Maintaining momentum in a challenging market

The hotel markets have continued the strong development from the previous year, and the hotels' key figures have shown solid growth from already high levels. The office market has delivered good results with high occupancy rates and increased rental income. Our alpine destinations have also made progress, with higher visitor numbers on the slopes due to continued investment and development of the destinations. In addition, international traffic has increased, thanks to favourable weather and exchange rates, strengthening both our hotels and alpine destinations. The sale of new holiday properties, however, has stagnated, but this has had little impact on us, as our projects in this market segment were sold before the decline took hold.

2023 has been characterised by the completion of new properties, high production at our construction sites, and plenty of time spent on what we love most – the development of new projects. In June and September 2023, we delivered 24 chalet apartments at Favn in Hafjell and 25 apartments at Skifer Signatur in Oppdal to satisfied owners. The construction cranes were also challenged throughout 2023 (and into 2024) on top of Rønvikfjellet mountain, and we were proud to open the doors to our new Wood Hotel Bodø in May. We have also spent much of 2023 developing new projects, and it is with great excitement that we will break ground on two new projects in Oslo in 2024. At Helsfyr, we have started the construction of a 26,000 sqm BREEAM NOR Very Good building at Fredrik Selmers vei 2, and we are underway at Møllergata 37 with a new 144-room lifestyle hotel for the Hoxton hotel chain – an exciting new addition to the capital’s travel and tourism scene.

The financial report also shows positive results, with a new record in total turnover as well as rental income. Alpinco, now an 80% owned subsidiary, contributed NOK 406 million in revenue, helping us surpass NOK 1 billion for the first time, with a total turnover exceeding NOK 1.2 billion. Our existing property portfolio is performing solidly with strong operations and cash flow, resulting in record-high rental income of NOK 531 million. The combination of this and strong sales revenue from completed projects leaves us very satisfied with the top-line development in 2023.

Although financial costs have increased due to market interest rates and the addition of new projects to the portfolio, it is reassuring to see that our long-term financing strategy, involving a high degree of interest rate hedging and a prudent leverage ratio, has mitigated the cost increase. The profit after tax of NOK 49 million is slightly lower than the previous year, primarily due to higher depreciation related to goodwill from the Alpinco acquisition, impairment of assets, increased interest expenses, and currency fluctuations.

AB Invest thrives in a high-activity environment – it is what drives us forward. The factors that energise and motivate us in our day-to-day operations include the ability to spot opportunities where others don't, and to develop destinations that truly stand out. We like to say that we are small, but we get big things done – quickly.

The solid efforts we have put in, together with the promising outlook ahead, lead us to feel optimistic about the company’s development. We want to continue being a driving force that, in collaboration with our partners, creates attractive meeting places and destinations for both our customers and society at large.

Gard Utkilen,
CEO