Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE

Good morning and welcome to Unibio Rodamco Westfield's 2023 full year results presentation. In 2023, we delivered strong operational performance across all activities. This performance was driven by dynamic leasing activity and indexation in continental Europe at 6.5%, which has contributed to an adjusted recurring earnings per share of €9.62 above our full years. During the year, we made further leveraging progress in a challenging investment market, securing 11 transactions worth €1 billion. Disposals since 2021 have contributed €5.1 billion to the IFRS net debt reduction, with net debt now below €20 billion for the first time since 2018. In 2023, we also strengthened our balance sheet by successfully executing of kind exchange of our hybrid bond. This maintained our credit rating and our continued access to the bond market, access that was confirmed in December when we successfully issued an oversubscribed 750 million euro green bond. These transactions show continued debt investor confidence and our ability to execute well-managed strategic activity in the market. The improved visibility of our operating performance of major development projects in 2024, and our strong liquidity position give us the confidence to reinstate shareholder distributions. We will propose a cash payment of €2.50 per share for approval at our AGM in April. Let's go deeper into the Group's robust financial performance. With a 6.7% increase versus 2022, Our like-for-like group EBITDA is now back to 2019 levels, ahead of the target set at our 2022 investor day. Our adjusting recurring earnings per share is up 3.3% year-on-year. And in 2023, our deleveraging progress has delivered a pro forma reduction in IFRS net debt of almost €1 billion. This net debt reduction, combined with our strong EBITDA, drives our net debt to EBITDA ratio down to 9.3 times, a significant improvement from 9.9 times in 2019. These results are primarily enabled by our strong shopping center performance. Tenant sales grew by 6.4% in 2023, ahead of core inflation, supported by fruitful growth, which is up almost 5%. This footfall has been mainly driven by the positive evolution of our retail mix and decreasing vacancies since the peak of COVID. We are confident that we will continue this trend based on our 2023 leasing activity, which improved vacancy by 110 basis points back to 2019 levels. Through proactive management, we have signed a higher volume of long-term deals and secured more MGR. Long-term leases represent 78% of the MGR signed last year up five points from 2022. And overall, the group's MGR uplift on all leasing activity was 6.8 on top of indexation. Let's look at footfall and sales more closely, starting with the US on the right of the slide. We see a positive performance in terms of footfall and sales, both up 3% on the strong 2022 base, excluding luxury, which accounts for 14% of our portfolio sales, but represents less than 1% in the overall US retail goods market, sales are up 4.8% versus last year. In the context of growing sales, the decrease in sales-based rent seen here is mainly linked to the successful conversion into higher MGR as part of our leasing activity. Following the positive evolution of footfall, Other viable income in the U.S. has continued to grow, with retail media revenues up 12% in 2023 on a like-for-like basis. Europe, where Q1 2022 was still impacted by some COVID restrictions, footfall is up 5.2% and tenant sales up 7.5%. When compared to blending national sales indices for the European markets in which we operate, our performance suggests we are gaining market share. Sales-based rents are up on the back of these increasing sales. As with the US, to mitigate the impact of COVID, we signed more short-term deals with a viable component in Europe. As we have already done in the US, we will convert this SBR into MGR as these leases expire. Finally, other viable income is up primarily driven by new revenues in retail media, which I will come back to later in the presentation. Our tenancies also gives us a clear view on consumer behavior. The performance of experienced sectors, entertainment, fitness, and food and beverage, show we are meeting demand with the right retail mix of our assets. Given the discretionary nature of these categories, the high sales performance demonstrates the quality of our catchment areas and the spending power of our customers, even in a high inflation environment. This quality is also visible in the positive evolution of fashion sales, which, despite sector challenges, are up 5% at URW's assets in 2022. This performance is a result of store consolidation strategies, which favors URW assets and is another indicator that suggests we are gaining market share. Health & Beauty is performing very well, up 15% on 2022. This is a globally growing sector that we are focused on, which also shows the same concentration strategy on larger stores in the best locations. A great example is Ritual, who won Retail Concept of the Year at the MAPIC Awards in November. In 2023, we signed nine deals with them, including upsizing seven existing locations and opening two new stores. Overall, since 2019, we have seen a 74% increase in retail's total GLA with us, and the brand has more than doubled its average store size over the same period. Our 2023 leasing illustrates perfectly this trend of retailers focusing on the best locations. Looking a little bit more deeply, you can see here how we protected demand for our assets through a proactive leasing strategy, immediately mitigating the impact of COVID on vacancy. The consistently high leasing volumes we delivered from 2021 onwards are a testament to our active management and the attractivity of URW centres. We rebuilt commercial tension at the peak of