Results for the full year 2023. My name is Juan Carlos Calvo. I am Director of Strategy and Investor Relations. In our session today we also have Jorge Pérez de Leza, Chief Executive Officer of Metrovacesa, and Borja Tejada, Financial Director. We are going to present an overview of our operating activity and our financial results for the full year 2023. The slides of this presentation have been released to the market earlier this morning, and they are available through the CNMV website as well as the company website. We have also sent it by email to our usual distribution list for analysts and investors. At the end of this presentation there will be a question and answer session.
If you wish to ask a question via conference call, you can register by pressing star five in your telephone keypad at any time, and you can cancel if you change your mind by pressing again star five. Once again, press star five to ask a question. If you are participating via webcast, you can type your question directly in the webcast platform and we will read it out at the end of the presentation. Now I hand it over to our CEO to start the presentation, please Jorge.
Yes, thank you, Juan Carlos, and good morning everybody, and welcome to our full year 2023 results presentation. Let me start with the highlights that you can see on page number five. In terms of housing demand, we see that it still remains solid. It remains solid in the second part of 2023 and also in the beginning of 2024, as I will comment later. Supported by demographics, GDP growth that has been better than expected, and despite the higher mortgage costs that we have seen in the market, sales performance has been quite solid and has supported well our business. That's why we've had a significant growth in our presales and the backlog. On our BTS platform, +11% in 2023 and +36% compared on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
The backlog is now at EUR 1.1 billion in revenues, which is 9% higher than what we had at the end of 2022. We've been more active in land rotation, and I will comment about that later, with revenues of EUR 84 million in P&L with a pickup in demand, especially in the commercial segment, and also more active in land acquisitions in the second half of the year where we acquired a significant investment in Los Cerros, in a very strategic position in Madrid. We've achieved our operational and financial goals for the years, with housing deliveries being within the guidance that we set at the beginning of the years, with higher margins than expected.
We've had a record EBITDA of EUR 74 million with a growth of 62% compared to last year, an adjusted pre-tax profit before impairments of close to EUR 50 million, which is 25% higher than last year, and our operating cash flow is right in the middle of the guidance that we gave, between EUR 100 million and EUR 150 million, so meeting the guidance comfortably. Moving into page number six, just to highlight a few of our really landmark projects that are in, I would say, in process but already are beginning to be reflected in the P&L. The first one being the Málaga Towers that some of you visited in the last part of the year. As you all know, we have two towers there with close to 150 units.
We have started delivery and almost finished delivery of the first tower, Living, initiated in December of last year and then almost finalized in January of 2024, with 74 units, with an average price of close to EUR 1.5 million, EUR 7,000 per square meter. Important to highlight that the second tower Vision is already under construction. Delivery is planned for 2025. We are going in construction as planned, and the units are 70% presold, so going on an excellent rhythm. Second landmark development for us is Palmas Altas in Seville, or Isla Natura, where we will start the first deliveries in the second half of 2024 with more than 300 units.
In total, we've launched 20 projects already with more than 1,200 units in commercialization and more than 50% presold, in this case when we are following a strategy of blocking units and releasing units to actually maximize prices and margins in the development. And finally, the Oria Campus, or the old Clesa factory, which is our largest commercial development project to date, where we have signed with Vita, the second turnkey building project, which means that in total we have 42,000 sq m, so almost half of the square meters in the development already committed. With one of the towers, the student housing, already construction started, and the co-living, or the accommodation tower, set to begin in the second part of the second quarter or third quarter of 2024.
Moving on to the business update section, I will now hand it over to Juan Carlos to give us a brief comment on the housing market.
Yes, I mean, this is why we will highlight a few comments about the market. As we said before, we think that the market is relatively solid. It is actually performing better than other countries in Europe, and this is despite the concerns about the increase in mortgage costs and inflation, etc., in the context of the macro situation. The main reason, I would say, is probably the imbalance between supply and demand. We can see that in the first chart, that actually in the last three years we have seen a significant increase in the creation of households. This is a demographic effect. This is population growth, mostly from immigration. But in the end, it translates into the creation of households of around 500,000 in the last couple of years, whereas the supply of new construction has stayed low at around 100,000 annually.
