Moura Dubeux achieved a 44% increase in sales, even with lower launches

Moura Dubeux reported fourth-quarter numbers in line with what it achieved over the past year: higher sales, lower launches.

In the just-released operational preview, the developer focused on mid- and high-end incomes in the Northeast said its net sales rose 44% in the quarter, in the year-over-year comparison, to R$397 million.

Its launches fell by 20%, going from a general sales value (PSV) of R$560 million a year ago to R$448 million today.

CEO Diego Villar said Brazil Magazine The numbers are a reflection of the strategy the company adopted last year to halt launches to protect the company's influence and maintain a healthy inventory level.

“In the second half of last year and the first half of 2024, we made the decision to be more cautious because this is the period that will witness the highest volume of project implementation for the company, which will naturally require greater cash consumption.” He said.

In the fourth quarter, Moura Dubeux had a cash burn of R$61 million, reversing its net cash position from the third quarter to net debt of R$40 million. In the third quarter, it had already burned through another R$52 million.

The CEO stressed that Mora's sales velocity, measured by sales above offer (VSO), is one of the highest in the mid- and high-end segment.

In 2024, the VSO ratio was 45.6%; In the fourth quarter, 17.9%. For comparison purposes, Cyrela has a VSO of 47.2% in 2024, and Mitre of 31.4%.

According to him, Mora was also able to achieve “high-quality sales”, exceeding the inflation rate of stock sales during that period.

On the negative side, the company has seen an increase in cancellations, rising from 7.6% in the third quarter to 10.6% now. However, Diego says a large portion of these cancellations come from people who have changed ownership of the property or decided to replace the property with a more expensive one owned by Mora Duboux.

According to him, this represents about R$30 million out of R$45 million of cancellations made by the company in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Mora said it made five launches, most of which were concentrated in December. The worst in terms of sales was Venice in Recife, which was launched last December 28, and only 7% of the apartments were sold. The best one was Ayme Boa Viagem, which was launched in October and has already sold 68% of its units.

In the first half of 2024, Diego says Moura Dubeux should continue to burn cash and keep its hand in launches. But from the second half of the year onwards, the cycle reverses and the company should start generating cash by delivering several projects launched in 2020 and 2021.

Since then, it will accelerate launches again, with two large projects already planned, Othon and Pestana in El Salvador, which will have PSVs worth R$600 million and R$500 million, respectively.

The company also plans to start distributing dividends at the beginning of 2025. Today, it cannot pay dividends even though it is profitable due to the accumulation of its losses from previous years.

At the end of the third quarter, Mora Dobo had about R$100 million of accumulated losses, a number that should decline with Q4 earnings (which will be announced in March, when full Q4 results are released) and zero throughout the quarter. this year.

Pedro Arbex