Multiplan

On May 6, Multiplan announced its earnings results for the first quarter of 2014. The company presented consistent growth. Multiplan's shopping centers total sales registered R$ 2.7 billion for the period, up 11.2% over the first quarter of 2013. Gross revenue increased 15.5% to R$ 284 million. Net income also was sharply higher and the FFO (an important industry indicator) came in at 16.8% and 26.1%, respectively. Net profit was R$ 82.3 million and the FFO was R$ 128.6 million in the period.
 
Even without taking into account the new stores, the result was important: same area sales (SAS) expanded by 9.3%, while same store sales (SSS) rose 8.3% in the quarter. Considering only satellite stores (up to 200 m²), this percentage, SSS, posted a strong performance: an increase of 8.7% in the quarter for the same stores. For their part, the anchor stores grew 5.8% using the same indicator.
 
The payment default rate and loss of rent remained at historically low levels of 1.9% and 0.5%, respectively. The cost of occupancy fell to 13.7%, the same level as three years ago in the first quarter of 2011. The occupancy rate at the end of the quarter was 98.5%, higher than in the same period of last year, when it was 97.5%. It is important to note that this growth, despite the recent delivery of new areas, five new malls and three expansions since 2011, continues to grow.
 
Same store rentals increased 6.8% in the first quarter of 2014 after already strong growth of 11.4% in the same period last year, and at a pace higher than the IGP-DI effect on Multiplan's contracts that were renewed in this period, calculated at 5.9%.
 
Net Operating Income (NOI) plus the Assignment of Rights (CD) reached R$ 196 million in the quarter, 7.7% higher than in 2013. In the last 12 months, the NOI plus the CD rose 10.0%, to R$ 754.6 million.
 
Consolidated EBITDA was R$ 196.6 million in the first three months of the year, 23.4% higher than in the first quarter of 2013. The indicator was impacted by double-digit growth of net revenues and non-recurring items. The net debt/EBITDA ratio was reduced to 2.94x in the period and the weighted average cost of debt rose 54 basis points to 10.41% p.a., whereas the prime rate increased 75 basis points to 10.75% per year as of March 31,2014.
 
Income was impacted by organic growth, new areas opened in 2013, non-recurring items as well as higher interest expenses and depreciation.
 
Board of Directors - The company is also reporting that the Multiplan General Shareholders Meeting held on April 29 elected Mr. José Paulo Ferraz do Amaral as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Mr. Leonard Peter Sharpe as a board member, replacing Mr. Manoel Joaquim R. Mendes. The Board elected Mr. José Isaac Peres as CEO of Multiplan for a term of two years.
 
About Multiplan - With 39 years in the market, the company is a pioneer in the Brazilian shopping center industry. It develops, operates and owns one of the best portfolios in the country with 18 own units - BarraShopping, New York City Center, ParkShopping Campo Grande and VillageMall, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ); BH Shopping, DiamondMall and Pátio Savassi, in Belo Horizonte (MG); MorumbiShopping, Shopping Anália Franco and Shopping Vila Olímpia, in São Paulo (SP); JundiaíShopping, in Jundiaí (SP); ParkShopping São Caetano, in São Caetano do Sul (SP); RibeirãoShopping and Shopping Santa Úrsula, in Ribeirão Preto (SP); ParkShopping, in Brasília (DF); ParkShoppingBarigüi, in Curitiba (PR); BarraShoppingSul, in Porto Alegre (RS); and Parque Shopping Maceió, in Maceió (AL). The portfolio in operation totals GLA of 756,696 m², more than 4,800 stores and annual consumer traffic estimated at 170 million people. Multiplan owns an average ownership interest of 73.9% in its malls. It is the only company in the construction and shopping center industry to have an investment grade rating awarded by Standard & Poor's agency.