Mercialys SA (MERY) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everyone. It is 10:00 a.m. Let us start with this annual results meeting for the fiscal year of 2021 for Mercialys. Our presentation this morning will be divided into 3 parts. The first part will be presented by Élizabeth Blaise, right here by my side, our Deputy CEO, who will discuss the strength of current demand for brick-and-mortar retail, real estate, then we'll come back to our growth pillars. And finally, we will detail our financial results for the past year and our objectives for the current year. I suggest that we move on to Slide 4, where in summary, we can emphasize that Mercialys concluded 2021 with a stronger balance sheet, now solidly established as one of the most robust in the sector, even though the context remained adverse. We also continued to demonstrate the good liquidity of our portfolio by pursuing asset rotation through significant divestments. These 2 years of health crisis have fully demonstrated the relevance of our model, based on daily purchases in suburban areas, characterized by unprecedented demographic growth that has been widely recognized. Our operational productivity, supported by our innovative service ecosystem, has once again been the source of very good performance. This was the case in terms of our retailers' revenue, which returned to 2019 levels but also in terms of retail vacancy, which fell sharply over the year. These very positive developments enabled Mercialys to continue to relaunch its growth strategy through 4 major drivers that we will further detail. But first, I'll turn over to Élizabeth for the first part on real estate -- retail real estate demand.

Good morning, everyone. As Vincent mentioned in his introduction, these results show that Mercialys has come through this new year of crisis by strengthening its major financial balances, but also by demonstrating the strength of its business model and its retail sites. This business model is based on the company's expertise, but also on the solid fundamentals of the French retail real estate market. Two highlights illustrate the strength on Slide 6. First, the ratio of shopping center facilities to the population does not appear to be over dense at national level. In previous communications, we have gone into detail about the social and demographic aspects of the regions in which our sites are located. The resilience of our results stems from the development of Mercialys' strong competitive positions within powerful suburban areas in a market that remains balanced in terms of retail supply. This retail offer should be enhanced in the medium term by the regulatory context. I will remind here that the Climate and Resilience Act, adopted in August 2021, aims to curb the proliferation of artificial ground and establishes a goal of zero net artificialization over time. This should push up the appraisal of existing retail assets. We do not anticipate any negative impact on our development potential since our medium-term projects do not involve any such artificialization. Our sites are also deeply rooted in everyday consumption patterns. The qualification as essential business of approximately 40% of the company's rental base during the various lockdowns, demonstrates this profound recurring nature of visits. On Slide 7, you can see the results of a survey of nearly 4,000 customers enrolled in Mercialys' loyalty program in January. These responses illustrate the appeal of shopping centers despite a health environment that was favorable to online shopping. 59% of customer surveyed said that they prefer to buy in-store and 13% equally prefer to buy online. This appetite for brick-and-mortar retail is fueled by the need to see the products, 35% of respondents; proximity, 27%; to benefit from advice, 15%; to take advantage of events, 10%; and commercial offers, 11%. Also, customers are motivated to buy online due to convenience, 27%; the absence of stores in their living in -- where they live -- in the area where they live 22%; product availability, 21%; and price considerations, 29%. These answers show that the people factor is key in the desirability of brick-and-mortar retail, but also the need for a combination of off-line and online to meet their expectations in terms of convenience and availability. These developments point to a future of hybrid physical retail whilst perpetuating the role of the shopping center in the customer journey. On Slide 8, you will see the key highlights from a recent study by the Retail Observatory on future trends, which validates this feedback from our customers. According to this organization, the ideal shop of tomorrow will be people-centered. Whether it be in terms of the relationship with retailers, in terms of local players, outreach and support, access to services, the people factor will remain -- will maintain, sorry, the appeal of brick-and-mortar retail. This will be completed by experiential dimensions, bringing surprise and discovery, and functional dimensions to reinforce the facilitation of daily life and time saving. These characteristics are precisely those of Mercialys' portfolio, short recurring visits, an attraction for retailers with a stronghold in the communities where they operate, regular renewal of the offer via casual leasing, a wide range of services and retail mix focused on affordability, an aspect that could become more salient an inflationary context. Anchored in the habits and desires of consumers, we believe that stores will remain at the heart of brand of retailer profitability. I mentioned earlier the success of digital retailers. It should be noted, as detailed in Slide 9, that the increase in market share of online sales in the retail sector from 10% in '19 to 13.4% in '21 has benefited from the restrictions generated by health measures, but it's also being driven by the rise in multichannel sales by traditional retailers. Their online sales have on average grown much faster than those of pure players, 66% versus 18% over 2019, '20. Examples of e-commerce's share in the turnover of robust physical retailers, such as Maisons du Monde, Fnac, Sephora or Decathlon show this alliance between online and off-line. This trend also shows that it will be necessary to capitalize on the customer knowledge specific to brands, but also on that collected by the landlord to maintain the attractiveness of the sites and stores. Landlord's contribution to customer knowledge will contribute to its added value for the retailers and it must be appraised in tenant occupancy cost ratio. This ratio stood at 10.4% in 2019, but it could not be updated due to the closure periods. However, transaction costs on online platforms now appear to be higher than Mercialys' tenants' occupancy rate. The question of the profitability of pure online retailers remains unanswered. Moving on to retail attractiveness. Large food stores are a must, as you can see on Slide 10. While it is possible to have a bunch of parsley delivered within a matter of a few minutes in any given European capsule, such type of retail remains quite marginal in French consumers' approach to purchasing food. Hypermarkets remain a recurring destination and account for a market share of more than 50% of the total value of consumer goods. It's also a retail model that attracts almost all French households with more than 42 visits per year on average. The fact that our shopping centers are incurred around large food stores, whether or not Mercialys owns these stores, remains an asset in routing our sites in the customer journey. While we believe that consumption patterns have not fundamentally changed because of the health crisis, a portion of consumers have moved, hereby amplifying a trend already seen prior to 2020. The building permit statistics that you can see on Slide 11 dating from 2019 show a concentration of housing construction in the Western and Southern coastal areas and the Southeastern edge, which are locations that broadly correspond to Mercialys' positioning. The desire for space and the reduced attractiveness of large cities has been a consequence of lockdowns in France and probably also in the U.K. In France, recent surveys show the relocation or the inclination to relocate of many households, which is a movement that has already been illustrated by the declining number of inhabitants in Paris. These new suburbanites will benefit from the retail footprint and large food stores. It should be noted that the key -- that they take advantage of these facilities mainly by car. And here again, the health crisis has only amplified the use of the car, which was already the primary mode of transportation across all urban and rural areas. Driving by car, while unfortunately very unfavorable in city centers, is beneficial to suburban shopping centers, which, as a matter of fact, offer free parking. Retailers and real estate tools will have to adapt to changes in urban demographics to better serve the needs of consumers while preserving their profitability, as illustrated on Slide 12. We believe that stores are still the most suitable and profitable model to serve moderately populated areas, both through in-store shopping and Click & Collect. That is what we see with our Ocitô service, which Vincent will talk about in a moment. Medium- and high-density areas will be served by distribution centers that will enable retailers to rationalize their network and benefit from economies of scale. In these dense areas, however, stores will remain an essential step to satisfy the need for immediacy and convenience. The quote from Target reflects the necessary rationalization of logistics costs as generated by online retail rationalization, mainly enabled by distribution from the store and not systematically from a central warehouse. We therefore anticipate that the current retail footprint will remain favorable for Mercialys in the medium term. In terms of sectors, we can see on Slide 13, that retailer business remained dynamic between '19 and the first half of '21, primarily with restaurants, but also retailers with an affordable pricing point. The inflationary environment that we've been experiencing since the beginning of the year should only amplify the latter, which is once again a key feature of our sites' retail mix. It is on these solid fundamentals that we will like to resume our growth strategy as Vincent will now detail.

