euros in recent months. These operations will generate more than 650 million euros in turnover.
Building on the land purchases already made, the high level of operations in progress and a normalizing construction market, Capelli anticipates growth in the second half of 2022-2023. For the full year, Capelli is targeting sales of around 300 million euros with a gross margin that will remain high and an EBITDA rate that should be maintained at current levels.
The real estate developer foresees a “very dynamic” 2023-2024 financial year, this ambition being supported by the fact that all large-scale projects are financed.
They alone represent a turnover including VAT of more than 400 million to be achieved in the coming months. Capelli will continue to favor bulk sales in order to benefit from a rapid return on invested capital while preserving its margins. They will represent approximately 70% of sales in France.
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A demand crisis
According to data from the Federation of Property Developers (FPI), the figures for the third quarter of 2022 continue to be alarming. Sales of new collective housing fell by 12.4% over one year, to 19,006 units. Over the first nine months of 2022, the decline reached 10.2%, to 72,670 units.
Reservations are also plummeting due to the collapse of bulk sales to social landlords and institutional investors. As interest rates rise, institutional investors renegotiate or halt operations. First-time buyers are penalized by the rise in rates and the tightening of the Pinel system puts off some private investors.
Due to the sharp rise in construction costs, the REIT estimates that one out of six authorized operations is ultimately not carried out for economic reasons.
Faced with this, prices are still rising: the sale prices of new collective housing increased by 5.9% throughout France in the third quarter of 2022. Ile-de-France is an exception, with a drop of 0, 9%.