Catena Q3 Report 2026, Summary

Catena Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary

Overview

Catena, a Scandinavian logistics real estate company, reported strong third-quarter results for 2026, showing meaningful growth in rental income and property management profits. The company has been actively expanding into Finland, a new market it entered only earlier this year, and is building out a growing portfolio of warehouses and logistics facilities across the Nordic region.

For everyday investors, the key story here is one of steady growth: Catena is filling more of its properties with tenants, collecting more rent, and expanding into a promising new market — all while keeping its borrowing at manageable levels.

Financial Performance

Rental income — the money Catena collects from tenants leasing its properties — rose 20% compared to the same period last year, reaching 2 billion 347 million Swedish kronor. The biggest driver of that growth was acquisitions, which contributed 16 percentage points of the increase. Completed development projects added a further 2.2 percentage points, and like-for-like rental income — which covers rent adjustments tied to the consumer price index or CPI (a measure of inflation that automatically increases rent over time), renegotiated rental agreements, and increased property tax and media costs that are reimbursed to tenants — rose by 2.8%.

Profit from property management, which is the money left over after running costs are paid but before taxes and other items, rose 18% overall. On a per-share basis — meaning the portion of profit attributable to each individual share — it was up 7.8%, reaching 21.46 Swedish kronor per share. Isolated to the third quarter alone, the per-share increase was nearly 13%. The occupancy rate (the share of available space currently rented out) climbed back above 95%, reaching 95.3%. The company's loan-to-value ratio, or LTV (the proportion of property value funded by borrowing), stood at 43.2%, with management stating they do not intend to let it rise above 45%.

Forward Guidance

Management expressed confidence in Catena's momentum but offered measured expectations. Leasing discussions are more active than they were 6, 9, and 12 months ago, though the CEO noted it is difficult to predict exactly when new lease agreements will be signed. The company hopes to sign at least one new development project on its land bank before Christmas, with construction start to be confirmed at a later stage. Regarding the Finnish portfolio closed on October 15th, all acquired assets except one will generate rental income for approximately 2.5 months in the fourth quarter; the one remaining asset is expected to close in mid-November and will therefore contribute a shorter period of income. The earnings capacity per share — a forward-looking estimate of what the company can generate over the next twelve months — has risen to 30.72 Swedish kronor, up nearly 13% from 27.25 Swedish kronor a year ago.

Key Takeaways

  • Strong rental growth: Rental income grew 20% year over year to 2 billion 347 million Swedish kronor, driven primarily by property acquisitions.
  • Finland is a growing priority: In less than a year, Catena has built a Finnish logistics portfolio valued at close to 6 billion Swedish kronor, with a new development project also underway in the Tampere region.
  • Occupancy is recovering: The share of rented space rose to 95.3%, and management reports significantly more leasing discussions than a year ago.
  • Borrowing is under control: The LTV ratio is 43.2%, and management has set a clear ceiling of 45% — asset sales may be used to fund further growth without exceeding that limit.
  • E-commerce is a tailwind: Swedish online shopping grew 8% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, supporting long-term demand for Catena's warehousing and logistics properties.

This summary was written by our AI Analyst Tim! If you find something that does not seem right let us know and we will correct him.

