GTC says adieu to profit in 2009

Last year, the company sealed several leasing agreements for office spaces in Poland, Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Hungary.

In Romania, GTC completed the construction of two office buildings in the City Gate project (44,000 sqm leasable area) in Bucharest, shopping centers Galleria Piatra Neamt (15,000 sqm) and Galleria Suceava (10,700 sqm).

“In 4Q 2009 GTC completed City Gate, a landmark office complex in Bucharest. It comprises two Class A office towers with a total net rentable area of 44,000 sqm. City Gate has attracted such renowned tenants as Millennium Bank, Romtelecom, Rompetrol, Microsoft and Hoffman-La Roche. Currently the complex is more than 80% leased, with advanced negotiations for the remaining 20% of the space”, the developer said in a release.

GTC Group’s net loss for 2009 came in at €139.4 million, against the €189.1 million profit a year earlier. “Due to yield expansion in 2009 and a decrease in estimated future rental values (ERV), mainly in 4Q 2009, GTC has provided for an accounting loss in its 2009 financial statements”, explained GTC Finance Director Erez Boniel.

At the end of last year, GTC had 1.33 million sqm office, residential or retail space under custody, with 33,000 sqm under construction. The leasable area of the projects delivered in 2009 was 455,000 sqm.

In 2010 the company plans to start construction of office buildings in Warsaw and Bucharest, and two shopping malls in Croatia and Bulgaria. Together with the completion of buildings under construction and potential acquisition of new projects, GTC will invest €200 million to 300 million during 2010.

GTC was established in 1994 in Warsaw and currently operates in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine. In Romania, GTC erected and sold the office buildings America House and Europe House in the Victoriei Square.