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2022-2024 Business Plan presentation "Mission... possible" (6 MB - pdf)

Return to organic growth based on sustainability and innovation

Between 2020 and 2021 the global pandemic caused by Covid-19 impacted IGD’s business significantly, interrupting the prior development path which had led to an average yearly increase in Funds from Operations of 16.5% between 2015 and 2019 and of more than 33% progression in the dividend over the same period.

The pandemic also triggered the acceleration of some, pre-existing macro-trends:

  • Social transformation and changes in consumer needs
  • Digitalization and growing interaction between online and offline, resulting in more personalized offers
  • “Green Revolution” with increased attention being paid to environmental issues and “ESG factors” as drivers for development

IGD Group has therefore adjusted its operational strategy by focusing the new Business Plan for 2022-2024 on the adaptation of physical spaces and merchandising mix, as well as on the continuation of its commitment to reduce the overall carbon footprint plan.

 

“The Business Plan 2022-2024 shows that we are strongly committed to ESG factors, to investing in the innovation and digitalization of our shopping centers as we look to the future and prepare them for the new market challenges. At the same time, we have set important economic-financial goals for ourselves, resuming payment of dividends to our shareholders while also reducing financial leverage, as well as consolidating the investment grade profile we have achieved”

Claudio Albertini, IGD’s CEO

2022-2024 MAIN FINANCIAL TARGETS

+17/20%
Net Rental income
40/43%
Loan to Value

Primary goal of the Plan is the proactive management of the assets in order to prepare them for the future and the new market challenges

 

The Plan is articulated on 4 operational areas:

  • Commercial and marketing strategy: acceleration of commercial and marketing strategy with a focus on omni-channel attributes, in terms of both structure (merchandising mix – format – layout) and technological/digital innovation (CRM – tenant and customer engagement);
  • Asset management strategy: investment program of more than €80 million aimed at making the assets increasingly more attractive and innovative, reducing their environmental inmpact;
  • Financial strategy: with the aim of obtaining the best conditions possible in any market environment and limiting exposure to financial risks;
  • Sustainability strategy: which calls for important steps to be taken to reduce the portfolio’s environmental impact, with the objective to reach zero emissions by 2030.

New scenarios and update on the Business Plan 2024 targets

During 2022 and 2023 the geopolitical and macroeconomic scenario significantly worsened, with an increase in interest rate curves that led to an increase in the Group’s financial charges, as well as the loan to value due to the devaluation of IGD’s property portfolio; this new scenario showed a significant deviation from the assumptions used in the 2022-2024 Business Plan.

Therefore in January 2023 IGD announced to the market that some of the targets to 2024 set forth in the Business Plan presented on 14 December 2021, with particular reference to FFO and dividends, were no longer achievable.

However, all the strategic and operational guidelines set forth in the Business Plan in the areas of sales, marketing and sustainability, as well as the investment plan, to which the commitment to implementation is maximised, remain confirmed.

In 2022 and 2023 we continued to operate in line with the Plan, both in terms of operational choices, advancing the important investment projects in the pipeline, and for liability management objectives, and looking at the results, we can affirm that the efforts we made to remain consistent with the guidelines of the 2022-2024 Industrial Plan have proved rewarding:

  • a careful commercial and real estate asset management policy has allowed us to achieve progressive improvements at the operational level, leveraging an effective business model
  • the level of achievement of sustainability targets at the end of 2023 was around 69%
  • we are in line with the investment pipeline (already invested 60 million euro out of the 82 planned)
  • also at financial level, we achieved concrete results, considering that in 2023 we refinanced, ahead of schedule, a significant fraction of the total debt stock for about 650 million, also extending its average duration. To this must be added the approximately 236 million euros raised during 2022.

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