On Slide 15, we can see that in '21 footfall in Mercialys' shopping centers reached 86% of 2019 levels. This is an excellent performance by Mercialys' sites given the major operating constraints experienced during the opening periods. Curfews in January, May and June, shifting of the sales, these had been held in January 2019 and they were shifted to February 2021, when many shopping centers were closed, unfortunately, and the implementation of the health pass in August '21. The national panel shows that footfall in '21 accounted for 84% of 2019 levels and 99% of 2020. We can say that Mercialys' website -- that Mercialys' sites have performed very well compared with the national index, although the parameters are complex to analyze from 1 year to the next, given the base and scope effects of administrative closures. We have not returned to 2019 levels of footfall, mainly because the health crisis has amplified the search for efficiency and convenience by consumers in their purchasing. When they travel to buy in stores, they buy more. We can, therefore, talk about a more efficient augmented consumer. This is directly reflected in the annual sales of retailers in Mercialys' portfolio, which in '21 shows a strong positive difference when you take into consideration the footfall of almost to 99% compared with the normalized level of 2019 for comparable opening periods, of course. As Élizabeth just documented, take-up of retail real estate was particularly strong in the second half of the year, and this has had a very positive impact on our sites. As illustrated in Slide 16, this has enabled us not only to attract new retailers, but also have enabled to continue to diversify and rebalance our retail mix in favor of the most dynamic subsectors of commerce. Thus, we continued to shift our exposure to textiles, down 100 basis points, in favor of sectors such as health and beauty, culture, gifts and sports as well as the more innovative businesses listed on the left side of the slide. This rebalancing has been achieved at the cost of intense activity in terms of deals signed. On Slide 17, no fewer than 271 new leases and renewals were signed in '21, covering almost 10% of our total rental base. This has enabled us to reduce the stock of expiring leases at the end of January '22 to 10.7% from 20.9% at the end of December 2020, so minus 50%. In addition to the new leases taken on the portfolio, negotiations with existing retailers concerning the 2020 lockdown periods have continued into 2021, and they are now almost complete. As part of these negotiations, we have signed 124 amendments. And with these amendments, we are able to obtain rent reductions and extensions of the firm terms of leases, so in exchange for these rent reductions. As a result, the average firm term of leases has been extended by 9.1 months as of December 31, 2021, thereby strengthening the sustainability of our rental flows. All these negotiations resulted in a reversion on renewals and relettings, which averaged minus 3% for the whole of '21, minus 1.8%, excluding the Camaïeu brand, which is under court order liquidation, and it's now been taken over by a new investor. So this is a significant sequential improvement over the cumulative rate of minus 6.5% seen at the end of June '21, and it underscores the return to positive reversionary territory from year-end negotiations. As I said in my introduction, as we've seen previously, Mercialys has a proven track record of resilience and of a very solid balance sheet. In 2022, we will therefore focus our efforts on 4 main areas of development aimed at strengthening the power of our sites, as shown on Slide 18. First, capitalizing on all our spaces. I'll come back to this later on. Secondly, capitalizing on our ever-growing customer knowledge, as Élizabeth mentioned. Third, further developing our services, especially omnichannel services. And fourth, last but not least, furthering the recovery already underway in our development pipeline and no investments in targeted and accretive acquisitions. First, we note that the efficiency of space use is now a major issue. Indeed, Élizabeth mentioned the effects of the Climate and Resilience Act of August 2021, which -- according to which only projects with a sales area of less than 10,000 square meters will be able to be implemented under certain conditions. The limited construction potential will de facto contribute in the medium term to the enhancement of existing assets, which will, therefore, need to offer users customers and retailers a wider range of uses, as illustrated on Slide 19. Taking advantage of the geographical diversity of our assets and unlet spaces will be key. And so we're capitalizing on the success of the first 2 Cap Cowork spaces in Angers and Grenoble. And so we've continued the development, this functionality in 2021 on 2 other sites in Nîmes and Toulouse. In 2 years, we've now opened 1,500 square meters of co-working space that we operate ourselves with our remote booking and access management tools. On Slide 20, we are aiming to open over 5,000 square meters of co-working space in our portfolio over the next 3 years with anticipated annual revenue of EUR 1.5 million. Direct operation by Mercialys will contribute to the profitability of this business. I'd also like to remind you that Mercialys' development portfolio