That means that the new construction is covering barely 40% of the housing needs by the demographic growth in the country. That's a major impact because that's actually driving the demand. If you look at the volume of the transactions in the second chart, it is true that last year we saw a decline of around 9% in the number of total transactions, but actually that 9% is, I would say, the modest decline and leaves us with a figure that is historically still very sound, very solid, above the figures pre-COVID, as you can see there in the chart. And actually has been concentrated the decline has been concentrated in the second-hand market because actually the first-hand or the new homes, because of the low volume of construction, has been absorbed pretty well.
That has translated into positive appreciation of house prices, modest but positive, in a context where also construction costs were moderating. About mortgages, obviously the increase in mortgage costs has been a concern, but actually has not had a great impact, did not have a great impact on the market. Firstly, because the increase in Euribor has only been transferred partially to the mortgage rates, but most importantly, the use of mortgages has declined. The percentage of transactions financed with the mortgage has dropped from around 80%-65% in the last few years as the cost was increasing. This is a reflection of a relatively healthy financial situation by families with low debt by households and relatively high, historically high deposits level. Back to you.
Yes, thank you Juan Carlos. Now moving on to operating metrics, and I'm on page 10. In terms of presales, we have sold in the year 1,836 units in total, all of them BTS, which represents an 11% increase in BTS, and also with a higher ASP compared to what we had last year, EUR 322,000 per house, which is a reflection not just only of the product mix, but also of the price appreciation or the HPA that we have been carefully implementing in our developments. In terms of absorption rate, the way we measure it, we are at 2.2%, which is above our average in the last quarters for 2-3 years in the past. So a healthy ratio, as we will see later in the coverage for deliveries of 2024-2026.
Also importantly, in the client profile, where we see that the foreign clients, especially in Costa del Sol, are 22%, which is slightly higher than the long-term average. This is a client that continues to come and to really push the demand in developments in Costa del Sol. Also, close to 30% of the clients are still buying without financing. It's a figure that, again, reflects that there is solid demand in the market. It's slightly lower than what we had in 2022. However, it still shows that there is savings and that there is a healthy buyer for the client segment that we are representing.
Finally, a solvency that we measure in our clients of 4.6 years to repay the mortgage, which is really much lower than what could be the 7.5 or 8 years that we could see on a more tense market. Quite a healthy client profile. In terms of residential deliveries, we met our target of delivering in total 1,675 units. In terms of revenues, that represents a 14% increase compared to last year, mainly because of also the average selling price, which stands at EUR 300,000 per house, and also an increased gross margin of 22% despite the lingering effects of the Ukrainian war in construction costs. We managed to do a very, I think, active and successful management of price increases versus cost increase due to the Ukrainian war on the projects that were delivered at the end of the year.
I think also important to highlight that we delivered six of the eight active projects that we have, BTR projects that we had. So six are delivered, two more to go that will be delivered this year. As we didn't sign any BTR projects in 2023 due to the fact that we had higher margin doing those as BTS, we will not have any more BTR once we have delivered these two, and we will see what happens in terms of new BTR projects during the year. In terms of operational activity, our sales backlog keeps on growing. We now have 3,330 units as a backlog, EUR 1.1 billion in revenues, which is an increase of 9%, and the average selling price is slightly higher with EUR 325,000 per unit, excuse me, 4,500 units under commercialization, and finally, a slightly higher number of units in commercialization, close to 6,400 units.
