Central and Eastern European retail specialist Plaza Centers swung into the black in 2010 with a profit of EUR 10 mln after a loss of EUR 65 mln in 2009. The positive result was mostly due to an increase in income derived from the operation of recently-opened assets and investments made throughout the year.
Central and Eastern European retail specialist Plaza Centers swung into the black in 2010 with a profit of EUR 10 mln after a loss of EUR 65 mln in 2009. The positive result was mostly due to an increase in income derived from the operation of recently-opened assets and investments made throughout the year.
Revenues doubled to EUR 38 mln in 2010, from EUR 16 mln at year-end 2009. The value of the portfolio rose to EUR 1.4 bn at end-2010, from EUR 1 bn a year earlier, largely due to acquisitions and the complete lack of sales executed in 2010.
Following the signing of new loan agreements for the development of new shopping centres in Kragujevac, Serbia and Torun, Poland, the company said it maintained a 'conservative gearing position' with debt comprising only 56% of the balance sheet, compared to 46% at year-end 2009.
Last year the company completed its 30th shopping centre in CEE with the opening of Suwalki Plaza, Poland in May 2010, which comprises 20,000 m2 of GLA and 450 parking spaces
'We believe that the next two years will witness a turning point for the markets in which we operate and, indeed, we have already started to see positive signs in 2011 to date,' said Mordechay Zisser, chairman of Plaza Centers. 'Many competitor companies are no longer operational, representing a substantial market opportunity for well-financed companies with a strong track record, such as Plaza. We therefore look forward to significantly increasing our volume of activities and that this will certainly contribute to a further strong performance in the coming years.'
