Afirma Q1 results feel property slowdown pain

MADRID, May 16 (Reuters) - Spanish property company Afirma (AFRA.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) swung to a first-quarter net profit after reclaiming goodwill payments it had earmarked for a tax payment as part of its three-way merger, it said on Friday.

However, earnings and top-line profit fell as the company -- the result of a merger between real estate firms Rayet, Landscape and Astroc -- felt the pain of a severe Spanish housing slowdown.

Afirma posted first-quarter net profit of 70.8 million euros ($110 million) compared with a 43.3 million net loss for the same period a year ago. However, if the goodwill reclaim was not taken into account, last year's loss would have widened by 16 percent.

Income halved to 84.4 million euros.

The company made no mention of its debt renegotiation. Shares fell 17.5 percent over three sessions this week after it said on Friday it was trying to renegotiate a 667 million euro syndicated loan, triggering fears of its financial health.

Many Spanish real estate companies are thrashing out deals with lenders as a decade-long housing boom comes to an abrupt halt. Several have filed for administration to win protection from creditors.

Catalan real estate firm Habitat, which narrowly escaped bankruptcy earlier this year, closed the 120 offices of its Don Piso estate agency chain earlier this week, with the loss of around 400 jobs, the latest victim of the downturn.

Afirma said its debt with lending institutions stood at 1.64 billion euros as at March 31. This compares to a market capitalisation of 491.9 million euros at Thursday's closing price.

Afirma shares were 0.6 percent higher at 1.64 euros, 23 percent lower than last Friday's close. (Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by David Holmes)