Good morning all and welcome to Entra's first quarter presentation. Moving directly to the highlights. Rental income in the quarter of NOK 800 million. That's NOK 26 million up or 3.3% compared to same quarter last year. Net income from property management of NOK 357 million in the quarter, up with NOK 37 million, or approximately 11.6% compared to first quarter last year. Net value changes of -NOK 52 million in the quarter, and value changes on investment properties were negative with -NOK 199 million this quarter. Profit before tax of NOK 205 million and the NRV per share currently at NOK 170, up with NOK 1.
We continue to see improvements in our key debt metrics and we're very pleased to see that Moody's have affirmed their investment grade rating and also provided a positive outlook this quarter. Operationally, it was a solid quarter. However, net letting isolated in Q1 was -NOK 20 million.
The underlying net letting was NOK 6 million positive when adjusting for timing effects related to relocation, which I will get back to shortly. We have also started reporting on a new project this quarter in Kristian Kroghs gate 2, where we are developing the asset in a joint venture with Skanska. It has been a good momentum operationally this quarter, and we have signed new and renewed leases with a rental income of NOK 121 million this quarter. Contracts with an annual rent of NOK 64 million were terminated in the quarter. Net letting, as mentioned, of -NOK 20 million in the quarter. This includes a negative net letting effect of approximately NOK 26 million from the relocation of Circle K, which was required to enable a large contract signed with Coop Norge in the second quarter.
Adjusted for the negative net letting effects of this relocation, the underlying net letting in the first quarter would have been positive with NOK 6 million. Due to these timing effects between the first and second quarter, it is more appropriate to assess net letting for the first half as a whole. Based on what we have signed so far this year and also what we see of current lease activities, we expect that we will have a positive net letting for the second quarter and also for the first half of this year. In the table at the bottom of the page, you can see the largest contracts signed in the quarter. A few comments on a couple of them. In Verkstedveien 1 at Skøyen in Oslo, we were pleased to renew a contract with the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund for 8,000 sq m.
This means that we now are preparing also to start the refurbishment of this building in a sequential phase. We have also signed with Circle K in Stenersgata 1. Circle K is currently our largest tenant in Schweigaards gate 16. This is a building which originally was developed as a new headquarters for Circle K. Over the last 10 years, they have gradually reduced their presence in this building and subleased material parts of their space. We have over some time now been working with Circle K to find suitable alternatives for them within our portfolio and are now very pleased to see that they chose to sign with us in Stenersgata 1. This enables us now also to start the second phase of the refurbishment of that building, as we have signed two leases in this property.
By moving Circle K, we were also in a position where we could sign with Coop for their new headquarters building in Schweigaards gate 16, and very happy to see that we yesterday also could announce that we have signed the contract for 15,500 sq m with Coop Norge, taking the entire building in Schweigaards gate 16. The relocation of Circle K was executed in the first quarter, while the new contract with Coop was signed in the second quarter, which is why we need to assess the net letting for these two quarters as a whole.
Our occupancy is currently at 94.3%, up from 93.8% last quarter. The change in occupancy is mainly explained by the fact that we're now taking the investment decision in Stenersgata 1 to start the refurbishment, meaning that quite a lot of that space which was vacated has been moved over to the project portfolio. I have over the last quarters, been commenting on that we expect to see more fluctuations in occupancy ratios in the short term. This is mainly explained by three factors. Firstly, we are completing projects which will be feeding into the management portfolio with different vacancy levels. Secondly, it depends on the timing of when we start new projects, as exemplified by this quarter's changes. Thirdly, it depends on the timing of when we sign new leases on space which has already been terminated.
When we terminate a contract, it is immediately reflected in our net letting graph at the bottom right. It is also immediately reflected in the net rental income bridge as Ole will go through. It is not necessarily reflected in the occupancy rate as some of this terminated space has a cash flow for quite some time following the termination. Last quarter, we announced that we had sold 50% of this property in Kristian Kroghs gate to Skanska. This transaction was settled in the first quarter, and we have now established a joint venture, started the redevelopment of this building. This building is located only three minutes walk from Oslo Central Station. Here, Skanska has signed a lease contract for 35%. We have also signed a contract for the construction. It's a combination of refurbishment and new build volumes with Skanska at a fixed price contract.
