IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:IRS) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript September 7, 2023 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Santiago Donato - IRO

Eduardo Elsztain - CEO

Jorge Cruces - CIO

Matias Gaivironsky - CFO

Operator

Good morning, everyone. I'm Santiago Donato, Investor Relations Officer of IRSA, and I welcome you to the Fiscal Year '23 Results Conference Call.

First of all, I would like to remind you that both audio and slide show may be accessed through company's Investor Relations website at www.irsa.com.ar by clicking on the banner webcast link. The following presentation and the earnings release are also available for download on the Company website. After management remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session for analysts and investors. [Operator Instructions]

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that this call is being recorded and that information discussed today may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's financial and operating performance. All projections are subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially. Please refer to the detailed note in the Company's earnings release regarding forward-looking statements.

I will now turn the call over to Mr. Eduardo Elsztain, CEO, for his opening remarks.

Eduardo Elsztain

Thank you very much, Santi. Welcome to our annual year 2023 results conference call. I am very glad to be closing another great year for IRSA, one of the historic one. The rental business had a great performance, mainly in shopping malls and hotels. They both increased sales. In terms of assets, we sold office assets at very good prices in terms of pesos and in dollars. We made progress to launch our most ambitious project, Costa Urbana, which is a project that we have in the portfolio for more than two decades and a half, and we achieved permits after long patience. We successfully concluded a debt refinancing process, which positions us favorably for a new phase of growth in the coming years. I would say that the level of reducing debt has been one of the most impressive in three years and half that we are running the company.

In terms of revenues, we increased revenues and occupancy in the three rental segments, in the malls, in the office, and in the hotels. We have been also very active in the real estate transactions. We acquired assets. We acquired a building in an auction in Paseo Colon property for $7.8 million at the price, which is really liquidation price. And we have been selling more than $161 million, including nine floors of the tower of the building we did in Catalinas. And after the fiscal year finished, we sold the first building we bought in IRSA, Suipacha building to the University of CEMA and we sold 50% shares of Quality, which is owner of the warehouses in San Martin plot.