also includes health centers, which will complement the pharmacies already present in most of our shopping centers. Slide 21. In terms of customer knowledge now. It's important to bear in mind that the development of our omnichannel services, in particular, of our Ocitô marketplace is made possible without massive advertising investments with GAFAs through access to our qualified databases of 1.5 million customers. This is data that's collected directly by Mercialys in compliance with our GPD (sic) [ GDPR ] regulations of course, and that data is rich in nature: contact data, visit data, personal data, purchase data and also in the levels of analysis that they allow. We can use such data at the level of the entire Mercialys portfolio, by business sector, by retailer or by shopping center. As illustrated in Slide 21, this wealth of knowledge is intended to, first of all, satisfy visitors by identifying their needs and -- actually, now we can actually carry out some considerable surveys, which really help us, and we can identify the needs, any missing offers or services and possible pain points. We can also use that by brands through more targeted and therefore, more effective customer communications, location recommendations and comparative performance analysis. And in the midterm, we can use it to develop the scope of this data, particularly in terms of purchase preparation for customers, service provision and even possible monetization. Therefore, using data allows us to optimize the time spent by customers in our shopping centers and thereby potentially increased retailer revenue, and therefore, rent reversion. And this is what we've been able to see in our results. Moving on to Slide 22. From point of view of services, as you already know, Mercialys started in 2019, it's also to service, which is a web and mobile marketplace owned by our real estate company. And it allows consumers to buy online products that are offered directly by retailers operating across all of our sites. Ocitô, it's designed to meet the need for hybrid commerce among visitors to shopping centers. So beyond the role as an aggregator of physical retail shopping centers, it will also become a point to consolidate all local digital offices. So it's a form of multi-local service. The aim is to support retailers in developing a finer footprint, so that they can optimize their space and logistics and thus further strengthen the potential for rent reversion. When looking at last year, Mercialys executed in continuing to develop this service and that despite the ban on Click & Collect in shopping centers during certain times of the year. Now 31 sites of Ocitô services with some 308 of our retailers present throughout our ecosystem, and in 2022, Mercialys will continue to develop retailer membership to enhance the attractiveness of its offer. When we look at what happened with Ocitô in 2020 and 2021, we can now better identify customer needs in greater detail. As we can see here on Slide 23, a few key messages that we could focus on. On one hand, the service is mainly used by customers for Click & Collect orders, so they can pick up their order on site. While home delivery, it remains quite marginal. On the other hand, orders that require shipment of those orders are almost entirely to destinations outside the catchment area. So what this means is that the idea that the demand for home delivery of products available in stores locally could remain limited in nonurban areas. And secondly, it shows that there is a need for Ocitô to allow local merchants to access complementary markets that are outside their stores' catchment area. Our platform, it provides access to e-commerce, to independent retailers, who have not developed their own tools. And at the same time, it offers retailers the ability to have their own devices that can access an additional channel of traffic for footfall. And all this without the excessive cost of online referencing as we have already mentioned. So the work that we have carried out means that Mercialys has the financial leeway to deploy a growth strategy that can be achieved through various means, through acquisitions or the development of its own portfolio. And if we look at slide 24, the table shows that at the end of 2021, the company's portfolio of projects amounted to EUR 493.8 million by 2027. So it's representing a potential additional rental income of roughly EUR 33.7 million for an average target yield of 7%. This portfolio, which covers 28 of Mercialys' sites, includes retail; restaurant and leisure; tertiary, such as housing, healthcare co-working. So the potential to reconfigure the site will make it possible to maintain their attractiveness beyond the local retail sector and thus to maintain the power in their catchment areas, and therefore, to maintain the cash flow profile. And moreover if we move on to Slide 25, the strength of our balance sheet could also enable us to carry out external growth operations. So these will be focused predominantly on retail real estate or related activities, such as shopping centers, retail parks, hypermarkets and the like. In addition, Mercialys is capitalizing on its expertise by currently participating in calls for tender for mixed-use development projects that are being held by cities or local authorities, who wish to rework their neighborhoods.

