FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - High interest charges, as well as increased costs and write-downs, have also weighed on profits at real estate group Dic Asset in the first quarter. The net income attributable to shareholders fell to 96,000 euros, as the company announced on Wednesday. In the previous year, the group specialized in commercial real estate had still reported just under 9.5 million euros.

Also in the daily business it did not run smoothly. The operating result (FFO) halved to 12.9 million euros compared to the previous year. In addition to higher financing costs, the fact that the transaction business had almost completely disappeared also weighed on the result. The share, which had recently been under heavy pressure, rose by up to two percent in early trading, but could not quite maintain the gains.

In the past twelve months, the Borsen value sank by almost half to around 570 million euros. Like other real estate shares on the financial market, Dic Asset's shares are among the big losers of the interest rate turnaround, after having benefited for years from low interest rates and therefore booming real estate markets in Germany and Europe.

By contrast, net rental income more than doubled to 44 million euros, driven in part by the acquisition of logistics real estate specialist VIB. Dic had secured a majority stake in VIB Vermogen last year.

For the current year, the commercial real estate group continues to target an operating profit, measured in terms of funds from operation (FFO), which excludes, for example, depreciation and amortization, gains or losses on disposals and other one-off effects, of 90 and 97 million euros./mne/zb