All this translates, I think, into what is the most relevant figure for a residential developer, which is what is our coverage ratio for the coming years. As you can see, they're very healthy ratios with 2024 beginning the year with an 82% coverage already achieved. Not only that, 57% in 2025 and 31% in 2026. Construction, obviously, everything for 2024 and 2025 under construction, but also 31% of the deliveries of 2026 already with construction initiated. I think very healthy ratios, even slightly better than last year, which gives us a good visibility for the residential segment in the coming years.
In terms of land acquisitions in page 13, I think it requires mentioning that we followed our strategy of being active in land acquisition as a complement to our existing land portfolio, so meaning what we had envisioned is to add between 500-700 units per year so that we could be comfortably in our run rate of 2,000-2,500 units per year. However, this year, we also did a strategic one-off investment in Los Cerros, again, an opportunity that came through the sale of the participation that Sareb, the bad bank, had in this development. And I think as an active resi player, long-term player, we analyzed this opportunity.
And despite the fact that it's not the normal land acquisition strategy, we decided to go for it because we believe that it's going to bring returns in the close to the 20s or higher IRR return for our shareholders. And therefore, we considered that it was a great opportunity not to be missed, again, for a developer that is here to stay for the long run. Other more normal land purchases that would fall in what we consider this normal land acquisition strategy of 500-700 units per year would be Distrito Zeta in Málaga, also Vinival in Valencia, where we have a strong position. This is a non-fully permitted land almost in first row in beachfront location in Valencia, and also another development in Granada of close to 200 units where we are already under commercialization in one of the phases.
In terms of land sales, our total land sales in P&L flowing through P&L is EUR 84.1 million, with commercial land sales being 83% and residential 17%. As we mentioned in the last quarter presentation that we had, we saw a pickup in commercial land activity at the end of last year, and that's why we had this strong second half of the year. And this figure includes as well the Oria new student housing, as well as Valdebebas, the hotel operator that bought part of our stake in Valdebebas, Monte burgos III, where we sold this to a hotel operator as well. And then in residential land sales, 17%, we've been selling non-core assets in places like Jerez, Seville, Córdoba. And when I say non-core, it's either because of location or because of size of the development where it's too small that it doesn't make sense for us.
We're not, let's say, as efficient as selling the land. We had a gross margin of 20% on these land sales, which is definitely above what we sold. All in all, if we look at the period 2018 to 2023, we've divested EUR 455 million in resi and commercial land, and we will continue in that effort to do so in the coming years, especially in the commercial segment, as we've been telling in the past. We have a good start of the year because we already have binding contracts for about EUR 41 million that are coming from deals that were signed in private contract in the previous years and will materialize or the final notarial deed will be signed in 2024.
Talking a little bit more about Oria Innovation Campus, I gave a brief highlight at the beginning of the presentation, but I think we've had a major boost for our largest commercial development project with two buildings representing 42,000 sq m, and more than 1,100 rooms in total, with a very strong operating partner and investor, Vita, that will be actually managing these units or these buildings once they are delivered. As some of you that know Madrid know well, in the rapidly changing and developing Fuencarral district, that I think with all the different developments that have been going on in the last couple of years and with the push of Oria now, it has become really a destination within the north of Madrid for what it's, I would say, a student hub as well as a life sciences and educational hub. So good prospects for this development.
Construction CapEx, important to say, is financed already with financing already in place, so it will not require any investment or any new financing on the balance sheet for Metrovacesa. At the end, Vita will acquire ownership of both developments at development in 2026, the delivery, sorry, and we will also collect management fees during the development process. In terms of ESG, I go to page 16, I mean, we continue our strong effort in the environmental part on our development process with 100% of our projects now being AA certificate, also with 100% of our projects being certified either by Green Building Council stamp or sustainability certifications, and in some cases as well with BREEAM. We are also measuring now our carbon footprint in 100% of the projects and already started implementing measures to reduce that carbon footprint.