Let's now move on to results for 2021, starting with the impact from the health crisis. So we can see that collection rate of rent and charges for 2020 and 2021 is presented on Slide 27. We can see that for 2020, gross collections, so that means payments made compared to invoices issued, is now 90.1% compared to 85.3% at the end of 2020. So this change has made it possible to take back part of the provision made in 2020 that was put in place to cover the entire risk of unpaid invoices, as I will explain in just a few moments. For 2021, the collection rate has not yet reached normal levels at 88.8%, and the second quarter's lockdown weighs in on the annual rate. The government's delay in rolling out assistance to cover rent and charges, which will only be paid to eligible retailers at the end of this month, has had an undeniable weight on the collection rate. So regarding support schemes, let me just remind you all that Mercialys did not implement any rent reduction mechanisms this year, contrary to 2020. However, as the effect of the health crisis have prolonged and it may continue to weaken retailers, the company has deemed it prudent to establish an exceptional provision for outstanding payments in 2021. This provision is intended to cover potential defaults, which could result, in particular, from the termination of various public support measures, but is not intended to grant relief to specific retailers or categories. We have put aside EUR 7.8 million, and that corresponds to nearly 1 month's rent for 60% of our rental base, which is the same as the base of brands closed during the lockdown periods. As for unpaid invoices not covered by provisions, for 2021, they amounted to EUR 13.1 million. On Slide 28, you'll find a summary of the various stages of the health crisis, in particular, for 2020 in the 2021 accounts compared to the last 2 closings. Mercialys continued to issue credit notes as part of the first lockdown in 2020 in order to provide assistance to tenants for the period and EUR 2 million in credit notes were issued, which were mirrored by a reversal of provisions for bad debt. Again, still for the first lockdown, EUR 1.5 million, which is reflected in invoiced rents for the grant award in 2020, and spread of the firm term of the leases. Now moving on to the second lockdown for 2020. EUR 4.8 million in credit notes were issued compared to an initial anticipated EUR 6.3 million. So that's a net profit of EUR 1.5 million. And again, for the second lockdown, EUR 0.3 million in credit notes were issued for restaurants, and that's compared to an initial anticipated amount of EUR 0.5 million. So a reversal of provision is therefore also recorded to amount of EUR 0.2 million. In addition, thanks to the increase in collection rates of 2020 rents and charges in 2021, we were able to take back EUR 7.2 million of the exceptional provision of EUR 13.2 million that had been set aside in 2020. And lastly, as for the second lockdown, we have seen no impact from the mechanism of the tax credit for 2020. So we have EUR 1.4 million that was actually taken into account for net revenue at the end of 2021. Concerning 2021, and as mentioned just a second ago, provision of EUR 7.8 million was recorded. Now moving on to Slide 29. The current financial vacancy rate stood at 3.2% at the end of 2021, representing a clear improvement over the year since the rate was actually 3.8% at the end of 2020, 3.9% at the end of March 2021 and 4% at the end of June and 3.4% at the end of September. The vacancy rate is thus gradually normalizing and the dynamic rental activity shows us hope for a further drop in the vacancy rate for 2022. Total vacancy rates stood at 4.9% at the end of 2021, and again, a clear decrease compared to the end of June. Moving on to Slide 30. You will find the details of organic growth in invoiced rents for the year. While we had an organic growth performance on our assets of around plus 3% on average since 2016, in 2020, we lost 7 points, and that's largely due to the health crisis. In 2021, the effect is different. There's a positive effect from indexation, which was limited in 2021. And we also have a 0.2 points due to closures and variable rents stabilized despite a very concentrated operating environment. Actions carried out on the portfolio, in particular, the deferral of rental measures resulting from lockdowns, minus 2.1 points. And lastly, rent relief accounting for impact for retailers represented an increase of 4.5 points. Moving on to Slide 31. We can see changes for 2021 with invoiced rents for the period, down by 1.5% from EUR 172.9 million to EUR 170.4 million. This is mainly due to the change in the organic scope that I just spoke about. And at the same time, asset disposals and acquisitions had a net impact of negative EUR 7.7 million. So that's minus 4.5%. And this was mainly due to acquisitions and disposals in the fourth quarter 2020 compared to fourth quarter 2021, which had a marginal impact. And finally, looking at other effects, including strategic vacancies related to ongoing restructuring programs, that accounted for approximately EUR 100,000 or minus 0.1%. In addition, lease rights and de-specialization allowances received during the period amounted to EUR 0.7 million compared to EUR 0.9 million at December 31, 2020. So after taking into account the spread of the firm term of the leases as provided for under IFRS, lease rights in 2021 amounted to EUR 1.9 million compared to EUR 2.5 million in 2020. As a result, rental income amounted to EUR 172.2 million as of December 31, 2021, which is down negative 1.8% or EUR 3.2 million compared to the end 2020. Let's now move on to the analysis of the FFO in Slide 32. You will see a decrease of EUR 3.2 million in rental income. As for rental expenses, they sharply dropped by EUR 15.9 million, and that's mainly due to the write-back of exceptional provisions of EUR 9.7 million. And I mentioned that a little earlier as well. Structural costs improved by EUR 0.8 million, reflecting once again the efforts made by Mercialys to control costs. And that despite the additional expenses incurred when it comes to managing the health crisis and also when it came to in-sourcing a number of functions, and that will be finalized in 2022. Financial expansions increased by EUR 7 million, which reflects the full year effect of the refinancing transaction that was carried out in July 2020, with the issuance of a EUR 300 million bond and a partial buyback of approximately EUR 181 million of the 2023 bond issue. Provisions show a variation of EUR 2.3 million for various litigations. And Mercialys benefited from lower taxes, EUR 1.2 million. Lastly, Mercialys benefited from a significant increase in the contribution from noncontrolling interest, EUR 1.4 million, which reflects, in particular, the net acquisitions made by SCI AMR in 2020. This increase more than offset the EUR 0.6 million increase in minority interest, which reflects the improved situation of the 2 companies held with BNP Paribas. Moving on to Slide 33. Mercialys' asset rotation strategy has once again been successful. 