- 364 homes delivered up to March, 10% more than the previous year, with an average price of 375,000 euros, and an improvement in the gross development margin to 23.7%.
- Demand for housing is strong in the first three months of the year: the company’s pre-sales are up 30% in euros and 20% in units.
- The General Shareholders’ Meeting was held today and approved a dividend of €0.36/share, equivalent to 54.6 million euros, to be paid on 23 May.
Madrid, 30 April 2024. Metrovacesa, Spain’s leading real estate developer with more than 100 years of history and 115 developments under development nationwide, today presented a summary of its operating performance at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
The developer reported very significant growth in revenues, gross margin and EBITDA during the first quarter of 2024. Revenues amounted to EUR 140 million, compared to EUR 79.5 million in the same period of 2023, an increase of 76%. EBITDA increased fourfold to 17.9 million euros, while the EBITDA margin improved to 12.8%.
In terms of housing deliveries, 364 units were delivered during the first quarter, 10% more than in the first quarter of the previous year. Residential development revenues reached 136.4 million euros, 72.2% more than in the same period of the previous year. The average selling price increased by 57% to 375,000 euros, as a result of the delivery of several premium developments (Málaga Towers in Málaga, Venere in Marbella and Villas de la Vega in Madrid). A Build to Rent development of 88 homes in Seville was also delivered to an institutional investor. The gross development margin increased from 21.7% to 23.7%, despite the rise in construction costs in recent years.
Commercial sales, or pre-sales, during the period reached 509 units, 20% higher than the same period in 2023, and 17% higher than the last quarter of 2023. In fact, this is the highest quarterly figure in the last two years. In euros, the year-on-year increase is 30%, due to the increase in the average price for the mix of developments being marketed.
These good commercial figures reflect the strength in housing demand in the first months of 2024, driven by the stabilisation of mortgage costs, the good performance of the labour market and the improved expectations for the economy (there have been upward revisions to GDP growth forecasts for Spain). All this, together with the context of a shortage of new housing supply, which remains below demand, which has increased as a result of residential needs for demographic reasons, as recently highlighted by the Bank of Spain in its Annual Report.
In these circumstances, the developer’s accumulated pre-sales portfolio at 31 March 2024 reached 3,477 homes, representing future revenues of more than 1.1 billion euros, 7% more than at the same date in 2023. Metrovacesa currently has a total of 4,451 homes under construction and 6,344 being marketed, of which 55% are already sold.
With regard to land sales activity, the company has recorded revenues of 3.4 million euros, corresponding to the sale of four residential plots located in Almeria, Murcia and Barcelona. Metrovacesa also has a further 45 million euros in binding private contracts, most of which are expected to be booked before the end of the year.
In terms of the company’s investment activity, during the first quarter of the year it invested 30 million euros in land, both in the progress of development work in important areas such as Palmas Altas in Seville and Los Cerros in Madrid, and in the acquisition of new land in selective locations with strong demand for housing and a shortage of finalist land. Specifically, this quarter, land was acquired in Costa Adeje (Tenerife) for the development of a residential project to be launched this year, which will complement Metrovacesa’s offer on the islands, with more than 600 homes currently on sale.
Finally, the company reinforces its profile of strong cash generation and attractive shareholder remuneration. In this regard, the General Meeting of Shareholders, held today, approved the payment of a dividend against reserves of EUR 0.36 per share (EUR 54.6 million in total) on 23 May. Together with the dividend paid last December, this represents a total payment of 105 million euros from the cash flow generated in 2023, and a dividend yield of more than 8% per annum.
Jorge Pérez de Leza, CEO of Metrovacesa, said: ‘We started the year with very positive data in the first quarter. Demand for housing has remained solid, with absorption levels above the historical average and with significant growth in our revenues, gross margin and ebitda. This gives us excellent visibility to meet our targets for this year and for the medium term, encouraged by the current ample coverage of future deliveries and a favourable macroeconomic backdrop for new housing demand”.
