Javer Announces 4Q19 Results with Growth in Gross Margin, EBITDA and Free Cash Flow

MONTERREY, NUEVO LEON, MEXICO / ACCESSWIRE / February 18, 2020 / Servicios Corporativos Javer S.A.B. de C.V., (BMV: JAVER) ("Javer" or "the Company"), the largest housing development company in Mexico in terms of units sold, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ("4Q19") and twelve-month periods ("12M19") ended December 31, 2019. All figures presented in this report are expressed in nominal Mexican pesos (Ps.), unless otherwise stated.

4Q19 Highlights:

• Units sold decreased 1.9% to 4,257 units in 4Q19 compared to 4,340 units in 4Q18. As a result of the subsidy program cancellation for the year 2019, the contraction in volume was 17.1%, resulting in 15,716 units in 12M19 compared to 18,962 units sold in 12M18, a period in which subsidized units represented 30% of the total units. The number of units sold in both periods was affected by permits delays for some of the projects that were planned to open during the second half of the year, mainly in the state of Mexico and Quintana Roo.
• Net Revenues were Ps. 2,023.8 million in 4Q19, relatively stable compared to the Ps. 2,032.5 million registered in 4Q18. In 12M19, revenues decreased 11.4% to Ps. 7,374.8 in comparison with the Ps. 8,321.1 million in 12M18, mainly due to the decrease in volume; however, this effect was mitigated by the improvement in the product mix, since from 20 of the projects that were opened, 11 are residential projects and 9 focus on the middle income segment, along with a 7.0% increase in the average sale price.
• EBITDA increased 7.9% to Ps. 301.3 million in 4Q19 from Ps. 279.3 million in 4Q18 as a result of the containment of fixed costs and expenses. In 12M19, EBITDA decreased 12.8% to Ps. 925.7 million compared to Ps. 1,061.7 million in 12M18, this derived from the permit delays discussed above.
• Net Income was Ps. (84.5) million in 4Q19 and Ps. 8.5 million in 12M19 as a result of the extraordinary charges for the cancellation of the USD-denominated debt (HY Bond) and the new syndicated loan transaction. Earnings per share were Ps. (0.30) in 4Q19 and Ps. 0.03 in 12M19.
• Free cash flow (FCF) was Ps. 87.9 million in 4Q19 compared to Ps. (256) million in 4Q18, due to a lower investment in land reserves. In 12M19, the FCF was Ps. 73.9 million compared to Ps. (263.2) million in 12M18, since 2018 was a year of intense investment in land acquisitions.

CEO STATEMENT

Mr. René Martínez, Chief Executive Officer of the Company commented, "It is a pleasure to present the results of the last quarter of the year. 2019 was undoubtedly an atypical year. At the macro level, it was characterized by governmental transition and uncertainty. On an industry level, one of the main changes was the cancellation of the subsidy program, which initially implied the elimination of the sale of more than 5,000 homes that were subsidized in 2018. In spite of this challenge, we were able to reverse this situation through product mix improvements. Moreover, we successfully refinanced the Company's debt, improving the total weighted cost of this new debt by 120 basis points, below the hedged cost on our Senior Notes.

In 2019, we launched 20 new projects - a record for the Company - including our first project in the state of Guanajuato, which is an attractive state in terms of the number of loans granted for new housing. At the moment, that project is being managed by our Queretaro office. We consolidated our position as the number one provider of INFONAVIT loans for the sixth consecutive year -- and for the third and second consecutive years we have been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Mexico (GPTW) and as Socially Responsible Company (ESR), respectively.

The last quarter of the 2019 showed a substantial improvement compared to the first three, and against 4Q18. This resulted from our efforts in launching new projects and adjusting product mix through the year, including a greater focus on residential and middle-income housing, which will contribute to maintaining this positive growth trajectory into 2020.

Despite these favorable factors, the delays in certain processes that are critical to obtaining permits in the state of Mexico, Quintana Roo and Aguascalientes, caused us to postpone the openings of certain projects in these states, leading us to end up shy of our guidance. However, 2020 will represent the consolidation of the actions taken during 2018 and 2019, mainly in terms of adjusting product mix and target markets. These adjustments, along with last year's postponed projects, should generate EBITDA growth of approximately 20%, revenues close to Ps. 8.5 billion and break-even free cash flow.

In terms of Corporate Social Responsibility, we are committed to strengthening our participation in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which the Company has identified as priorities that are aligned with our operations. One of them is objective 11, which pertains to Sustainable Cities and Communities -- we are aligning our operational processes with the UN Habitat program. We are promoting the Infonavit "Mortgage with Services" program in order to develop sustainable communities through the strengthening of the social fabric and maintenance of common areas in order to create incremental project value. We currently have 32 projects under this program and 21 community centers. In all cases, we carry out activities, programs and classes that have served more than 17,000 participant neighbors.

During the year, we will promote different activities, such as our "Reforesting our communities" project. This entails the planting of more than 400 trees, capturing more than 200 kg of CO2 and creating awareness in more than 400 volunteers. Cumulatively, we will have planted more than 1,200 trees, which would have captured more than two tons of CO2 since we started the program. It is important to note that we have begun to equip our projects with playgrounds and urban furniture made out of recycled PET material, which reaffirm our environmental commitment.

Finally, during November, the new housing policy was published, which identifies decent housing for the population by defining certain plans, objectives and tasks. Its publication gives us certainty that our short- and medium-term strategies are focused on the interest of our authorities and our stakeholders."

For a full version of this earnings release with financial statements, go to: http://www.javer.com.mx/investors.php

Fourth Quarter 2019
Conference Call & Webcast Presentation in Spanish

Wednesday, February 19, 2020
11:00 a.m. New York Time
10:00 a.m. Mexico City/Monterrey Time

------

To access the call, please dial:
1(877) 830-2576 from within the U.S.
+1(785) 424-1726 from outside the U.S.
Passcode: JAVER

To access the live and archived webcast presentation, visit:
https://services.choruscall.com/links/javer2002195p9axiDS.html

IR Contact:

Veronica Lozano
IR, CSR and Planning Director
Tel. +52 (81) 1133-6699 Ext. 6515
[email protected]

SOURCE: SERVICIOS CORPORATIVOS JAVER, S.A.B. DE C.V. via EQS Newswire