SYN prop e tech SA

BOVESPA:SYNE3

Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q1

[Operator]

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SYN video conference to discuss the Results on the First Quarter 2023. This video conference is being recorded and you can watch it later at the company's website, ri.syn.com.br. [Operator Instructions]

Before resuming, I'd like to reinforce that the statements here declare as the beliefs of the administration of SYN and the current information for the company, and this statement may involve risks and uncertainties considering that they regard future events so unforeseeable. Investors, analysts and journalists should consider that the events about the macroeconomic environment, the segment and other investments may influence the results here expressed in these statements. Here, we have present in this video conference, Mr. Thiago Vieira Muramatsu, Director and President of SYN; and Mr. Hector Leitao, Financial Director and Investor Relations with the company.

I'd like to pass the floor to Mr. Vieira Muramatsu to start his presentation. Please Thiago, the floor is yours.

[Thiago Muramatsu, executive]

First of all, I'd like to welcome you all with a good morning. You see now our call of results. I'd like to thank for your attendance. This quarter was a quarter without relevant movements within the company. On the other hand, this quarter, especially here in the area of shopping malls, we have currently a great concentration of our revenue is started turbulent, because of retail market is scaring -- shocking us in the first 20 days of January throughout the quarter, we saw these effects being worn out by the growth of sales same store and our activity of leasing.

Bringing results, directly to the point of these results starting operational performance is Slide 5, talking about occupation. Occupancy of SYN had a small reduction compared to the fourth quarter '22 because of basically seasonality at the most and impact of corporate offices comparing the first quarter '22 -- '23 and '22. I believe the seasonality effects are similar. We grew 2% in physical occupancy and more financial occupancy. Ahead, we are going to deep dive the segments.

First, shopping malls, we place here a disclaimer about physical vacancy because of Grand Plaza. Grand Plaza, we have a commercial beauty, 4,500 meters in site development and throughout the last year, there was an interesting movement of renting in this building. So when we see occupancy, excluding the effect of this building, we are just talking about occupancy of retailer, retailing stores, the first trimester quarter, we grew 1.3%, leaving 94.3% -- reaching 95.6%, growing over the 95% mark in the last 2 quarters. So we see these already as a healthy situation.

We still have some challenges ahead of us, these 2 developments. They are going so well, and we have been investing a lot in events and entertainment. And we can see the results here in all the malls, especially, we have interesting results in Shopping G mall and Santo Andre shopping mall and Shopping D in area based in expansion for entertainment, bring people to the mall. This is helping a lot in the trading of other areas, Shopping D mall in the end of the year [indiscernible]. So how this operations on recurrency held a lot in the occupancy of the mall. And Santo Andre shopping mall, we experienced big demands bringing a positive flow is not reflected in this quarter's numbers, but I am sure, it helps a lot growing compared to last quarter.

Financial occupancy, the increase was bigger. The increase was more than 2% when we compare the first quarter '22 and the first quarter of '23. Still about the malls, we had a growth of almost 15% of sales quarter-after-quarter, overcoming in 2x the inflation rate, growth near 7.5%. Vehicles flow, there was a growth that was signed, 4.5%. And to highlight in this quarter is that in Sao Paulo shopping mall, in the last quarters, it was behind the other malls in our portfolio. In the first quarter '23, there was an increase above the other malls in sales and flow and this, we talk to investors because of the location of the mall, focusing on lease entertainment in the city, [indiscernible] that is a commercial center, there is a lot of people passing through because they work in the surroundings.

The companies are back to the offices, hybrid work. So it helps the return of the flow in Sao Paulo shopping mall. But this year, as the companies are back to the office and people are back to the office well, we experienced something here that what we had in 2019 and is held to that Sao Paulo shopping mall a lot. Retaining the growth was 12%, leaving the numbers that we compared in the pandemic period, we are comparing normal year. This growth is really interesting comparing to the approval in inflation, 7.5%, and the leasing at the stores growing in the same rate, 9% growing above the inflation rate.

And talking about corporate buildings, I believe there is a change in the criteria changing the criteria, but just this is noting the analysis first. We did not own the development. We participate or fund, but we manage this development since 2022. So we direct manage the leasing, the renting today, we participate as a person that has knowledge but not under our management directly. That's why we leave IT out and another one that virtually is healthy, although we have some leasing contracts ongoing, we are starting different alternatives for this development, not necessarily as a corporate office use. So it is excluded when we use this comparison that we have operational offices.

Within the offices, we finalized the quarter with [indiscernible] in a physical occupancy above 80% and financial occupancy near 90%. Class A offices 86% in physical occupation, 88% in financial occupancy. In Triple A, we have transitions -- natural transitions within JK Towers, we bought the pent house in 2022, it is not over the leasing process, but it's nothing important -- nothing to concern about when we see this number -- low number on occupancy that is their CEO [indiscernible] in our participation. This is a small area. That the occupancy lower than the rest of Triple A portfolio plus, we have basically an asset that impacts more the occupancy. [indiscernible] good news is that we have lots of demand in the last months for this development. And I believe that next quarter, we are going to bring good news, positive news about corporate buildings occupancy.

Moving ahead, we are going to the financial aspect, and I pass the floor to Hector.

