Fired or not? That’s the first question that came to mind when the rent giant Kojamo announced on Monday, CEO Jani Nieminen from departure. Usually, when the CEO leaves the company immediately, the departure is not planned for very long.
According to the release, Kojamo’s board and CEO have jointly agreed that Nieminen will leave his duties as CEO immediately.
“There is no drama involved in this change,” Kojamo’s board chairman Mikael Aro says to Kauppalehti.
He reminds that Nieminen started as CEO of Kojamo in 2011, which means he has practically built the company. Kojamo was previously known as VVO.
Nieminen is credited with modernizing the company founded in 1969 and taking it to the stock market in 2018. During Nieminen’s era, the total return on Kojamo shares is 40 percent.
Usually, when the CEO leaves immediately, investors interpret it as a firing.
“Here we go according to Jan’s management contract. He has the right to stay out at this point and that is the best solution,” says Aro.
The last few years have been difficult for Kojamo: Corona, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, inflation and the end of the zero interest rate period have burdened the company.
There is an oversupply and financing costs rose
There is still an oversupply of rental apartments. According to Mikael Aro, the situation will improve for Kojamo within a year or two, when the oversupply is released.
Aro underlines that at this point, both the company’s board of directors and Nieminen think it is good that Kojamo now brings in a new CEO.
Took it to the stock market.
Jani Nieminen started as CEO of Kojamo in 2011.
PHOTO: MEERI UTTI
The search for a new CEO has started. The CFO serves as the interim CEO Erik Hjelt.
“We don’t have a candidate, so the search starts now.”
What kind of CEO is Kojamo looking for now?
“At the moment and in the future, Kojamo is focusing on cash flow and through that we will move the company forward. I would call this a change of coach,” says Aro.
Kojamo estimates that the company’s turnover will grow by 2–4 percent this year and that the FFO result will be in the range of 142–152 million euros, excluding non-recurring expenses.
You can directly read about the company’s difficulties in the company’s January-June earnings report. Kojamo’s equity ratio fell to 43 percent, compared to 45.3 percent a year earlier.
The rental rate of properties was 91.7 percent, compared to 93 percent at the turn of the year.
Financial expenses increased to 26 million euros from ten million euros a year ago.
Kojamo’s biggest owner is a Swedish real estate company Hometown Residence with a share of just under a fifth.
In the past, trade unions were among the major owners of Kojamo, but they have reduced their holdings of the rental giants.
Currently, for example, Teollisuusliitto owns 6.4 percent of Kojamo’s shares. Opetusalan Ammatijästo OAJ’s ownership is 4.6 percent.