The total project cost, including the initial land and property value, is NOK 1.8 billion. The remaining CapEx for Entra's 50% is approximately NOK 617 million. This is a very capital efficient way for us to start this project, also continuing the ongoing transformation, in this very important part of our portfolio. Entra has approximately 200,000 sq m of management portfolio in the area around Oslo Central Station and also some projects in our pipeline further down. Very good to continue this transformation for us. This building will be a top modern building, energy class A, EU taxonomy aligned and BREEAM certified. We expect to see a yield on cost for this asset of around 0.7%, which can compare to the current prime yields in Oslo around 4.5%. The completion of this building is planned for the fourth quarter of 2029.
If we move on to our ongoing development portfolio, we have now included Kristian Kroghs gate as a project we will report on. The two other projects on this list have a remaining CapEx of NOK 195 million, and they are both progressing according to plan, on time, and at cost. We have announced quite a lot of new leases over the last quarters. This also means that we are now starting to report. In the coming quarters, we'll be starting to report on some more refurbishment projects, one in Kaigaten in Bergen, one in Verkstedveien 1 at Skøyen, as already mentioned today, and the one in Stenersgata where Circle K has signed. This should feed into our list of reporting over the next couple of quarters. A few comments on the Norwegian economy.
During the first quarter, inflation in Norway has picked up somewhat, and the headline CPI came in at 3.6% for March. While the core inflation, which is the basis for Norges Bank's interest rate models, is currently at 3.0%. In response to this, Norges Bank has adjusted its communication. While the policy rate has been held at 4%, the interest rate path has been revised upwards, and the central bank has indicated that 1-2 rate increases may be required in 2026, depending on inflation developments. Before gradually then rate cuts are indicated from 2027 towards 3.5% in 2028. As you can also see from the graph at the bottom right.
Mainland GDP for Norway growth is expected to be around 1.5% in the years to come and also with a positive employment growth as you can see from the top right picture. In Oslo, the employment growth has been somewhat lower than on the national basis, specifically within the private sector, which has not been benefiting the demand for offices in the Oslo market, where we currently also are seeing that public tenants are transitioning into more space-efficient workplace solutions. With heightened geopolitical tensions and increased volatility in energy markets weighing on inflation and growth prospects, there is of course more uncertainty on these kind of outlooks. However, having said that, Norway remains in a strong position with its ability to both stimulate and support the economy through fiscal policies and public spending, as they have proven to do in the past. A few words on the letting markets.
Having a well-planned and central office is increasingly seen as a key aspect for improving productivity, culture, and attracting talent. We clearly hear this in all the discussions we have with C-level executives with our customers. This also entails that the decision on where to locate your office and how to organize your office has become much more strategic and thorough, which entails that these processes are much more time consuming. As an example, when Coop Norge came out, the first meeting we had with them is more than a year ago. It is a lot of work and it takes a lot of time to get to these kind of large contracts. Last quarter, I commented that the signed lease volumes in 2025 were in line with historical normal levels.
However, based on [ Arealstatistikk] database of lease expiries expected for 2027 and 2028, we had expected to see that the activity would be slightly higher. When we dive into the numbers for the first quarter, we are seeing that the activity in the letting market in Oslo was at a historic low. This may be a reflection of the increased uncertainty we are experiencing around us. We typically see that decisions are postponed, take more time in times of uncertainty. We will be following this closely going forward. Based on what we see from the lease expiry databases for Oslo, we would expect activity to pick up in the short term. However, we may also see that tenants now opt to make more short-term prolongations. The vacancy in Oslo remains stable between 7%-8%, differences in different parts of the city.
In the secondary markets and some of the fringes, vacancy is above 10%. When you look at the market rental growth we've had in the past, it's been a fairly broad market rental growth and robust. The consensus report, which Entra reports every quarter, expects now to see around 12% market rental growth in the next three years. In our ongoing discussions, we clearly see that we are able to take out more market rental growth in the city center. We are located slightly below CBD pricing, so still good sentiment to take out market rental growth there. Also based on the CapEx required to deliver the quality the tenants want. Somewhat more differentiated in the fringes and the secondary markets, depending on what kind of supply-demand balance you have locally. A few words on the transaction markets.
