State-owned asset management company Kedipes on Thursday announced cash inflows of €144 million for the first quarter of 2024, with the company also making a record payment of €140 million to the state, bringing the total repayment of state aid to €1.3 billion.
The announcement, made in conjunction with the company’s Q1 2024 management results, indicated expectations of improved cash flows for the second quarter.
What is more, Kedipes plans to repay a further €60 million in state aid within the month of June.
Chairman Lambros Papadopoulos explained that the inflows were significantly boosted by the sale of a loan portfolio to the Bank of Cyprus and the sale of a high-value property.
He noted that Q1 2024 cash inflows increased by 11 per cent compared to the previous quarter and by 35 per cent compared to Q1 2023.
Excluding these significant transactions, regular cash flows amounted to €80.7 million, similar to the levels recorded in Q1 2023.
Since Kedipes commenced operations on September 1, 2018, cumulative cash inflows have reached €2.24 billion.
Receipts from the management of loans and properties amounted to €2.12 billion, representing 26.3 per cent of the nominal value of the loan and property portfolio, which was valued at €8.05 billion on September 1, 2018.
Moreover, total restructuring or recovery solutions through the managing company doValue stood at €94.3 million for Q1 2024, compared to €231.7 million in Q4 2023 and €92.7 million in Q1 2023.
From the start of operations until Q1 2024, total solutions amounted to €4.01 billion, equating to 54.5 per cent of the original loan balance of €7.37 billion.
Operating expenses and asset management costs for Q1 2024 stood at €27.6 million, down 11.3 per cent from €31.1 million in Q4 2023 but up 2.6 per cent from €26.9 million in Q1 2023.
Net cash flows after expenses and obligations were €109 million, a 32.0 per cent increase from €82.6 million in Q4 2023 and a 39.2 per cent increase from €78.3 million in Q1 2023.
Cumulatively, net cash flows after expenses since the start of operations total €1.35 billion.
The nominal value of grants stood at €5.82 billion at the end of Q1 2024, down from €5.89 billion at the end of Q4 2023 and €6.127 billion at the end of Q1 2023.
From the start of operations until March 31, 2024, total deleveraging reached 21 per cent, representing a share of 42.3 per cent, excluding contractual loan interest.
At the end of Q1, total assets were valued at €6.42 billion, including €133 million in cash, €427 million in real estate, and €657 million in performing loans.
Regarding the Asset Protection Scheme (APS) with Hellenic Bank, the contractual value of protected assets stood at €1.33 billion as of December 31, 2023, down from €2.60 billion at the scheme’s inception, reflecting a 49 per cent reduction.
It was reported that Hellenic Bank has submitted claims totalling €100.2 million from September 1, 2018, to December 31, 2023, with the latest claim for Q4 2023 amounting to €61,000. Payments by Hellenic Bank to the Republic of Cyprus under the scheme have totalled €44.1 million.
Meanwhile, Kedipes, the implementing body of the mortgage-to-rent scheme, reported approximately 2,000 applications to date.
Of these, 1,382 have passed the initial eligibility check, with properties undergoing technical due diligence to confirm eligibility.
Notifications are being sent to applicants who did not meet the initial criteria. The company holds €60 million in reserves for future property purchases under the scheme.
Finally, the announcement noted that the voluntary exit plan, in effect from October 2023 to March 2024, saw 27 staff members leave, aligning with the company’s gradual reduction goals. Kedipes currently employs 313 staff members.
