Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Lar España's full year 2022 business update presentation. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Hernán San Pedro, Lar España's Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Director. Please go ahead, Hernán.
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. This is Hernán San Pedro. Welcome to our full year 2022 results presentation. As always, the press release has been sent, and the presentation and financial report are also available in our website and at the CNMV official website. Presenting for us today is José Luis del Valle, Chairman of Lar España, Miguel Pereda, Vice Chairman of Lar España and Chairman of Grupo Lar, and Jon Armentia, Corporate Director and CFO of Lar España. After the presentation, for the Q&A session, José Manuel Llovet, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Real Estate at Grupo Lar, and Sergio García, Director of Retail Iberia, will also join us. As our speakers will explain, 2022 has been a great year, full of milestone and records for our company.
Now, let me hand the call over to José Luis del Valle, our Chairman.
Thank you, Hernán, and good afternoon, everybody. First of all, I want to thank you also for being here today for our fiscal year 2022 results presentation. I would like to begin my speech by referring to Lar España's value proposition and to our permanent commitment to, one, to create outstanding shopping centers that offer unique experiences to our users who visit them not only for shopping, but also to enjoy their leisure time and to discover new ways of interacting. Second, to keep leading the sector in size and quality of the portfolio. Third, to nurture our relationship with retailers, from whom we learn new things every day, with whom we work with a common ultimate goal, the maximum satisfaction of our end customer. Finally, to take care of our shareholders with a differentiated value proposition and recurring profitability.
2022 has been a year full of activity. We started the year by redeeming our senior bond. Despite the uncertain macro environment, the rating agency Fitch confirmed our investor grade BBB rating with a stable outlook. We held our Analyst Day in June, where we share our strategy with the market. Lagoh, our flagship shopping center in Seville, obtained the Best Shopping Centre in Spain Award, granted by the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres. We distributed a dividend of EUR 30 million, EUR 0.36 per share. These are just some of the milestones achieved during the year. Thanks to the entire team that worked in, for, and with our company, 2022 has also been a year of records. Our retailers declared sales exceeded EUR 1 billion for the first time in history.
We are truly proud of our contribution to this record figure as we offer our retailers the best centers with the best user experiences. Without the close relationship of trust and mutual learning that we have with our retailers, this would not have been possible. In December, our flagship Lago h Centre in Seville surpassed 1 million visits, also as a result of our commitment to innovation and to offering users the latest experiences. In addition, the soundness of our portfolio is reflected in our NTA per share, which has just reached the record figure of EUR 11.11 per share. Last but not least, one of the largest dividends in our history, EUR 50 million, will be proposed to the next shareholders meeting. Now it is Miguel Pereda's turn to summarize the company's performance during the year. Miguel?
Thank you, José Luis. The set of results that we are reporting this year are excellent, and I'm very proud to say that they are the result of our strategy in which we have made the right decisions at the right times. GRI grew by almost 7% over last year with an increase in occupancy that stands almost at 97%. In addition, the value of our portfolio increased by 3.5% compared to December of last year. As a result of the positive performance of the business. All this with a solid balance sheet reflected in an LTV of 37.1% at January, following the execution of the bond buy-back program. Regarding visits and sales, we have to say that they have also performed very positively this year. In 2022, visits reached 80.5 million.
That is 8.1% higher than last year. Regarding sales, they've reached more than EUR 1 billion, which is almost 40% higher than the same figure in 2021. This evolution is also clearly higher than the average Spanish market. If we compare our figures with those of our main competitors, we see that Lar España once again shows better results in most of the operating and financial indicators, as you can see in slide number 11. We will have the chance to go later over all of them in detail. These good results are a clear reflection of our active asset management and the quality of the portfolio. Having strong assets well located, where 80% of them are considered big or very big and 100% owned is key.
Both our mix of activities and the balance between shopping centers and retail parks are optimal, our relationship with retailers are based on trust and long-term benefits with default rates in the range of 9.2 and WAULT of 2.5 years. Thanks to our focus on innovation, end customers keep choosing Lar España centers, we have received 80.5 million visits and nearly 150,000 users are already members of our loyalty group. Finally, I would like to highlight Grupo Lar's more than 53 years of experience, which makes it the best market to carry out Lar España strategy. As we can see in slide number 13, one of the main reasons for achieving these good results is the high quality of our portfolio.
