The highlights are:
- Direct Income from operations reached € 21.3 million, an increase of 20%
- Open Market Value of Investment Properties increased 28.6% to € 3.690 million
- € 107 million were invested in the development of shopping centers, 93% outside Portugal
Sonae Imobiliária Net Consolidated Profit (after Minority Interests) reached € 32,18 million. In the same period of last year, the Net Consolidated Profit reached € 64,61 million, however, this result was not impacted by the minority interests resulting from the sale of 49,9% of the SIERRA Fund. The Company closed the first semester of 2004 with Direct Income from Investments of € 130,9 million, versus € 113,9 million in the first semester of 2003, an increase of 14,9%.
EBITDA reached € 46,2 million versus € 45,6 million in the first semester of 2003, a 1,3% increase despite the sale of 50% of Vasco da Gama to ING Real Estate in March 2003, with the consequent reduction in rents and other income.
All of the Company’s real estate properties were independently valued as of June 30th 2004 and its Open Market Value reached € 3.690 million (€ 2.868 million as of 31/12/2003), of which € 1.758 million (€ 1.583 million as of 31/12/2003, a 11% increase) are controlled by Sonae Imobiliária. As of June 30th 2004, the Net Asset Value per share of the company stood at € 29,97 (€ 29,16 as of 31/12/2003).
The global performance of Sonae Imobiliária’s shopping and leisure centres was in line with expectations for the first semester of 2004. In Portugal, the total rental income increased by 13,2% during the first semester of 2004 on the 14 shopping and leisure centres, 1 retail park and 2 commercial galleries that the company owns (or co-owns) versus the same period of 2003. In Spain, Sonae Imobiliária is the owner (or co-owner) of 8 shopping and leisure centres, with a total of 385 thousand m2 of GLA. During this first semester, the total rental income increased by 6,7% versus the same period of 2003. The total rental income from Sonae´s Brazilian portfolio increased by 13% in Reais, against the same period of the previous year.
Projects under development
During the first semester of 2004, the construction and leasing of the three shopping centers under development, Covilhã Shopping (Covilhã), LoureShopping (Loures), and Centro Tejo (Seixal), continued as planned. The openings are expected to take place in Autumn 2005.Setúbal Retail Park, Setúbal, is the company’s third investments of this type in Portugal, in joint venture (50/50) with Miller Developments, the Company’s partner for the retail park business in Portugal and Spain. Several procedures for the start of construction are under way.
In Spain, shopping and leisure center Luz del Tajo, in Toledo, held in joint venture with the Eroski Group (65/35), will open to the public next September 28th, and 3 other projects are currently under development. The construction and leasing of the Shopping and leisure center Zubiarte, Bilbau, are proceeding at a brisk pace. This project, a joint venture between Sonae Imobiliária and the ING Group (50/50), is scheduled to open next Autumn. Construction and leasing continues at Plaza Éboli shopping and leisure center in Pinto (Madrid region). This center, in partnership with the Eroski Group (65/35), is scheduled to open in March 2005. Plaza Mayor Shopping, the expansion of the existing leisure center Plaza Mayor, in Malaga, is expected to start the construction works by the end of the current year, just after obtaining the construction licence. This project is a joint venture with Castle City (75/25).
New partnership
The shopping and leisure center at Alexander Platz in Berlin, is being developed in joint venture with Foncière Euris (51/49). Construction licence has already been requested and construction works are expected to start before year-end. The development of the second German shopping and leisure center 3DO, Dortmund, continues.
In the rest of Europe the company continues the developme