2021 was again marked by the health crisis, a very constrained environment for retail, including food, and an appetite among investors for other types of real estate. And yet, Mercialys sold EUR 28 million worth of assets and has a preliminary agreement to sell EUR 82 million for a total of EUR 110 million in divestment. Disposals already completed and have included in Monoprix in Marseille, where the exit appraisal was able to compensate for the complex project underway on the site. And on the other hand, Mercialys benefited from a strong appetite for the Reunion Island area and sold the Sainte-Marie Retail Park, thus optimizing its exposure to the site and the site where we're keeping the shopping center. Commitments to sell mainly concerns the Annecy and Saint-Etienne hypermarkets. So this illustrates Mercialys' value creation strategy as these food stores, which were acquired in 2014, had been transformed. In addition, a promise to sell was signed off on for the Bordeaux Pessac shopping center held through the OPCI UIR II in which Mercialys had a 20% stake. It should be noted that these sales and preliminary sales agreements, except for IUR II, were concluded on the basis of transaction value, slightly higher than the appraised value at the end of June '21. These sales enabled Mercialys to further reduce its exposure to its largest tenant, Group Casino, which accounted for 22.4% of rents at the end of '21 and will account for 20.7% of these sales on a pro forma basis. However, we are retaining the shopping centers on these 2 sites. The very solid balance sheet resulting from the last 2 years of divestments will also give the company ample room for maneuver to resume with its growth strategy as of '22. So the strengthening of the financial structure is detailed on Slide 34. The LTV, excluding transfer duties, was 36.7% at the end of December '21 compared with 38.1% at the end of December 2020. Debt reduction efforts have thus clearly materialized, and that's despite the negative effect of a recovery that is still lower than the normal levels. So net debt-to-EBITDA ratio will fall from 9.1x at the end of 2020 to 7.6x at the end of 2021, and both through recovery of nearly EUR 14 million in EBITDA and the EUR 87 million reduction in net debt. The rate of fixed rate debt remains very high, 86% at the end of 2021. To finish off our financial profile. You can see here on Slide 35 that Mercialys' net debt at the end of December '21 included EUR 1.2 billion in bonds, EUR 135 million in commercial papers. Cash position remained high, EUR 257 million end of '21. In addition to our cash position, the group's liquidity facilities have been thoroughly overhauled. It was incremented by to EUR 75 million over the year and represented EUR 418 million in undrawn lines by the end of 2021, with 93% of favorable lines extended to '21. It should be noted that environmental clauses have been included in 4 bilateral lines, representing a cumulative amount of EUR 165 million. This change in mark up lines has enabled Mercialys to extinguish lines maturing in '22 with the bank that is no longer active in France to the tune of EUR 75 million. And the current account advance made available by Casino, ahead of its December 2022 maturity date, has been terminated in advance. And this advance has never been used. Cost of debt drawn down at the end of December 2020, 2%, virtually unchanged from the end of June '21 and higher than at the end of 2020. And this is due to a full year effect of the 2020 refinancing transaction. Debt maturity for debt drawn maturity is 3.2 years at the end of 2021. We continue to optimize the management of our bond maturities in '21 with a buyback of nearly EUR 100 million. In Q1 2022, Mercialys aims to finalize the early refinancing of the March '23 bond maturity with its early redemption option, which would require the issuance of new financing. In addition, we may also begin refinancing other bond maturities, in particular, the July 2020 issue with a nominal amount of EUR 300 million. And finally, just allow me to remind you that the financial rating has remained at a BBB level, with the outlook being revised upwards to stable last September. The debt maturity schedule presented in detail on Slide 36 shows the changes that I have just described. If we move on to asset valuation on Slide 37. You can see that it stands at EUR 2,945.1 billion. excluding transfer duties, which is down 1.7% over 6 months and negative 3.9% over 12 months. On a like-for-like basis, the value fell by 0.9% in the second half and 3.1% for the year as a whole. Over the past 6 months, the change in value on a like-for-like basis was generated by a rent effect of negative 0.9% and interest rate effect of plus 0.1%. The average appraisal yield was 5.71% at the end of December compared with 5.74% at the end of June 2021 and 5.72% at the end of 2020. It's important to note once again that in their approach, appraisers maintain a site-by-site valuation approach, which is based on the intrinsic risk and marketability of each asset. To complete the analysis of the value of the assets, we've detailed some appraisal parameters on Slide 38. The average appraisal rent is -- stands at EUR 220 per square meter. This reflects the very sustainable level of rents for our brands as well as the occupancy rate, which in 2019 stood at 10.4%. The average annual rate of change used in the appraisals over 10 years is 2.3%. Again, a prudent growth assumption, especially since it includes the effect of indexation. Appraisals show a value per square meter of EUR 3,621 and a rate according to the EPRA methodology of 5.24%. Reasonable levels that have been validated in recent years by the sale prices. This brings us in Slide 39 to NDV, which amounts to EUR 17.6 per share, up plus 2.5% over 6 months, and down 4.5% over 12 months. The main variations are the dividend for 2020, negative EUR 0.42 per share, more than compensated by the FFO for plus EUR 1.09 per share; a change in fair value for assets, negative EUR 0.98 per share, including a yield effect for negative EUR 0.08 per share; a rent effect for negative EUR 0.92 per share; and other effects for plus EUR 0.02 per share. The change in fair value of the fixed rate debt for negative EUR 0.03 per share. And finally, capital increase effect generated by the option to pay dividend in shares for negative EUR 0.18 per share.