The commercial property transaction volumes came in at around NOK 16 billion for the first quarter. That is more or less in line with normal first quarter. We are seeing quite a lot of real estate deals marketed. The broader transaction market continues to be a bit in the wait and see mode now with all the uncertainty emerging around us. also less clarity on interest rate cuts based on the inflation. The financing markets remain accessible with good lending sentiment and also credit margins are currently favorable. As you can see from the top right graph here, Entra's consensus report, the prime office yield is now projected to increase slightly from current levels of 4.5% towards 4.7% in the short term, before gradually assuming a downward trajectory again. I think that leaves it for me now, and the word's yours, Ole.
Thank you, Sonja.
In Q1, our financial performance improved compared to the same quarter last year. Rental income came in at NOK 800 million, up from NOK 774 million in the fourth quarter last year. We had net positive impact from finalized project of NOK 4 million and NOK 24 million in rental growth, mostly from annual CPI adjustments, which feeds into our income from 1st of January. The rental income is NOK 5 million higher compared to the bridge that we presented in the fourth quarter. This is mostly due to better letting effects than we had forecasted. Net income from property management came in at NOK 357 million. This is up from NOK 320 million in the first quarter last year. This is due to higher rental income, as explained earlier, and lower financing cost.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, we had positive gain from the forward sold development project, [Holtermanns veg in Trondheim], which had a positive gain of NOK 101 million. Adjusted for this gain, we report underlying result improvement in net income from property management of NOK 33 million, and this is supported by both rental income growth, lower cost level, and reduced financing costs. Profit before tax came in at NOK 287 million, and this include net value adjustments negative with NOK 52 million.
This is down from NOK 476 million in pre-tax profit in the fourth quarter, which included both the mentioned gain from the development project in Trondheim and the positive NOK 56 million in value changes, which explains then the reduction in pre-tax profit from the fourth quarter to the first quarter. I have already gone through the rental income part, but I'll give you some more flavor on the other P&L items.
OpEx came in at NOK 67 million or 8.4% of rental income. This is in line with historical levels and also in line with the same quarter last year. In the fourth quarter, the OpEx was particularly high due to timing of maintenance cost, which explains the reduction from the fourth quarter to the first quarter. Admin cost is also stable at NOK 49 million and in line with expectations. In Q4, we had a couple of non-recurring items, which explains basically reduction in admin cost from the fourth quarter to the first quarter. The negative results from share of profit in joint venture is higher than normal as one of our partners sold the property below book values, and our share of that loss is reported in this line item. Net realized financials came in at -NOK 326 million or down NOK 10 million compared to last quarter.
This is due to lower debt level as well as slightly lower commitment fees as we are working to optimize our funding costs. Value changes in our investment properties came in at a -NOK 199 million, and I will come back with more on this later on. While we had positive value changes in our financial instruments of NOK 147 million, and this is caused by higher medium- and long-term interest rates. This gave then the profit before tax of NOK 287 million. Moving then to our rental income development.
Looking forward, the model indicates rental income in Q2 will be NOK 786 million, which is NOK 5 million higher compared to the bridge that we presented in the fourth quarter. For 2026 as a whole, the total rental income in the bridge is NOK 24 million higher compared to the bridge we presented in fourth quarter, and this is due to letting effects.
For 2027, we have also increased the impact of estimated higher CPI in 2026, which then feeds into our 2027 rental income. The new CPI adjustment is 3.25%, which is the average forecast from Norges Bank and Statistics Norway. This graph is not a guidance. It just highlights the rental income based on reported events in existing contracts. As mentioned in previous quarters, we believe that there is upside to this bridge. Firstly, we aim to let out existing vacant space, which has a rental income potential of NOK 193 million per year. Secondly, we also have market rent reversal potential of NOK 135 million per year. Lastly, we have significant potential in our ongoing and upcoming project portfolio. Although most of this is outside the bridge period. Moving over to our property value, which is slightly down to NOK 63.3 billion in the quarter.
