Sonae Sierra records net profit of €47.8 million and continues international growth in the first half of 2014

Sonae Sierra, the international shopping center specialist, achieved a net profit of €47.8 million in the first half of the year. In addition to this positive result, the first six months of 2014 were marked by further growth of the operational performance, as well as the increasing international focus of the Company, with the entry in China and the first own investment in Morocco.
According to Sonae Sierra's CEO, Fernando Guedes de Oliveira, "the first half of the year reinforced the recovery trend in the operational performance of our portfolio, confirming the recovery signs shown since the beginning of the second half of 2013. I would like to highlight, the entry in China, result of a joint-venture with CITIC Capital, under which Sonae Sierra will provide its know-how and experience to one of the markets with the greatest growth potential at a global level. Also important to point out is our first investment in Morocco, country where the company is present through services provision since 2011, which allowed us to gather a better knowledge of the market before moving forward with this important step."
The first half of the year was positively marked in terms of international expansion, with Sonae Sierra entering a new geography with high growth potential, China, and announcing its first investment in Morocco.
Regarding China, Sonae Sierra signed, in April, a joint venture with CITIC Capital, China's leading investment management company, for the provision of management and leasing services to shopping centers in the country.
In Morocco, Sonae Sierra in a partnership with Marjane, Al Futtaim and Société d’Amenagement de Zenata (Groupe CDG), announced in May the development of Zenata shopping center. Scheduled to open in 2017, the new project represents an investment of €100 million, of which the Company will have a participation of 11% and will be also responsible to provide development, leasing and property management services for the new shopping center.
Still in this geography where established two of the three new services contracts signed this semester for the management and leasing of Carré Eden (Marraquexe) and Arribat Center (Rabat). In Europe, the company will assure the leasing of the new shopping center La Perle (Faenza, Italy).
In the beginning of the semester, Sonae Sierra started the construction of two new projects: ParkLake (Bucharest, Romania), an investment of €180 million expected to be inaugurated in 2016, and the expansion and refurbishment of Franca Shopping (São Paulo, Brazil) scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2015.
Source: Sonae Sierra