To further enhance its customer offering and increase internal efficiency, the Legres Group launched the "Sergel House" project in 2018. The project's goal is to renew and modernize the entire IT platform, including interfaces, integration layers, core systems, and other support systems, based on the needs of customers, debtors, and employees. Ultimately, this investment provides the entire business with significantly improved conditions for efficiency and development, benefiting both customers and the business model.
During the year, Lejonvägens Företagshus has undergone renovations, including new room divisions, surface finishes, toilets, and more. This also involved installing an elevator, a centralized ventilation system, a new district heating unit, new plumbing and water pipes, new radiators, and a switch to heat- and sound-insulating windows. The leasable area has increased from 900 square meters to 1500 square meters. The cost of the work during the year amounted to approximately 30 million SEK.
The properties in the group are essentially fully leased.
During the year, the existing Swedish ITP2 pension plan was frozen for new accruals. Subsequently, a significant portion of the existing liability, totaling 116.8 million SEK, was resolved, which had a significant impact on the composition of the balance sheet. The pension commitment has been replaced with an insurance solution provided by Alecta regarding historical pension accruals.
The rental income for the year amounts to 69.0 million SEK (69.5). Additionally, the property portfolio was revalued upward by 68.7 million SEK (141.7 million SEK), which had a positive impact on the result. At the same time, the Legres Group's revenues increased from 363.2 million SEK to 825.4 million SEK. However, since the consolidation of the Sergel companies occurred as of June 30, 2017, only the second half of 2017 is included in the comparative figures. If the figures for 2017 are recalculated to a full-year basis, the growth in net turnover amounts to 14%, which is a strong indication.
The group's operating profit amounted to 245.6 million SEK compared to 216.0 million SEK in 2017. The annual result amounted to 122.6 million SEK (117.4 million SEK). Adjusted for unrealized value increases, the result has increased from -24.3 million SEK to 53.9 million SEK.