A: Your line is muted. Welcome to the conference call. For the first part of the conference call, the participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions and answers session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing *5 on their telephone keypad. Now I will hand the conference over to the speakers. Please go ahead.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Hi and welcome everyone to Catena's presentation for the Q3 Report. Here is the agenda for today: a summary, a business overview, and an update, followed by sustainability, finance, and a short takeaway before ending up with Q&A. Next slide, please. So first, the summary of the Q3 Report. We reported 20% increase in rental income, ended up at SEK 2,347,000,000, driven mostly by acquisitions but also by our CPI-linked contracts. Profit from property management increased by 18% in total, and per share it was up 7.8%. Isolated for the Q3, the increase per share was up almost 13%. Our NAV came in at SEK 468.87 per share. The balance sheet is very solid with the LTV at 43.2%, and we closed the Finnish transaction totaling SEK 2.15 billion, which will lead to an LTV around 45%, and that is a level we do not aim to be above going forward. The occupancy rate is back at above 95%, to be exact 95.3%, due to good leasing operation in this quarter. Our WAIL is now at 6.9 years, which means that we have a very strong cash flow secured for many years ahead. Next Next slide, please. And next slide, a business overview. Statistics shows that the transaction volume in industrial segment amounted to 23.5 billion SEK during the first half of the year. This indicates strong interest in the segment and the high volume was expected to continue during the second half, but due to higher interest rates, we expect the activity to slow down a bit. We experienced higher activity among customers as well as potential customers regarding dialogues around our vacancies and about some new projects on our land bank as well. A result we have seen from this are the lettings we have finalized in Q3, which led to higher letting ratio, as I said before. Swedish e-commerce grew by 8% year on year in Q2 2026. With all, with all measured categories growing for the second consecutive quarter, indicating broad-based momentum rather than growth driven by a few segments. Growth was particularly strong in logistics-intensive categories including pharmacy, +13%, grocery, +10%, and consumer electronics, +10%. For Catena, this is supportive for the long-term demand outlook for modern logistic properties. Continued e-commerce growth increases the need for well-located warehousing, fulfillment, and infrastructure close to major population centers. Next slide, please. Regarding our customer portfolio, we have no major changes to report for this quarter. And the next slide, please. And the total value of the portfolio is now in the Report 55.7 billion SEK, and the average lettable square meter has a value of 13,694 SEK. On October 15th, we closed the deal in Finland, meaning that we add 2.15 billion SEK to this portfolio. And next slide, please. Business update. Catena entered Finland in April 2026, establishing a new fifth region through the acquisition of logistics portfolio valued at approximately €2.1 billion, comprising around 152,000 square meters of lettable area. Since then, we have continued to expand its Finnish platform, including acquisitions of logistic properties at Helsinki Airport and most recently a portfolio of 10 properties for approximately €2.15 billion from Urban Partners. The latest portfolio adds around 142,000 square meters and is fully let with tenants including Posti, DSV, and Varasto, and has a 7.3-year vault. In less than a year, Catena has built a Finnish logistics portfolio with a value approaching to almost 6 billion SEK, creating a meaningful new platform alongside Sweden and Denmark. Next slide, please. Here is one of the newly acquired buildings with Posti as a tenant, located in Liepätu, and has a GLA of about 16,000 square meters. Next slide, please. We are also very happy to present a development project in Finland, investing approximately €131 million in new 5,800 square meter logistics facility in Pyrkkala, strategically located close to the E12 motorway in Tampere, at Tampere Airport. The facility is fully let on a 7-year lease to a Finnish industrial automation company and is expected to generate an annual NOI of around approximately 9.7 million SEK. The project complements Catena's two existing properties in Pyrkkala and further strengthens our position in the Tampere logistics region. Upon completion, it will become Catena's 20th property in Finland, illustrating the speed at which the Finnish platform has developed since entering the market this year. Next slide, please. The table presents Catena's earnings capacity on a 12-month basis, and note the increase in the earnings capacity per share to 30.72 SEK per share compared to 27.25 SEK one year ago, an increase of almost 13%. Worth to mention is in this table is that we have included the latest Finnish acquisition that we closed at October 15th. Next slide, please. Our ongoing project portfolio totals to around 359 million SEK, where 72 million is remaining investments. When all is completed, we will add 18,000 square meters to the portfolio. As I just presented a new project in Finland, that will of course be included in the coming reports. Next slide, please. Regarding our land bank, we had unfortunately a negative decision from the Land and Environment Court regarding the plan outside Engelholm. We must amend some things in the process together with the municipality of Engelholm. So with that said, it will probably consume a couple of more years before we have a a plan there. In Årebrø, the municipality decided on the zoning plan during the quarter, and the decision was positive, but the opinion— there is some more weeks that they can appeal this decision. So we have to wait and see whether it will gain legal force during November or not. As we said in the last Report call, in Järna, we have found a lot of challenges regarding nature values, and we expect a delay of 2 to 3 years before we can intensify the zoning job there. Next slide, please. Looking at our leasing operations, our net leasing in terms of moving in and moving out came in positive with €20 million for the quarter. And for the first 9 months, we are still at a negative level, minus 22 million SEK. Our WAIL are now at 6.9 years, and the letting ratio is at 95.3%. Next slide, and some sustainability. The environmentally certified area is now at 85%. The scope 3 is continuing to decreased on a 12-month rolling basis due to less projects. We continue to maintain a high level of EU taxonomy alignment. For example, our turnover came in at 80%, and total installed solar panels output has increased on our roofs, so it's now above 94 megawatts. And now over to Magnus for some financial updates, and next slide.