Slide 41, based on the excellent performance of the company's business, the Board of Directors of Mercialys will propose at the Annual General Meeting of April 28, 2022, the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.92 per share compared to previously limited dividend of EUR 0.43 per share for '20. The proposed distribution and payout corresponds to 85% of the '21 FFO and offers a yield of 5.2% on the DV net asset value as well as the yield on the annual closing price of 10.7%, a 5-year high. The proposed dividend is made up of the mandatory payout under the SIIC status on exempted profits originating from, firstly, the leasing or subleasing of buildings for EUR 0.39 per share. Secondly, the payout of 70% of the exempted profits in respect of the 2021 financial year from the sale of buildings and holdings in real estate companies. So that's EUR 0.01 per share. The payout of 70% of the exempted profits for the year 2020 from the sale of real estate and interests in real estate companies for EUR 0.38 per share. And finally, the payout of exempted income recording in the company's balance sheet for EUR 0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date will be May 3, 2022, and the dividend will be paid on May 5. To conclude this presentation, you will find our outlook for 2022 on Slide 42. Excluding the potential impact of the health situation that could affect our operations, Mercialys has set the following objectives for the current year. First, growth in earnings from operations per share of at least plus 2% versus 2021. And second, a dividend ranging from 85% to 95% of the 2022 FFO in line with the payout policy prior to the health crisis. I thank you for your attention, and we will now proceed to the question-and-answer session.

