Echo Investment SA (ECH) posted stronger-than-expected results for the first half of 2026, with residential sales rising 14% year-over-year and handovers jumping 180%, CEO Niklas Lindberg and CFO Maciej Drozd said during an earnings call.
The company held its residential margin at 33%, exceeding its internal target of at least 30%, while SG&A costs remained flat despite the higher sales volume. EBIT and net profit were both "significantly above expectations" and ahead of the same period last year, Lindberg said.
Echo also reduced interest and bond costs by PLN 7.5 million annually after renegotiating terms, Drozd said. The company paid a dividend of PLN 0.40 per share in June 2026 — a yield of 3.29% — which he called "proof of our strength and financial health." Echo's balance sheet showed a current ratio of 4.16 and a Piotroski Score of 8.
Stock rose 4.21% to $5.45 from $5.23, placing it roughly midway within its 52-week range of $4.52 to $6.58.
For 2026, Echo is targeting the sale of 3,200 to 3,500 residential units, up from 2,867 in 2025, with a long-term goal of 4,000 units annually. Lindberg said the company is scaling its popular-segment housing business, aiming to raise that segment's share of sales from about 40% to 50%.
On the commercial side, PwC has leased nearly 20,000 square meters of the AFI Tower in Warsaw, taking up more than a third of the building's total 55,000-square-meter space. Full completion of the Towarowa 22 project is scheduled for Q1 2029. The first residential building at the Miedziana Street (M7) site has been completed, and construction on a planned 2-hectare Central Park is set to begin next year.
For the Archicom luxury brand, M7 and Flair segment projects are expected to be more than 80% sold and handed over by year-end. Echo plans to refinance PLN 378 million in Archicom bonds in Q4 2026 and to repay PLN 180 million in bonds ahead of maturity in December.
In rental housing, Echo closed the sale of 5,300 units to TAG — described as the largest transaction of its kind in Poland — with units under construction expected to be fully leased by Q1 2027. StudentSpace continued expanding its portfolio in Warsaw's Mokotów district and Kraków.
Geographically, Echo operates across six markets and is exiting Katowice while still analyzing a potential presence in Tri-City, Lindberg said. Planned capital disposals are expected to generate around PLN 0.65 billion, with more than PLN 0.5 billion already closed. Over recent years, the company said it has generated and applied PLN 690 million toward debt reduction, dividends, and Warsaw CBD investments.