All assets are leaders in their area, fully refurbished, food anchored, and host the top international brands having very high rates of occupancy. Also, as we can see in next slide, number 14, all of them are BREEAM certified as good, very good or excellent. This reflects again the commitment of Lar España with the environment and with making our shopping centers a safer and more sustainable place every day. All this is precisely what allow us to host major retailers, leaders in their respective sectors. Companies that have been placing their trust in us for years. Companies like Inditex, Carrefour, Mercadona, Primark, and many others.
We continue to focus on innovation, which help us to better understand the needs of both the end customers and also retailers, and also help us to offer the best solutions so that the needs of both are met in the best possible way. We are also convinced that omnichannel is already the present. For this reason, we carry out several initiatives to facilitate this environment in our center, such as Click & Shop platform, Lar Conecta or purchase through WhatsApp. In fact, firms like AliExpress have trusted us to open their physical stores in a clear commitment to this hybrid environment. As you can see, without a doubt, a year of great results, a lot of activity, record figures and a clear commitment to innovation, which allowed us to continue being leaders in our sector.
Now I turn to Jon Armentia, who will take us through the financial aspects of the period.
Thanks, Miguel. Good afternoon, everyone. First of all, I would like to highlight the important rental activity that Lar España has had in the period. We have more than 1,000 contracts, a solid tenant base with more than 65% of its leases expiring beyond 2025. The FFO rate stood at 9.2% including expenses, making it one of the best in the industry. Meanwhile, WAULT stands at 2.5 years. In terms of our commercial activity, there has been a significant increase in the number of transactions signed during the year compared to 2021, reaching a total of 176 operations with more than 54,000 sq m rotated. Almost EUR 12 million of rents were negotiated in the period with a rent uplift of 1.3%.
Thanks to this, the occupancy has also experienced a very remarkable growth, reaching 96.6% in December 2022. I would also like to highlight, as Miguel has said, that top retailers continue to choose our assets to establish their stores. If we take a closer look at the leasing activity during the year, 20 new lettings have been signed. There have been 50 reletting, and 106 contracts have been renewed. Therefore, as we have seen in the previous slide, the number of contract signs has increased by almost 90%, going from 94 in 2021 to 176 in 2022, demonstrating the true recovery in the trend. In the following slide, we can see in the P&L statement how the results of Lar España have been very positive in 2022.
All the main figures have presented a remarkable improvement versus the 2021 figures. Starting with the line of total income that reached EUR 83.6 million and an increase by almost 6% compared to 2021. The same occurs with the operating result that reached EUR 92.6 million and 87.4% higher than the previous year. I would also like to highlight the decrease of the financial result, almost 45% lower than the previous year, thanks mainly to the refinancing process carried out in 2021 with the two green bond issuances. Every saving mentioned above leads to a net profit that increased to EUR 72.9 million, 3X higher than in 2021. In summary, in this period, we have achieved very solid financial results.
We registered a positive trend in raw rental income, increasing 6.9%, and also in Net Operating Income, rising 6.3% versus 2021. Net profit reaches EUR 72.9 million, multiplying by 3 the figure of the previous year, which underlines the company's excellent performance in 2022. I would also like to point out our sound portfolio with EUR 1.5 billion of gross added value, a WAULT that stands at 2.5 years, and an occupancy that continues to grow to levels close to 97%. In addition to these outstanding results, 97% of rents have been collected in 2022. In the following slide, we see how Lar España during 2022 has achieved great progress in all the EPRA indicators.
For many of them, we have already referred to in the previous slides, I would like to call attention to, in particular, the EPRA NTA per share, which stands at EUR 11.16, and the EUR 40.3 million of EPRA earnings, EUR 0.48 per share, are 70% higher than in 2021. I would also like to highlight that in 2022, Lar España has received the Financial Report EPRA Award for the eighth consecutive year and also the EPRA Gold Award for the ESG information, in this case, five years in a row, in recognition of the quality of the information published by the company. In relation to the EPRA NTA per share, I would like to emphasize the positive evolution it has experienced going from EUR 10.34 in 2019 to EUR 11.16.