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Thank you, Jörgen. This slide highlights the strength in our underlying earnings, with strong year-on-year growth across all key metrics. Rental income is up 20%, mainly driven by acquisitions. Net operating surplus increased by 21%, and profit from property management rose by 18%. Profit from property management Ebitda per shareholder share is up 7.8% to 21.46 SEK per share, a clear mark of our ability to translate top-line growth into shareholder value. We can conclude that the Catena model continues to deliver predictable, resilient earnings with strong profitability. Next slide, please. This slide highlights the composition of our rental income growth in Q3 2026. As just mentioned, total rental income increased by 20% year over year. The largest contributor was acquisition, accounting for 16 percentage points of the growth. Our completed development projects added 2.2 percentage points, consisting mainly of new facilities in Ramla, Sahel Singh Bhoi, Malmö, and Gothenburg. All leased to strong and well-known tenants. Like-for-like rental income rose by 2.8%, built up by CPI-linked indexation, renegotiated rental agreements, and as well increased property tax and media costs, which are reimbursed to our tenants. All in all, this underlines our ability to grow through multiple channels, strategic acquisitions, value-adding development, and strong day-to-day operations. Next slide, please. Let's have a look at our capital structure. As you know, although economic growth is picking up, this remains a market shaped by geopolitical uncertainty with rising global interest rates. These dynamics, of course, present challenges for a real estate company, and factors like disciplined capital allocation and long-term focus are growing in importance. At the end of Q3 2026, our equity ratio stood at 47%, what we consider to be a balanced level that supports our strategic flexibility. Our EBITDA/NRV per share continues to show steady improvement quarter after quarter, and during the third quarter increased to 469 SEK excluding dividends, an increase of 7.1% compared to a year ago. This shows our ability to create shareholder value over time, even as shareholder returns are being realized. Next slide, please. Let's move on to our financial position. We continue to demonstrate strong financial control, with all key metrics well within policy levels. This is a sign of that we continue to maintain a prudent leverage profile And in connection with our latest acquisition, we communicated that we do not intend to increase our leverage above 45%. For Q3, net debt to EBITDA came in at 8.3x, interest coverage at 3.6x, and loan-to-value at 43.2%. These figures reflect both the cap— the solid capital structure and strong underlying cash flows that ensures continued access to capital on competitive terms if needed when opportunities arise. Next slide, please. Let's have a look at our debt and liquidity management. We remain focused on maintaining and securing funding on competitive terms. As mentioned before in connection with the Q2 Report, We drew down a 12-6 month term loan bridge facility when we closed the acquisition in beginning of Q2. Uh, we immediately started the process of replacing the bridge facility with long-term funding through the bond and bank markets. That process was finalized in early July, and the bridge facility is now fully repaid and closed. Our average debt maturity is at 4.2 years with an average cost of debt at 3.2%. Liquidity is strong with a liquidity ratio above 1. Next slide, please. Interest rate management. 2026 so far has been characterized by geopolitical uncertainty which has led to volatile energy prices and disturbances in the energy distribution system. Rising expectations on inflation and increased state borrowing needs in many economies have impacted the interest rate, pushing up long-term interest rates. Both the ECB and the Fed raised their policy rates during the quarter, while the Swedish Riksbank kept its policy rate unchanged, although it raised the prospect of impending rate hikes. Catena closely monitors the rate volatility and continues to navigate and act in line with the framework set out in our finance policy. As of the balance date, 50% of the outstanding debt carried fixed interest, and our current average interest cost is, as I said, at 3.2%. Next slide, and back to you, Jörgen. Thank you, Magnus.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Our capital deployment is for the period divided into acquisitions, 10 billion 175 million SEK, development 847 million SEK, and divestments of 990 million SEK. Next slide, please. Property values stayed stable in this quarter and ended up the period with a positive value change of 622 million SEK, which correlates to 1.2% of the total portfolio before adjustments. The average weighted valuation yield, the so-called exit yield, for the portfolio is at 5.8% by the end of the period, and the EPRA net initial yield came in to 5.4%. Next slide, please. And some takeaways for today. So for the first, we witnessed increased activity in the letting market, and we are very happy about that compared to 6, 9, and 12 months ago. It's, it's much more activity, so we are happy to discuss more with potential customers in, in, in the future. And secondly, we continue to report decent growth in profit from property management per share, and, and isolated for the Q3, as I said before, plus 13%. That's a very impressive number. And the third and last, we are very happy to report solid operations with higher earnings capacity than ever going forward. And with that said, we open up the Q&A session.