Divestments of -NOK 553 million is related to the Kristian Kroghs gate 2 project or joint venture project we have with Skanska, which we announced in the fourth quarter. 50% of that value, totaling NOK 276 million, is moved from investment properties to JVs and reported under other, as you can see in this graph to the left. Value changes were negative with NOK 199 million in the quarter, a limited value reduction of 0.3%. The negative value impact is predominantly value reduction in our Sandvika portfolio. The deviation between the pressures has come gradually down every quarter over the last few years and is now insignificant. Investments or CapEx came in at NOK 185 million in the quarter, which has also come gradually down over the last few years. We will continue to have a disciplined investment strategy and prioritize defensive CapEx to increase occupancy and realize market uplift.
Having said that, some more development projects are in the pipeline and the CapEx in the first quarter is below the full year run rate expectations. Portfolio net yield is slightly increasing to 5.13%, up from 5.04% in Q4, while the fully let at market rate, the portfolio yield is at 5.70%, which is unchanged from the fourth quarter. On the right-hand side, you can see that the net asset value increased slightly per share from NOK 169 in the fourth quarter to NOK 170 per share in the first quarter. Moving then to our debt metrics, which also continue to improve in the first quarter. The ICR looks like it has bottomed out and improved to 2.17, and that's measured over the last 12 months. Leverage ratio also improved from 48.0% to 47.6%, while net interest bearing debt to EBITDA is down to 10.8.
We will continue to have a conservative approach when it comes to both leverage and interest risk to secure and improve our investment-grade rating. In March, Moody's affirmed our Baa3 rating and changed our outlook from stable to positive. Further, the ICR trigger was reduced to 2.3 from 2.5, highlighting our high-quality real estate portfolio together with a creditworthy customer base. We have created a solid financial platform, and the average time to maturity for our total debt increased to 4.1 years from 3.6 years in the fourth quarter. We had a very active financing quarter. We started with the reopening fixed bond with 5.5 years maturity and issued NOK 250 million, which we swapped to NIBOR+ 104 basis points. While the debt capital market was somewhat muted since the war in Ukraine started, we are now starting to see some more interest in the market at attractive terms.
Secondly, we also extended NOK 8.3 billion in secured bank financing with one year to 2030. The bank spreads has come gradually down every quarter, and the bank market remains open with competitive dynamics. Lastly, we did the new 12-year sustainable linked loan of NOK 1.5 billion with Nordic Investment Bank at attractive terms, which is then linked to our science-based targets. The proceeds was used to repay the existing NIB loan, which is due in the second quarter 2027. As you can see in this graph to the right, we have undrawn bank credit lines of NOK 7.7 billion due in 2028 and 2030. We did reduce our bank lines with NOK 600 million during the quarter and an additional NOK 600 million after quarter end. This is to improve our total funding cost.
With the financing activities we have now completed in the first quarter, we still have available liquidity in the next 24 months, and we will continue to work to optimize our funding cost during 2026. To the left, you can see that 70% of our debt financing is now green, and we have capacity to issue more green debt going forward due to our existing environmentally friendly property portfolio. Moving then lastly to the cost of debt. The all-in net financial cost is down to 4.24%, while the interest rate on our interest-bearing debt is slightly up to 4.01%. As you can see from this graph, the forward curve has shifted significantly up in the period, although coming slightly down from peak levels. Our interest rate forecast in this graph is based on the forward curve from April 17th.
Assuming this level, our cost of debt may increase somewhat during 2026, and this is partly offset then by interest hedges, which totals 65% of our debt portfolio with 3.4 years time to maturity. To give you some sensitivity, if the forward curve shifts up or down 0.5 percentage points, the impact on financial cost is approximately NOK 35 million in 2026 and NOK 70 million in 2027, all else equal. Yeah. Sorry.