When analyzing this increase, it's important to take into account the dividend distributed during this period, EUR 1.30 per share. As can be seen in Slide 25, the growth of our EPRA NTA per share has been much higher than the recorded by our main European competitors, with an increase of at least 5% compared to previous years. In Slide 26, I would like to talk about the company's strong dividend proposal while maintaining prudent leverage. At the next general shareholders meeting, based on 2022 results, a proposal will be made to approve the distribution of EUR 50 million in dividends, one of the highest ordinary dividends in our history. This represents an increase of almost 70% compared to the last year and a dividend yield of 14.2% over market cap.
It is worth noting that we maintain almost EUR 115 million in cash. Our financial debt remains prudent with a net LTV after the bonds buyback of 37.1% and an average cost of debt of 1.8%, being all the debt at a fixed rate. Now, I would like to dwell on the bond buyback for an amount of EUR 110 million that we conducted in January 2023. It was a successful transaction in which we obtained an implicit discount on the repurchase of the bonds of 18%, equivalent to a total final price of EUR 90.5 million that were fully paid using the company's cash resources. Thanks to this, an amount close to EUR 20 million of income will be reflected in Q1 2023 P&L.
In addition, we improve our leverage from a Net Loan-to-Value in September of 38.9% to 37.1% after the transaction. As a result of the transaction, the NTA per share also increased to EUR 11.16 as we have seen in previous slides. In Slide 28, we can see our debt profile. I would like to point out that it is an optimal combination of debt, cost, and maturity. All our debt is green and secure and at fixed rates with maturities until 2026. In slide number 29, in relation to valuations, at December 2022, Lar España's gross value reached EUR 1.5 billion.
I would like to highlight once again the strength of our assets, which have risen 54% compared to the acquisition price, 3.5% since December 2021, and 0.2% since June 2022. Compared to our European competitors, our portfolio has also outperformed theirs. This demonstrates the excellent management and the quality of our assets. As for the dividend, this year, one of the highest ordinary dividends in our history will be proposed for approval at the annual general meeting. EUR 50 million, EUR 0.6 per share, which represents a dividend yield of 14.2%. Our commitment to shareholder return is demonstrated by the fact that since our founding, the company has distributed more than EUR 300 million in dividends. Lar España is undoubtedly one of the most profitable options for investors, and not only in terms of dividends.
As we have previously mentioned, in terms of dividend, we are one of the best options in the continuous market, and we have already distributed almost EUR 163 million since 2020. In addition, we have carried out one of the largest capital reductions in the Spanish market, acquiring 13.4% of the share capital since 2019, thereby increasing the profitability and return per share. We have just incorporated a new method to bring profitability to our shareholders, repurchasing EUR 90.5 million in bonds, which, among other things, will generate income of close to EUR 20 million in Q1 2023. In Slide 32, I would like to conclude by emphasizing the importance of ESG for us. Over 10% of the contracts signed with our tenants have green clauses, and 100% of our portfolio includes charging points to electric vehicles.
Our GRESB ranking score in 2022 has been an 8% higher than the peers average, having obtained the maximum score for the management part of which Lar España has the full control. We have also been awarded with the Reduzco seal by the Spanish government, given that the figures registered for the last four years show that the company is reducing its emissions thanks to the initiatives rolled out over the recent years. Lar España, thus, becomes the first real estate company listed in Spain to achieve this. With regard to the certifications, 100% of the portfolio under its operational control is ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified. In addition, as we have seen, we have achieved a 100% portfolio certified in BREEAM, with excellent and very good rating in almost 100% of our assets.
These are just some of the many initiatives we carry out on this area, so important to us, and in which we will continue to work every day to remain a benchmark in the sector. Now it is José Luis del Valle's turn again for his final conclusions.
