Multiplan Empreendimentos Imobiliários released its results for the first quarter of 2021 on April 28. In the period, the Company's malls operated at 63% of regular hours, while tenant sales and rental revenue reached, respectively, 72.3% and 82.2% of 1Q20’s results. Since April 22, all of Multiplan's malls have been open to the public and, by the last week of April, operating hours should reach 77% of regular hours.
In the quarter, EBITDA was R$131.2 million, with a margin of 49.3%, a reduction of 5,610 b.p. in relation to the same period last year, mainly due to the rental conditions offered to tenants because of temporary suspensions and operational restrictions. Net income totaled R$46.3 million in 1Q21, 73.9% lower than 1Q20, in line with the reported decrease in EBITDA in the quarter, reaching a net income margin of 17.4%. Considering the last 12 months, net income for the period ended in March 2021 grew 49.6% over March 2020, reaching R$832.7 million.
Renewal of mix with record GLA leased
Even with the restrictions that impacted the operations of the malls, including the operation for 63% of the regular hours, tenant sales were equivalent to 72.3% of 1Q20’s sales, reaching R$2.3 billion. The shopping centers in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Maceió presented the best sales performances, benefiting from the longer opening hours in the quarter.
VillageMall, in Rio de Janeiro, once again exceeded the previous year's sales, reaching 103.4% in 1Q21, benefiting from the results of the luxury goods stores. In the comparison of 1Q21 with 1Q20, 15 malls reported sales percentages above the number of hours in operation.
As observed in the previous year, consumers returned to the malls after the reopenings, underlining the importance of the malls in their daily lives. The difference between sales and hours in operation is a further indication of the Company's strength and solidity when considering that no mall operated on its regular schedule, that February 2021 had one less Saturday due to last year's leap day and that additional holidays were declared in some cities in Brazil, which negatively impacted sales figures over the quarter.
Multiplan's shopping center portfolio presented an average occupancy rate of 94.6% in 1Q21, a reduction of 120 b.p. in relation to 4Q20. The reduction is mainly due to the seasonal effect of lower occupancy rates in the first quarters of the year, which historically are around 0.35% below the rate recorded in the fourth quarter; and to the one-off effect related to the recent exit of a fast fashion store chain from Multiplan's portfolio.
