Between April and June, Sonae Sierra registered losses of 56 million euro, during a quarter when many shops were closed due to Covid-19. The company’s estimate is that the losses with rents alone will be above 12 million euro until the end of the year, due mainly to the new law, which exempts shop owners from paying their fixed rents during the coming months. «The estimated impact of the fixed rents exemption until the end of the year, excluding the losses in sales, is around 40%».
The information was provided by Sonae Sierra’s finance director, Luís Mota Duarte, during a conference for analysts which followed the announcement of the results for the first semester, quoted by Negócios. According to Luís Mota Duarte, «if sales drop 20% starting in August, tenants will have a 50% average discount on their rents», quoted Idealista.
The fixed rent exemption «generates disproportionality between the rents’ drop and the discount», he explained. And he provides the example of «a large international retailer registering a 2% rental increase and 23% rental reduction».
Until the end of the year, shopping centres in Portugal estimate losses between 500 and 600 million euro.