Thank you, Jon. Let me close this presentation by highlighting once again the very solid results obtained by Lar España in 2022, thanks to our active asset management strategy. Our earnings have grown significantly at both top and bottom line levels. Compared to last year, our assets have increased in value by 3.5% on the strength of our Net Operating Income. Our EPRA NTA stands now at EUR 11.16 per share after the bond buyback in January. In addition, we maintain an optimal financial profile and a moderate Net LTV level of 37.1% as of today. Finally, we will pay one of the highest dividends in our history, EUR 50 million, which is almost 70% more than the dividend paid last year.
All these achievements have been thanks to the high quality and size of our portfolio, which has the best assets located in the best catchment areas. The active and personalized asset management we carry out in all our centers. Our commitment to omnichannel and the support to our retailers in this front with constant initiatives that facilitate their job. Our firm commitment to society, wherever we operate, and to the highest levels of corporate governance. Of course, our commitment to our shareholders, to their profitability. At Lar España, we strive every day to create value for them. Thank you very much for your attention.
Thank you very much, José Luis. Please, [inaudible] , can you remember all the attendants, the way they have to use in order to send the questions?
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now start a Q&A session. If you want to ask a question, please use the webcast functionality Ask a Question. I now hand over the call to Hernán San Pedro.
Okay, thank you very much. The first question we have is for our Chairman, for José Luis del Valle, around our dividend. From buy side, the question is, why are you proposing EUR 50 million total dividend when EPRA earnings were around EUR 40 million?
Thank you for the question. You're absolutely right. Our EPRA earnings were approximately EUR 40 million. We have added another EUR 10 million because our EPRA earnings included the amortization of some rent concessions that were awarded in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, and those have no cash impact in 2022. Therefore, since they have no cash impact, we have added those EUR 10 million to the EPRA earnings of EUR 40 million to get to a level of EUR 50 million as a proposed dividend for 2022.
Thank you very much, José Luis. The second question we have is for Sergio García from sell side by the analyst side. Good afternoon. Two question, if I may? Can you elaborate how footfall and sales evolved during January and February? How were these on a like for like basis versus 2019 levels? Can you provide an update of the future asset rotation plan? Thank you. The second part of the question is for Miguel Pereda.
Thank you very much for your question, Hernán. Regarding footfall and sales of January and February of the beginning of this year, the trend that we are having in the portfolio is even better than we have in 2022. Figures are quite positive regarding footfall. Comparing with 2022, we are higher. We are increasing up to 8.5%. Comparing with 2019, we are almost flat, only -1.5%. This is in terms of footfall. Regarding sales, we are increasing 12.2% comparing with 2019. Figures are growing, improving even better than the last year.
Thank you very much, Sergio. The second part of the question is for Miguel from sell side, too. Can you provide, Miguel, an update or your ideas on the future asset rotation plan? Thank you.
Thank you, Hernán. Well, I think that rotation has been and is always part of the value creation strategy for the company, you know. Trying to sell those assets where they are more mature, where most of the return has been already accrued, and then buying others where these asset management, intensive asset management strategy brings the company higher returns. That has not changed. Probably, of course, in an environment that is more volatile, we need to be very careful in the speed and the kind of opportunities that we address for selling and buying, but the principles have not changed.
The fact that we have very, very strong assets with I mean, a track record in terms of operational results, very strong, I think give us a good opportunity at some point to do some disinvestments. Also our capabilities and our strong balance sheet will help us to secure at some point some new opportunities. There's not an specific calendar for that, but as I said, it's part of our ADN to be on the top of this rotation as one of the ways of creating value for our shareholders.
Thank you very much, Miguel. The next question is from buy side for our Chief Financial Officer, Jon. Good afternoon. Could you please give us the exceptional impact in EBIT and the pre-linearization gross rental income and impact expected in 2023? Thanks a lot.
Thank you, Hernán. Well, for 2022, the impact that we have had, in terms of linearization, as José Luis has said, has been, EUR 10 million. That is the one that also we have added to the earnings for the dividend. If we exclude that effect, well, the GRI in 2022 would be around EUR 94 million, more or less. This will give us in terms of Net Operating Income a figure of around EUR 80 million-EUR 84 million also. For 2023, while this year we have had an amount of EUR 10 million, we expect to have an impact below EUR 7 million.