Maybe we can start with questions in the room.

Florent Laroche-Joubert from BHF. Three questions, if you will. First, regarding your growth strategy, you've renewed with a positive growth. Do you have any figures that you could communicate in the medium or long term in this regard, so that we may take that in consideration in our models? Second, due to the environment that will be slightly more inflationary in '22 compared with '21, will that have any impact in terms of indexation levels for your retailers? And third, you said that you wanted to perhaps take advantage of external growth opportunities and acquisitions. Should we also expect any divestments -- further divestments and disposals on your part? So in 2022, will Mercialys be in a net selling or net purchasing position?

Okay. So a mix between the first and the third question in terms of quantum. What you need to remember is for us, the -- our company's balance sheet is fundamental. It needs to be well balanced out. So no matter what we do, that will be key in our divestments -- potential divestments. No key figures to be communicated here, but that will be central in our quantum for potential future operations. With regards to the type of future growth operations we might opt for and the structure and overall pace, we are in a net investment position. And that's the kind of investment that we will probably be going for. It will need to be accretive in terms of our yield, which is not necessarily so easy. We are currently in an ocean of dilution and accretiveness. So that's a key factor for us. And number two, we are here in an industrial approach. Our strategy was always based on market fundamentals, especially the needs of customers that we pay very close attention to. So we have a customer and consumption-focused approach. So that will remain our line of attack. And this is something I think you can take as a key highlight of the presentation. We strongly believe in our retail real estate cornerstone and in its potential for the future, especially for the suburban accessible catchments or rather shopping centers, so shopping centers that are easily accessible. Also, we believe in the importance of the network effect, especially when it comes to developing omnichannel services, and we also believe in the interest of developing our constructed or non-constructed land use. So that's what we will base ourselves on for our potential future operations. With regards to the second question on indexation and the overall feel of retailers in this respect, we read in the press also, just like you, the numerous articles on indexation numbers, which is a little bit paradoxical, since there seems to be a little bit of an emotional perception of certain indexes, 43.3-odd percent for the third quarter. But the ILC index, as a matter of fact, this very same ILC index had been created upon the initiative of these very retailers a few years back. And when the ILC was negative, there weren't really any motions. So we are in a presidential campaign context. So that might need to be taken into consideration. There are inflation effects that really needs to be taken into account. That inflation that's very important for these retailers not to add them on top of their prices. However, there will be increases in costs. So that needs to be taken on board at some stage. Will that have an effect on the reversion potential for the year to come? That might have a slight impact. But everyone will need to work in good intelligence following these 2 years of health crisis. If I may, I'd like to complete this question with regards to the first question that was asked on the chat. Which indexation was taken into consideration? ILC was taken into consideration. The main indexes are that of T2 for '21 plus 2.59%. T3 '21 plus 3.46%. Again, a question on the chat on refinancing for bonds. Anticipation -- I mean refinancing by anticipation for the bond maturity of '23. So we might go all the way to maturity by raising funds. That's something that we had done in 2018, for example, or we might opt for [ May call ]. So buyback by anticipation with a premium that will be calculated in the documentation. With regards to the refinancing operation, I mentioned for the bond issue of 2020, there might be partial refinancings. This is something that we've opted for regularly for various bond maturities in the past 2 years. That was the case, for example, where the bond reaching maturity in '23. There was a question as well on the EUR 0.92 dividend. How will it be paid out? Last year, there was the possibility to have this dividend being paid out with shares. However, this is not what we'll do this year, since the balance sheet is very robust, and there will be no need for that kind of a measure as opposed to what happened last year.

Another question in the room.

Pierre-Emmanuel from Kepler Cheuvreux. Various questions. Indexation first and overall guidance. What are your indexation -- average indexation hypothesis for 2022? And on guidance again, what's your estimate for the collection rate in '22? What will you base on -- what will you base your guidance on for your 2% growth in collection rates? Another question now on your investment strategy. I'm trying to really figure it out. As far as I understood, you're looking for accretive investment, compared with your current average yield. An immediate accretive operation would be to buy back all or part of your #1 shareholder shares, were well above 7%, and that's well above your average in this respect. So what are the -- why are you not opting for this?