Sorry there. You were a bit fast. Closing remarks. First of all, I'm pleased to see that our rental income growth was 3.3% year-on-year and also net income from property management growth of 11.6% year-on-year. Providing stable rental income growth and operations in the quarter. The net letting was positive when we take into account the timing effects, as I have commented on. We expect also to see positive net letting for the first half of this year based on what we now see in our pipeline. We have done a good job on the financial platform as Ole was summarizing. Very happy to see that our investment grade has been reaffirmed and also given a positive outlook.
We extended our debt maturity profile and the new sustainability linked loan we did with NIB based on our science-based targets, is also clearly demonstrating that we are able to achieve tangible commercial value based on the environmental qualities of our portfolio. We've continued to see improvements in our debt metrics. Profitability continues to be our key priority in 2026. We will continue to see rental income growth driven by CPI, but also operationally by increasing our occupancy levels and capturing the reversion potential in our portfolio, as well as getting the ongoing developments back into the management portfolio. We continue to work selectively with accretive project development as exemplified by Kristian Kroghs gate this quarter, and asset rotations also. We will continue to have a disciplined approach to capital allocation going forward.
We are working in a market environment where we see supportive long-term letting market fundamentals. We have a backdrop of a resilient Norwegian economy with positive employment growth outlooks. We have limited new office supply coming into the market, also supporting occupancy and market rents. Based on the lease expiry database for Oslo, we would expect also to see support in the letting activity going forward. I think that concludes it for now, and we'll just check with Isabel if we have any questions.
Thank you, Sonja and Ole. We will then transition to the Q&A session. Sonja, occupancy rate increased to 94.3% this quarter. What is the expected run rate here over the next year?
I think we got that question last quarter also. I think it's difficult to be very specific on the number because it's affected by the three factors as I commented on in my presentation. How much have we managed to let the projects before they come back into the management portfolio? When do we start a new project based on assets which currently are being optimized before we are ready to start some project development? I don't want to give a number on that, to be honest. We will be moving plus or minus the levels we've had through the year. Let's see. Our clear target is to bring it back up above 95% and to historic levels. We have the locations and the qualities which should enable that, but it takes time. It's very dependent on also the market dynamics we're working in.
Thank you. Is it possible to get some color on the portion of larger contracts maturing this year relative to the given maturity profile?
Sorry, just repeat that once again.
The larger contracts.
Yeah
maturing this year relative to the given maturity profile.
Okay. If we look at our maturity profile in the management portfolio, we don't have any very large contracts maturing in 2026, not 2027. The larger ones are from 2028 onwards. I am seeing that every year we go through the contracts at risk and how we're doing, and I'm very comfortable with the way we're working now for 2026 and 2027. I don't see very big risk in the two next years, but we have a big job to do from 2028 and onwards.
Thank you. Admin costs decreased a bit quarter-over-quarter. What is your expectations for 2026?
Yeah. We guided a little bit on this in the fourth quarter presentation. We have been able to scale our admin cost every year over the last few years, meaning as percentage of rental income, it's coming down.
We expect basically to continue that trend in 2026. We assume that admin costs as part of rental income will be slightly lower than last year. It's kind of difficult to exactly target it, but slightly improved scaling also in 2026 as a whole year.
Okay. Moving on. How do you view the risk of further outward yield movement given the higher market rate outlook, and how sensitive is the portfolio to additional yield expansion from here?
Yeah. We use two external appraisers in our valuation, and average of that goes into our balance sheet. The appraisers, they need observable transactions while its expectation in our consensus report is basically a year-end assumption. It's important also that the recent increase in yield expectation is driven by high interest rate, which is driven by, again, a higher CPI expectation. When the appraisers adjust their valuation, they will not only increase the yield, they've also increased their CPI assumptions in their forecast, which basically creates an offsetting factor in the valuation. Maybe there's two messages here. One is there's an offsetting factor from the CPI, and then there's the kind of a timing effect. These changes usually happens over time as you have proofs of observable transactions in the market.
Obviously all else equal, we will have a positive improvement in our values, right? You have a timing effect on top of this. If this increase gradual over time, it will be also partly offset by the timing effect that our values in the portfolio will increase with higher CPI.
Thank you. With that, we'll conclude the Q&A session for today.
Okay. Thank you so much for joining us today, and have a nice day.