SATO Reports Strong Occupancy Growth Despite Profit Drop
News related to:SATO Corporation · 3 min read
SATO Corporation, a leading provider of sustainable rental housing in Finland, reported a positive economic occupancy rate of 95.5% for the first nine months of 2026, up from 95.2% in the same period of 2025. The improvement is attributed to strong operational performance, which the company continues to develop.
Net sales for the period reached EUR 244.1 million, marking a slight increase from EUR 235.5 million in the previous year. Net rental income also saw a rise, totaling EUR 169.1 million compared to EUR 166.2 million in 2025. Despite the increase in occupancy and rental income, profit before taxes decreased to EUR 69.2 million from EUR 80.3 million. The company noted an unrealised change in the fair value of investment properties included in the result of EUR -4.1 million, a significant drop from EUR 7.3 million in the previous year.
Housing investments amounted to EUR 131.6 million, a substantial decrease from EUR 219.4 million in the same period of 2025. At the end of the review period, invested capital stood at EUR 4,945.2 million, up from EUR 4,864.2 million. The return on invested capital was 3.7%, a decrease from 4.0% in the previous year. Equity was EUR 2,727.0 million, or EUR 32.12 per share, an increase from EUR 2,663.3 million or EUR 31.37 per share in 2025. Earnings per share were EUR 0.65, down from EUR 0.76 in the previous year.
The company acquired a total of 613 rental apartments during the period, a significant reduction from the 968 apartments acquired in the same period of 2025. The economic occupancy rate for the second quarter of 2026 was 96.0%, up from 95.8% in the previous year. Net sales for the quarter reached EUR 82.1 million, an increase from EUR 80.9 million. Net rental income was EUR 62.1 million, up from EUR 61.9 million. Profit before taxes was EUR 24.2 million, a decrease from EUR 35.1 million. The unrealised change in the fair value of investment properties included in the result was EUR -6.0 million, a decline from EUR 5.2 million. Housing investments for the quarter were EUR 14.8 million, a significant drop from EUR 207.5 million in the previous year. Earnings per share for the quarter were EUR 0.23, down from EUR 0.33.
SATO's average rent per square metre remained unchanged at EUR 18.51 per month. The company reported that the number of vacant rental apartments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area continued to decrease, albeit slowly, and the oversupply in the market persisted. During the summer, all SATOhome balconies with fibre cement railings were inspected, and renovations of around 1,500 balconies were completed by the end of the year.
The company's new accounting system was launched successfully on 1 October, as part of a major system overhaul. Despite the upturn in the Finnish economy, general uncertainty in the housing market continued, driven by factors such as the ongoing data centre investments, particularly in Espoo. The popularity of rental housing increased among all income categories due to uncertainty about personal finances and the Finnish economy.
The Finnish economy was projected to grow by 1.7% in 2026 and 1.6% in 2027, according to the autumn interim forecast by the Bank of Finland. Inflation was expected to be 2.4% this year and fall to 1.4% next year as energy prices declined. The Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (CFCI) forecasted that construction activity would grow by 2% this year and 4% next year, with infrastructure and commercial construction gaining momentum, particularly from data centre projects. Residential construction remained at a historically low level. Housing production was expected to continue to decline this year and was not expected to return to growth next year. Investor demand remained low, and publicly subsidised housing production was contracting sharply. Modest growth in non-subsidised owner-occupied housing construction was not enough to offset the decline in other housing starts. However, CFCI believed that the conditions for a recovery were beginning to emerge. Population growth remained relatively strong, particularly in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, while the number of owner-occupied and rental apartments available on the market started to decrease.
The number of vacant apartments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area continued to decline, but progress was slow, and the oversupply of rental homes and intense competition for good tenants persisted. The imbalance between supply and demand would not enable any large-scale commencement of newbuild rental housing construction or rent increases reflecting rising costs. According to the forecast by the CFCI, construction starts for subsidised apartment buildings would fall to around 3,000 apartments in 2027, compared with more than 9,000 in 2024.