[Hector Bruno de Carvalho Leitao, executive]

Good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for your attendance. I will start with the results of the development. And it's important to explain that we have -- we adjusted the results in the last quarters, excluding the effect of linear discounts rented during the pandemic that is not justified because last year, second quarter '22, we stopped giving discounts in a linear way. So we need to exclude them in this analysis. So we can compare it to using the same elements [ and why ] total in B2B considering loss provision, reversion of loss depending on the performance to recover default in the last quarters' positive. We are recovering a lot.

There is a growth of 6.7%, reaching BRL 47.7 million of NOI compared to 44.7% last year. Breaking the units, the business units most growth that was robust, 13.4%, closing the quarter with BRL 39.9 million compared to BRL 35.2 million. As Thiago commented, the highlight is really the strong recovery of Cidade Sao Paulo shopping mall growing a lot in results and also sales double-digit above the average of 13% in sales. We also have 30% increase, the results not so much, but it's really robust so.

Offices, we presented a drop of 18% in this quarter compared to previous year, closing BRL 7.8 million compared to BRL 9.5 million. And here the justification is that an impact of an accounting effect that we presented last quarter, BRL 1.9 million that was the grace period linearization of payment term, there was 50% vacancy up to 2021 and we rented the other half and extend the contract to the other half that was rented already. So we calculated this linearization, if we exclude this effect, accounting effect, there was a growth of 22.7% NOI in office almost 11% total NOI for the quarter.

Moving ahead for the slide of results, we presented EBITDA adjusted BRL 39 million compared to BRL 44.5 million last year, representing a drop of 12%. And here also, there is this effect -- accounting effect of last year, a reversion of bonus in BRL 5.8 million that we had the previous year provisioning a payment that was bigger in '21 to '22 and '22, we paid lower amount just defined as reversion. Excluding this effect, we would have a growth of 6% in EBITDA aligned with the growth of NOI, offices and shopping malls added in the financial result we have.

An indicator that is positive, aligning with our strategy of payments, amortization, anticipated amortization that we did last year. There was a financial result of BRL 30.7 million negative, comparing BRL 35 million negative the previous year. So this gain even though the CDI in average quarter-after-quarter 30% above. There was a positive mix here because we have a lower gross debt in our cash.

Following net revenue, as we have the FX of EBITDA close depreciation and taxes, we presented a net profit and loss adjusted BRL 9 million in the quarter compared to BRL 5 million last year, and FFO excluding this grace period of net revenue, 0 compared to 3.8% of previous year. If we adjust the facts of Birmann 10, we presented here a loss 30% lower compared to the previous year. So the assets present, especially the malls are robust growth. We are controlling expenses and inflation rate and the financial result will show up with a lower debt. And up ahead, we expect to see a drop in interest rates. So you can see financial expenses already decreasing in the following quarters.

Moving to the next slide about debt, we closed the quarter with BRL 327 million cash, generating BRL 13 million cash, this consent the assets, non-operational activities. There was no surprise, nothing relevant. Gross debt BRL 1.099 billion closed in the quarter, net debt in our participation, BRL 772 million, aligned with the previous quarter. Financial covenants that is the consolidated IFRS. We closed with net debt EBITDA 5.46x, underneath our limit of covenants 7x. So we have a good period on covenants. Another covenant, very important is the asset value that are not guaranteed to debts on the corporate debt is 2.74x. That is a minimum of 1.4x. So we have an interesting margin in this covenant.

In the graph underneath, we can see what's going on. In the last 2 years, with the financial expenses, and of course, there is a peak in the second quarter '22 because of peak raise. The first quarter '23 was higher than the last quarter '22 because of seasonality of IPC, IPC for the year and the quarter was 8%, above 8%. So we are going to see the impact of IPC in the next quarter positive, because we expect the debt need to slow down throughout the year, closing the year, 12 months, near 6%. This is a seasonal effect that we are going to see adjusting these impacts in our financial expenses throughout the year as we did in the third and fourth quarter last year.

And finally, the final slide of the financial session, we show that we have a schedule of amortization that is long this year and the next year very slow, due in the contract that is important. In 2025, BRL 223 million for amortization aligned with our strategy of having a cash. There is more restrict in this period of high interest rate that we do not see lots of opportunities for our business. Short-term, the calculation is not so easy because of the interest rate, there's no need to have elevated cash. And at the same time, it's an expensive cash. We have lower debt to have better results and even though we are comfortable to move ahead with some opportunity of investment.

On the right-hand side, we see since the last quarter, that has not changed, 35% in IPCA, a 65% in CDI and risk spread that is good in our debt. Debt is stick in the average of that in CDI is 1.5% spread and IPCA 6.5% is under the CDI.

So I finish my financial session. We can open up the floor now for Q&A session.

[Operator]

We are going to start now the Q&A session for investors and analysts. [Operator Instructions] The Q&A session is over. We would like to ask Thiago Vieira Muramatsu for his final considerations.

[Thiago Muramatsu, executive]

The takeout of this call was a quarter [indiscernible] on the malls, improving above the inflation rate, this first month second quarter was -- April was a good month to us on the office side, same areas to work on vacancy in some assets that started the second quarter with good perspective. And I believe that this quarter we are going to deliver the results with the malls and improving offices. And I believe that is it. I wish you all a good day, and I reinforce that Hector and I, IR team is available for you for future comments and questions. Thank you so much have a great day.

[Operator]

This video conference screen is closed. We thank you so much for your participation and have you all a great day.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]