“We are satisfied with the financial results of Unibep Group for the first quarter of 2022. Our developer, Unidevelopment, is doing very well. We are pleased with the solid results of residential, office, and industrial construction and the development prospects of the power and industry construction,” said Leszek Gołąbiecki, president of the management board of Unibep SA during a conference with analysts and journalists on 2 June 2022. The meeting was held on-line.
Growing backlog of orders
Unibep Group published the periodic report for the first quarter of year 2022 on 30 May. As we recall, Unibep Group net profit has just exceeded PLN 15 million net (increase by approx. 54% y/y) with sales of over PLN 419 million (increase by approx. 36% y/y). The company has a solid backlog of orders, from the second quarter of year 2022 on and with the following years, it has contracts worth approx. PLN 3.5 billion. What is more, the land bank of Unidevelopment allows for construction of approx. 5.2 thousand apartments.
Approx. 30 analysts and journalists took part in a meeting on 2 June 2022. Leszek Gołąbiecki, president of the management board of Unibep SA; Sławomir Kiszycki, vice president of the management board and financial director of Unibep SA; Mariusz Przystupa, vice president of the management board and financial director of Unidevelopment SA; and Agnieszka Bareja, investor relations counterpart in Unibep SA spoke about the opportunities and threats concerning all business segments.
“We showed the results year to year. We recorded an increase in turnover and profit, we also have a growing backlog of orders. We are also focused on active acquisition; In only first five months of this year we signed contracts worth PLN 1.7 billion,” said Leszek Gołąbiecki.
“We should remember that as for the development industry we compare this year’s results to the 2021 results which were record high for the past several dozen of years,” explained Mariusz Przystupa. “The challenge for Unidevelopment, but also the entire industry, is to raise the interest rates. I would also like to add that Polish buy flats for cash, treating real estate as an investment of capital. It is also worth bearing in mind that several million Ukrainian came to Poland fleeding from their home country because of the war, and in the long run they may be developers’ clients.
“In the case of Unihouse SA, we felt an increase in transport costs and we had to deal with interuptions of supply chains of particular materials. The decrease in revenues is mainly due to the lower production of modules in the factory in Bielsk Podlaski,” Sławomir Kiszycki analysed the modular construction market.
Challenges for construction industry
“Prices of construction materials have slightly decreased, although they are still at a high level. And that is why - bearing in mind that most of our contracts are signed with private investors - we are negotiating subsidies to the contracts or their valorisation. We have arguments - we show each investor how much the construction costs have increased,” explained Leszek Gołąbiecki. “Investors understand that. The General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways also gave a very good signal, introducing a 10% valorisation of contracts. Such a large ordering party shows the market, i.e. other investors, that the risk of price increases cannot only be a problem borne by the general contractor, that the ordering party must also consider additional costs resulting from the instability of prices of material and services.
“Unihouse is building its position on the German market, it also receives many inquiries concerning the conflict in Ukraine - fast, ecological modular construction can be an excellent solution for army stationed in Poland, but also for the civilian population in our eastern neighbourhood not affected by military operations,” said Sławomir Kiszycki in turn. “We are also counting on the development of cooperation with Adapteo, formerly knows as Cramofor which we produce regular modules.”
“We do not expect housing prices to fall but the market supply to be lower as many developers refrain from building housing estates. Unidevelopment will remain active in present markets like Poznań, Radom and Tricity, but it keeps a close eye on other locations,” added Mariusz Przystupa.
“It should also be added that we anticipate that our new business, Power and Industrial Construction, will generate in the future somewhere between PLN 500 and 700 million in revenue. The margin of this segment should be higher than in the case of construction, for instance housing estates,” added Leszek Gołąbiecki.
We are prepared to actively join the energy transformation in our country. We have hired competent staff employing a large part of it in the newly-opend Unibep branch in Racibórz.
After the presentation of Unibep Group, analysts and journalists asked quite a few detailed questions, all of which were answered.
The presentation is available below.
 Prezentacja_wyników_Grupy_Unibep_za_IQ2022.pdf |