First of all, with regards to guidance, there are the indexes I mentioned, 1.7%. That would be the indexation rate for our '22 estimates. And with regards to collection rates, there are 2 effects, cash effects and accounting effects. That's the caveat that we included in our guidance. We're not anticipating as part of this objective, any health crisis impact. Meaning we think that '22 will be a conventional recovery year. Over 12 months, traditionally, you're looking at 96.5% traditionally, usually. So that's what we have in mind for the moment. With regards to auto control and self-control, in the past, we've communicated on this. Two things. First, buyback of our own shares. Well, we understand from a financial viewpoint that it makes sense. But in order to keep that financial -- that underlying financial performance for our midterm cash flow potential, we need to invest in our industrial tools. So those current assets that have potential via our development pipeline or strengthen our footprint and the platform we offer to retailers. In order to keep that cash flow forecast, it would be Malthusian, I believe, to only base ourselves on auto control. It would not be sustainable for us to do away with that kind of controlling. With regards to the residual buyback of Casino shares. Well, I'm not sure that would -- or the right person to ask this question, I mean, Casino is the first concerned, would they be willing to sell? And second, theoretically, Casino's residual shares, if they were to be sold, that would amount to a significant amount of money. So we would need to buy it all in order not to put forward 1 shareholder before others. It would not be fair. Another question asked on the chat. 271 leases signed in '21. What kind of leases are we speaking about here? These are conventional 10-year leases. We aim to secure traditional leases. So no particular exemption or change here with regards to our letting strategy and the legal channels involved. Second question, do indexation clauses have a maximum amount? We have discussed with various retailers, the possibility to have a tunnel included with a threshold and a maximum amount. And how about the remaining 10.7% of leases that will expire -- that were due to expire on the 31st of December 2021? Well, every year, usually, we have around 10% of leases that are to expire due to disputes that might run over time or maybe we might have that strategy to just wait and see as part of these negotiations. Until the tenants leave or to improve the renewal conditions and terms. So we are back to pretty much our usual levels, with a level of expiring leases. That's not worrying at all. It's completely in line with our usual levels.

Maybe another question in the room?

I just have 2 questions here. Could you just give us an idea about the number of assets linked to hypermarkets that are actually slowing down? And about Casino, will 2022 see a dry up of business there, and especially when it comes to situations between Mercialys and the parent company, Rallye? And also about Casino, just to draw your attention on the fact that Mr. Naouri in a press release said that he is not sure about the future of shopping centers and shopping malls?

Just quickly, I'd just like to say that everyone is free to their own interpretation of the situation. As for Mercialys, look at our assets and you will see performance of our assets, and you will see that we're not losing speed. Now as for the Casino shares, we're not going to answer that question, because every shareholder is free to buy or sell their shares and what we have seen is that the drop in capital started back in July 2018, roughly 40% back then. So the latest official result is at roughly 16.8%. So we're going to keep an eye on that. But it is up to Casino to decide whether they buy or sell their shares. It's -- they are the masters of their own strategy. And if they do wish to change the -- if they do wish to pull out, then it is up to them to decide how they will pull out of their shareholding. Now just about Mercialys' site and its food businesses. I believe what you're referring to is that we are losing market shares to, Géant, a competitor. But remember, over the past few years, Géant has been losing market shares. And that we have shown through our financials and our quarterly results, that there's been a direct correlation between the relative performance of malls and the performance of the hypermarkets -- the associated hypermarkets. So Mercialys' sites have been growing, has had upticks in footfall, whatever the real estate business has been showing. If we go back to June 2015, in fact, I believe the documentation should still be public, you will be able to see the correlation there. And we continue to believe that our model is relevant, given the fact that consumer models are becoming more specialized. And at the same time, there is a purchasing margin, which is actually splitting now. But I think if we look at our strengths, as a whole, we can rely on that. But some people say that there is a drop in growth, but that in itself could be an opportunity because they're a nonfood-type hypermarket. And because of that, because of the change in the way consumer models are changing, the way spaces and shopping malls and shopping areas have been used is changing as well. But what we see time and time again is that an asset's location within a main catchment area in a city where we have strong business, that's where the strength is. And it's not -- it's more about the location and not about what makes up that specific asset and the different shops that are found within that asset. And when you look at the Mercialys' model, you can see that we have a lot of our real estate, which is quite centered in the catchment areas, which is one of the reasons behind our strong financials. Do we have any questions over the phone? Any questions over the phone?

[Operator Instructions]

Okay. So no questions over the phone. And I guess we have one more question via the chat. Talking about new acquisitions, which should be accretive in terms of yield, will that be about the yield for the current share price or the yield on the current portfolio? Okay. So it should have an impact on the share yield. So obviously, a medium level yield for our portfolio should be there now. If there is an accretive effect, then that should actually continue -- and that should have -- continue to have an impact on our real estate. Now whether there's a risk there, well, it will actually -- it will continue to have a bit of an impact on that, obviously, given that we are currently in crisis. And obviously, the value of that expertise should come through, especially when it comes to having expert analysis of the disposals. So if there are no more questions, then we need to put an end to our press conference and wish you all the very best. Thank you very much. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]