Sonae Sierra's net profit up 47% in 2015

Shopping centre specialist Sonae Sierra Sonae Sierra recorded a net profit of €142 mln in 2015, a 47% increase compared to the €96 mln reached in 2014.

Direct net profit reached €61 mln, a 16% increase year-on-year driven by improved operational results, the growth of professional services to third parties and lower interest rates.

Indirect net profit reached €81 mln, an 85% growth compared to the €44 mln in the same period of 2014. The positive variation was mainly a consequence of the recovery of European markets and the subsequent yield compression, mainly in Portugal and Spain.

In operational terms, tenant sales in the European portfolio recorded a 2.5% like-for-like increase in 2015, driven by 3.5% growth in Portugal and 5.3% in Italy.

'2015 was a year marked by highly improved operational results and by the consolidation of our financial performance,' Fernando Guedes Oliveira, CEO of Sonae Sierra. 'In terms of new project development, it was a year of opportunities to grow our business, with the announcement of our first investment in the Colombian market and significant progress in relevant developments in Romania and Morocco.'

In 2016, the Portuguese firm will seek to consolidate its presence in North Africa and other emerging markets, maintaining its focus on the capital light approach and third party service provision, added Guedes Oliveira.