A: If you wish to ask a question, please dial *5 on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial star 5 again on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Oscar Lindquist from ABG Sagnacollier. Please go ahead.

Oscar Lindquist: Hi, good morning. So first question on sort of your commentary on demand. How do you expect this will translate on occupancy for the coming quarters based on sort of the discussions you have now and the timing? And then also on project starts, should we now expect any material project starts in the near term?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Yeah, good morning, Oscar. Good question. I mean, it's hard to predict the letting ratio and the timing. What we are very clear with is that the activity, the discussions. There are more ongoing discussions, more players asking for our vacancies compared to, as I said before, a year ago. Hopefully we will sign some of those discussions. We have earlier mentioned Denmark, for example. This is still ongoing and a very positive dialogue. But then it's hard to predict whether it's an increase in the letting ratio already in Q4 or Q1 '27. We have to wait and see. Regarding new projects, hopefully we can sign at least one project on our land bank before Christmas, and then we have to come back when we have the excavator on ground, so to speak.

Oscar Lindquist: Could you give me any guidance on what sort of investment volume you're expecting for that project?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Uh, we have to come back on that. Not sure yet.

Oscar Lindquist: Okay. And I guess you were referring to the Køge property. Is your expectation that you will sign that now in Q4, or can you give an update on how the process is going?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Well, part of it, but we have said it before. Also, my colleague Mikael has said it, I believe, before. Now it's closed, so— but based on the discussions, we really hope to sign a part of the spaces before Christmas.

Oscar Lindquist: Okay, and then my final question on So with the announced M&A, you're around 45% now, and my interpretation is that you don't want to push that further. How should we think about sort of more divestments of noncore assets? What's your thinking on that?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): That could absolutely be a scenario going forward. There are a lot of players looking into some of our assets, and as we told the market as before, there could be some, some asset rotations and the capital we can perhaps deploy in Finland as we speak. We see more opportunities over there. But you all, on the 45% note, we also have a very strong earnings So I mean, there will be a strong cash flow going forward. So there are possibilities to invest going forward.

E: Okay.

Oscar Lindquist: Thank you. That's all from me.

A: The next question comes from John Vong from Van Lanschot Kempen. Please go ahead.

John Vong: Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. And I just want to follow up on your comments on the occupier demand. Just based on your leasing discussions, are you seeing more demand for, say, existing space, or is it also balanced with real new developments? And just on the occupiers, is it really expansionary demand that people are looking for, or is this really going towards better locations, more modern assets that we're seeing, so shifting around in their current supply chain?

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Good morning, John.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): I think, generally speaking, there is a bit more optimism among the segment and our customers. I mean, the consumption has increased in the Nordics the last 6 months, so they expect perhaps a bit more demand going forward. But it's also a question about rotating from perhaps from bad quality to better quality in some cases. And we at the same time, we also discussed with some players about new projects on our land bank. But it's hard to say whether it's the total demand is much higher now than for let's say 6 months ago, I'm not sure about that. But the activity, that's for sure, that's much higher now.

John Vong: Okay, that's clear. And just on the industries that they're active in, is this end users that you're talking about, or is it also 3PL players that are expanding?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): It's a mix. So you cannot say that it's just e-commercers or 3PL players. It's It's a mix of all customers.

E: Okay.

John Vong: That's clear. Thank you.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Thank you.

A: The next question comes from Eriksson from DNB Carnegie. Please go ahead.

Eriksson: Thank you and good morning, everyone. I just had one question split up perhaps in two, but I was just wondering if you could give us some information on when you're taking possession of Finland. What do you expect to be the impact in Q4? Because I appreciate that it's from October 15th, but I do also believe that in the press release you stated that some of it are ongoing projects. So I'm just trying to get a sense of the Q4 impact from the Finnish portfolio.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Yeah.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): So All assets except one we closed the 15th of October. So they're basically 2.5 months generating for the Q4, except one asset that we will close in the middle of November.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Okay. All right.