In terms of social impact, I would highlight here our land development efforts with our community engagement department and platform in where we are being very active in managing social action with the different platforms and different stakeholders in all our urban developments. Also, we've been active in pursuing also sustainable certifications in the different land developments that we are doing. Finally, in corporate governance, we are following the highest standards in transparency as well as code of good governance. And we are also. I think it came to the press yesterday, but we're increasing one of our independent directors with Ignacio Moreno that previously was until now considered as other external, now being also an independent Director. And with this, I will finalize the ESG certificates.
We worked in 2023 to be certified by not only S&P Global Sustainability Assessment where we came in the 88th percentile of the real estate industry, so very high in the ranking there, but also with Sustainalytics where we are now with a rating of low risk. With this, I finalize the operating part, and I hand it over to Borja, our CFO, to talk about the financial figures for the year.
Thank you, Jorge. Good morning, everyone. In terms of profit and loss account, just some key figures, as always. 13% revenue growth year-on-year, out of which 14% from development and more than 8% from land sales. Very good performance in terms of gross margin, up to 21.7% divided in 22% from development and 20% from land sales, meaning margin expansion of 3% year-on-year.
62% of increase in our EBITDA, up to a record figure of EUR 74.2 million, having closed with an adjusted pre-tax profit of EUR 50 million from the figure. Now, in the slide 19, with reference to our free cash flow, EUR 131.6 million of gross operating cash flow meeting our guidance of EUR 100 million-EUR 150 million for the full year. In the slide 20, concerning our net debt, as always, very solid financial position of the company, 13.8 loan to value, a comfortable ratio below our reference of 15%-20%. Nevertheless, increasing in order to optimize the capital structure of the group and higher CapEx in ongoing developments. EUR 440 million of gross debt that once deducted the billable non-restricted cash, we get over EUR 332 million of net financial debt.
As you can see, very diversified financing mix with good access to varied sources of capital at a competitive, according to my point of view, cost with no relevant maturities up to 2026. Finally, about our asset appraisals, EUR 2.4 billion of GAV, out of which 82% represents our residential portfolio and 18% the commercial one. 1% like-for-like versus 2022 increase with an increase of almost 4% in our residential portfolio and decrease of 9.6% in commercial one due to interest rates and higher yields required in the market for these type of assets. Finally, in terms of net asset value, EUR 13.33 per share after the distribution of 0.66 euros of dividends during 2023. Now, I will hand over to Jorge with the closing remarks.
Thank you, Borja. I finalize with our closing remarks on page 23. As I mentioned, I think 2023 was a good year for Metrovacesa meeting our goals with execution according to plan. We maintain our midterm activity of 2,000 units per annum in residential development and progress in portfolio rotation towards a more optimal size and mix. That's how we would summarize our performance of the year. In terms of shareholder remuneration, we did an interim dividend of EUR 50 million paid in December of 2023. A final dividend proposal to be decided in March, in the board of March with the annual shareholders' meeting call, and will be a balance between a strong cash flow generation and dividends and also investments with attractive in-medium term returns.
The outlook for the year, we have a good visibility at the start of the year, as I mentioned, in the resi development with very strong sales coverage and construction coverage for housing delivery with a strong sales land sales pipeline in binding contract with EUR 41 million already to be already in place and signed and to be notarially signed and with a final price collected at the end of the year. And we also see from the market point of view with a potential cut or at least the uncertainty of big hikes or noise in the ECB rates could be supportive for a stronger second part of the year. And we put an operating cash flow for 2024 in the range of EUR 100 million-EUR 125 million depending on land sales and acquisitions that we do in the year.
With this, I finalize now the call and hand it over back to Juan Carlos Q&A.
Yes, thank you, Jorge. We are now ready to start the question and answer session, starting with our participants from the conference call. If you wish to ask a question, please dial star five in your telephone keypad, and you will be queued for a question and answers. We will mute the line for a few seconds so that you can register your questions. Okay, we have no questions from the audio conference call. We do have some questions from the webcast. The first question comes from Ignacio Domínguez, analyst at JB Capital. He's asking actually several questions. I will ask them one by one. Firstly, on the outlook, how much land acquisitions and land sales are included in your guidance for operating cash flow in the year 2024?
