2022, a year to remember. 2022 is the year in which Montea recorded the biggest growth in its history. Indeed, our portfolio increased by none less than 28% in only one year. This growth was, amongst others, achieved through new developments for top companies such as Amazon in Antwerp, HBM in Waddinxveen, and GXO in Tongeren. Also, our building portfolio achieved another strong performance. The average remaining maturity on leases is more than 7 years, and our occupancy rate has been consistently above 99% since 2018. On top of that, we ended the year with a strong balance sheet. The debt ratio is low, the cost of debt is under control, and will remain under control in the upcoming years. In addition, we have sufficient financial resources to realize further growth.
Based on these strong fundamentals, the EPRA earnings per share for 2022 increased by 9% to EUR 4.10. Lastly, in 2022, we also received the well-deserved recognition for our thorough ESG strategy by GRESB. We are best-in-class compared to our European peers in two key sustainability categories. On average, our buildings consume less energy and they emit less CO2, two categories that are close to our hearts on which we will continue to make efforts in the upcoming years. In short, a great result, of which we are very proud. Today we look ahead, and we see that the world has changed significantly. Increased interest rates force us to set high standards for new investments. We therefore require on average initial yields of at least 6% on these new investments. This is ambitious but doable.
Thanks to the extensive investments in our own land bank of almost 2.5 million square meters, growth in the next 2 years will mainly come from our own developments based on this strategic land bank. We not only have the land in all 4 countries, but also the customers to realize this ambition. Also, profitable investments to further enhance the sustainability of our portfolio are at the very core of our investment policy. In 2023, we aim to further increase earnings to EUR 4.20 per share, in line with our growth plan, Track 24, in which we aim to further increase earnings per share to EUR 4.30 by the end of next year. You see, Montea is doing well, and we are confident about the future.
Demand for contemporary real estate solutions that meet the many challenges the logistics sector faces remains very high, and we are eager to tackle them together with our customers, partners, and colleagues.