Thank you very much, Jon. The next question is from sell side , and it's for you, Jon. Can you give us some guidance about the incentives in 2022? What do you have left to input on P&L and cash flow level? Can you give us some guidance on the potential evolution of gross rents in 2023 and potential investment and divestment ? Also is answered by before by Miguel.
Yes. Thank you, Hernán. Well, answering to 2022, the impact that we have had, taking back our linearization plus incentives has been EUR 17 million. EUR 17 million. For 2023, what we expect is to reduce that impact significantly also. We'll have an exact figure, but yes, we'll be reducing that amount in 2023. Additionally, in terms of GRI, for 2023, we expect to increase our figure, taking into account that, as you know, we are going to pass through the CPI effect to our, to our tenants. That is going to be for sure an increase in the GRI and also in Net Operating Income of the, of the company.
Thank you very much, Jon. The next question is for José Manuel Llovet. José Manuel, we have seen a clear distance between the figures of Lar España and the figures of the European peers. Can you explain us something about the reasons?
Well, yeah. Yes. Thank you very much, Hernán, for the question. I have to refer what Miguel said before in his part on pages, if I am not wrong, from 12 to 17. The reason of these results are always based on the quality of our assets, the professional management, and the capability of leading the change in very complex moments. I think he also mentioned that the assets were acquired by one by one, and we have completed, almost completed its transformation. Now they are all of them dominant in their respective catchment area. I would say more. I would say that they are now invulnerable because of the size, quality, service, type of retailers. We are not going to see competition growing around our centers.
I think we are quite strong also, not only in physical, but also in the online perspective. In summary, yes, I think we are strongly positioned for the present. We have proved it in a very complex moment, and we are also extremely and absolutely ready for the future, for this changing future now. This is why I feel so proud of the results achieved this year and the team of asset managers and property managers that have made it possible. Thank you.
Thank you very much, José Manuel. The next question, two parts. The first part for Jon Armentia and the second one for Sergio García. For Jon, what impact do you expect on asset valuation coming forward? The second part for Sergio, do you expect any decrease in footfall or sales in 2023 as economic cycle is weakening?
Okay. Thank you, Hernán. Well, I will try to answer the first of the questions. What we have seen this year, 2022, an increase, 3.5%. We have been able to increase cash flow, Net Operating Income. Thanks to this, we have been able to compensate now the increase also that we have seen in terms of years and also in IIF. Looking at the future, well, I don't have a crystal ball, but what we can see is that at least at a national level, what we are maintaining is a very positive performance in terms of footfall, in terms of sales, passing through that CPI effect to our tenants.
Taking into account also the low effort rate that our tenants has, that 92% figure include expenses. Within that starting point is positive, but let's see what happen, no, in the evolution in the coming months. Also at the macro level. Let's see in June what is going to happen, no, in terms of valuation.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Jon. The second part of the question for Sergio, do you expect any decrease in footfall or sales in 2023 as economic cycle is weakening?
Yes. Thank you, Hernán. Yeah, I agree with Jon. We are seeing in our portfolio that the weakest shopping centers, with the weakest performance, are improving in the last months of 2022. Even improving, as I said before, in this first part of the year. The weakest areas, the weakest sectors in terms of sales are improving as well. Fashion is the same level of 2019. Dining is even better. In some of our shopping centers and retail parks are increasing double-digit. Even leisure is recovering, not very quickly, but is recovering figures of 2019 and performing even better than 2021.
The figures and the performance of the assets now are very good. We don't know what is gonna happen, but I think that our shopping centers and retail parks are ready to face the complex situation that is possible to be faced in the coming months. Our marketing and communication strategy as well, all of our assets are refurbished and in very good conditions. Our omnichannel strategy is in place, we think that we are ready to face this future. We don't expect to have worse figures of comparing with 2019.
Okay. Thank you very much, Sergio. Any other question, please?
There is no more questions.
Okay. Thank you very much for attending the meeting and the call. Remember that all the teams at Lar España level and Grupo Lar, our external manager level, all we are at your disposal. Please feel free to contact with us for all the additional information you could need. Thank you very much and good afternoon.