Well, I mean, we're not going to give the specific details because at the end, I think the guidance on cash flow is a combination of deliveries as well as land sales minus land acquisitions. But our land acquisition strategy still remains what it is, which I mentioned that it is to a top-up or a complement to our land portfolio in the sense that we would like to buy between 500-700 units per year. And if you take an average price of EUR 100,000 per house or a bit less than that, that would give you a rough figure of what is our standard strategy for land acquisitions per year.
Again, as I mentioned, Los Cerros was an exception, and I think a very good exception for our shareholders as we will see that we have a great piece of land in one of the best, I would say, areas to have development in Spain, in Madrid, and in the southeast developments where we are already seeing very strong land transactions in terms of developers buying land from existing owners and also developments being launched. Now, will that be the case in 2024? We don't envision that. But nevertheless, we will be looking at strategic opportunities if they appear. If they don't appear, we will not buy, and we will stick to our normal strategy. But if we need to make an exception for exceptional returns, we will do it. And that's why we're a little bit more vague in terms of land acquisitions.
I would say our main strategy is 500-700 units.
Okay, the second question is about the housing development business. How many deliveries and average selling price do you expect in 2024? About gross margin, do you expect it to continue in the 22% margin of last year?
I mean, in our deliveries, we will be getting closer to 3,000 units in the coming years. And that's where we need to be and where we will be if you look at I can't remember which page it is, but where you look at what we have under construction right now, the units that we have under commercialization, etc. So that guides you towards 2,000 units. Probably will not reach those 2,000 in 2024, but it will be more than 2023. In terms of low margins, I would stick to our lower 20s, which is, again, a little bit more vague. It stands between 20 point something that we had in 2022 and 22% that we've had last year. But we will continue to work, I think, selectively and intelligently in increasing prices in the developments that we can do so.
The third question from Ignacio is about the payout. Do you expect to pay 80% of the operating cash flow guidance for 2024?
Yes, our policy has not changed, and we will continue to pay that 80%. Again, it will depend on what the final operating cash flow is. I think in resi development, it's very predictable right now in terms of what we will deliver and how much cash that we produce. I think in terms of land sales as well, having a good start of the year, and I think we remain positive in the commercial segment, I think, yes, we will stick to that policy of 80% payout.
Okay, so moving on to the next analyst, we have Javier Beldarrain from Best inve r asking, given the high number of units acquired, I assume he's talking about land acquisitions, units acquired in 2023, do you expect to buy less land in 2024 and 2025?
Well, I think I already answered to that question. 500-700 units is the standard. Of course, it is not a set goal in the sense that it has to be excellent returns on development. If there are any strategic opportunities that appear, we will consider them, although as of today, we don't see any, and it's not something that is in our basic strategy. And I wouldn't say we would buy less. Buying Los Cerros, I think what it means is that we have some extra units for development with high returns, but we also have units there or land pieces that we will sell as land in the coming years with an excellent multiple return for our investors.
Okay, then next question from Gerardo Ibáñez, analyst from ABN AMRO ODDO BHF, partly answered before, I think, but anyway. Could you please provide some outlook on gross development margins? Do you expect similar levels next year? And regarding the guidance on gross cash flow, do you expect similar levels of land purchases and monetization as 2023? I think partly similar.
I think all of them. I think gross margins, we already mentioned low 20s or probably yes, where we will be being. And land acquisition, I've already mentioned it. So I think we've already answered that one.
Okay. Okay, we don't have more questions from the webcast or from the conference call. This concludes the conference call this quarter on the full year 2023 results of Metrovacesa. As usual, the investor relations team will be available to take any follow-up questions that you may have. We thank you for your participation, and we look forward to meeting you again next quarter with an update on the activity for the first quarter of 2024. Goodbye.