Eriksson: That's fair enough. And then also perhaps on that theme, the ICA project. It's finalized in Q4. Do you expect to get sort of full rent for Q4, or how should we see that timing in terms of the tenant starting to actually pay rent?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Yeah, good question. So the project will be finalized in late December, and we expect the customer to move in at the beginning of Q1 '27. So no income in Q4.

Eriksson: Okay. Yeah, fair enough. And then I might as well perhaps take the opportunity to ask you about what you're seeing in terms of your average interest rate going forward. You mentioned the fact that you have about 50% hedged or fixed. What do you see going forward given the discussions that you have? If you could sort of give us some guidance knowing what we already see in the market, do you expect this to change substantially or How should we view it?

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Good question. Not substantially, I would say. We still see that the refinancings that we do, we can refinance at a lower margin than the ones that are expiring. Then, of course, the market as such has shifted, so we will definitely have an impact based on the higher market rates. But it will not be any dramatic change. But of course, with rising base rates, that will have an impact.

Eriksson: Okay, fair enough. Those were my questions. Thank you very much.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Thank you.

A: The next question comes from Kayvan Shirvanpour from SEB. Please go ahead.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Yes, good morning.

Kayvan Shirvanpour: I have a couple of questions, and the first is on the average interest rate. So we have an interest rate duration and a hedging ratio that has come down a bit. So interest rate duration below 2 years now. Do you plan to extend the duration and increase the hedging? And what type of impact would you believe that this would have on your average interest rate?

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Hi, Kevin. What we— when we took out the bridge facility in Q2, we said that we will not do the full hedging of that in one go, instead gradually move it into our hedging portfolio. We are doing that. We have not done so much now during Q3 in that respect, but we will add some hedges in Q4. We will not go up to 60% in Q4. I don't think we can expect that. So there will be a gradual shift, increasing both the duration and the percentaged hedged.

Kayvan Shirvanpour: But would it be reasonable to assume maybe around 60% heading into next year?

E: End of.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): End of. That's the long-term target, but there's no rush into it.

Kayvan Shirvanpour: Yeah, thanks. And then just a final question. You mentioned that disposal to potentially fund growth in Finland. Can you say anything about identified volumes within your current portfolio that would maybe be up to disposal?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Well, not as a guidance, but I mean, we have disposed for 1 billion, give or take. Perhaps there could be another billion, but that could also be over 27. We don't know, but just to give you some number.

Kayvan Shirvanpour: Okay, good. Thanks. That's my questions.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Thank you.

A: The next question comes from Emilshus from Pareto Securities. Please go ahead.

E: Yeah, hi. Good morning, Jörgen and Magnus. Just first off, maybe you can give some color on how the lease indexation is determined in your Finnish portfolio. Is it usually an uptick starting in January like we have in Sweden, or when is the cut-off period, and what is it based on? Is it some particular CPI month, or how is it determined?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Uh, base case is that the indexation kicks in at the 1st of January, but, uh, not sure of it's all contract or not, but the majority.

E: Okay. And also in the portfolio that you acquired now in Q4? Correct.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Okay.

E: And this is now 16% of your rental income, and if there are also tenants in the new portfolio that you have acquired, how big of a share in that portfolio is this?

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): Well, all else equal, perhaps there could be an uptick of 1 percentage, that maximum, in the customer portfolio. So no major changes.

E: Okay, that's clear. Thanks. And then just to follow up on the interest rate question and hedging, maybe you can give some guidance on margins for new financing currently, both in banks and bonds.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): We, yeah, the bond market, we currently, the latest, latest weeks, there's been, of course, an uptick in margins, but I would say that we would still be able to do an issuance there with the at or perhaps even slightly better than what we did in April. So no major change in, in that sense for us. Bank market, uh, still strong appetite, and, uh, without giving any exact guidance, we see that the refinancing we do in the bank markets are they come in at a lower margin than the ones that are expiring. That we can say.

E: That sounds good. That was all from me. Thank you.

Magnus Thagg (CFO): Thank you, Emil.

Jörgen Eriksson (CEO): I think that was the last question. So then we will just say thank you for listening to this call.

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