our vacancy, and then increase the proportion of long-term deals at progressively higher MGR levels. That focus has now returned vacancy to 2019 levels at 5.4%, while MGR per square meter is almost back to 2019 levels as well. We are confident we will continue to increase MGR per square meter as we sign more long-term deals and convert SBR MGR going forward. leveraging the appeal of our assets for retailers in their broader drive-to-stores strategy. Through our long-term strategy, along with our deep understanding of our customers and markets, we have created a portfolio of unparalleled quality. To do this, we have made board management decisions and embarked on ambitious transformation projects with a constant attention to optimizing our retail mix. Our retenanting of two department store units in Spain is a great example of this. In 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic, we seized the opportunity to negotiate the early departure of the underperforming El Corte Inglés department stores in Westfield, Parque Sur and La Vagrada. This decisive move allowed us to secure substantive termination income and then transform over 50,000 square meters of outdated retail space a vibrant, diverse mix of leading brands. The project is now pre-laid at 93% with a 16% uplift in MGR. That bold long-term vision has also led us to make major progress in driving new revenues in retail media. Our in-house agency, Westfield Rise, is delivering growth while creating a dynamic experience for customers. In 2023, with 17% increase in net margin in Europe versus 2022 for a total of 53 million euro and a 10% increase of our average revenue per visits. RetailMedia offers brands the unique proposition of immediate interaction with a physical audience close to a retail store or point of purchase. That capability is attracting major brands to use our centers to engage directly with customers. In addition to digital media, where we have an unparalleled in-world media network, Westfield Wise also executed around 1,300 physical activations for brands in 2023, up 12% on last year. These activations, from product sampling to in-person events with influencers and celebrities, enhance our offer and add to our customer experience. Our approach is driving results, and Westfield Rise has already secured 42% of JT2024 revenue. This gives us confidence we'll achieve the 75 million net margin target. A key part of our retail media strategy is turning our significant footfall into qualified data which provides audience segmentation that is highly valued by advertisers. To do this, we have collaborated with audience and footfall measurement startup Digius on an AI-powered algorithm that converts CCTV footage into fully anonymized and GDPR-compliant data. Thanks to this powerful technology, our specialist teams are able to extract valuable audience segmentation and targeting criteria. This will increase revenue per visit, unlock access to a higher proportion of the advertising budgets of major brands, and allow us to provide a greater level of insight and service to our tenants. The technology is already 13 Westfield branded assets in Europe. We will roll out to another seven by the end of this year and will continue to grow from there. Let's now look at developments where we are poised to deliver 2 billion of our 2.4 billion euro committed pipeline in 2024. With focused management and tight control of CAPEX, we have continued to deliver on our plan, making a significant positive social, environmental and economic impact to cities and communities. We have great confidence in harvesting the fruits of our efforts thanks to the very high level of predating and our recent successes with major deliveries like Westfield Mall of the Netherlands. All of these projects are on track for successful openings in 2024. and the additional net rental income will positively impact our net debt to ABDL ratio. In October, we shared a comprehensive evolution of our better places sustainability roadmap aligned with our strategy to strengthen our core business, build new revenue platforms, and maximize the value of our assets. The plan establishes net zero targets that have been approved by the science-based targets initiative. as well as additional targets on waste reduction, water conservation, and biodiversity. Last month, we published the results of a study that measures the positive impact of URW centers across four key areas, economic, environmental, social, and the common good. This is the first time a commercial real estate company has published a report that measures its impact at a regional, country, and asset level. Our diligent and focused approach consistently positions us as a leader in our industry and the evolution of our Better Places plan continues recognition. In January, URW was ranked as one of the 100 most sustainable corporations worldwide by global research company Corporate Knights. And just this week, we received a CDPA rating for the sixth year in a row. In 2023, we continue to deliver on our Better Places targets. We have reduced carbon emissions on our entire value chain by 43% and are achieving 50% by 2030, including net zero on Scopes 1 and 2. This has been accomplished with a clear focus on our energy consumption and intensity, which we have reduced by 30%. We have also made good progress on increasing our solar PV capacity including activating the largest solar installation on the shopping center roof in Germany. One of the innovations we shared at our October event was the Sustainable Retail Index. Our strong belief is that brands with credible plans for their own environmental transition will be the ones who are successful in the future. To better understand the commitments and progress our tenants are making, We have partnered with Good On You, an Australian sustainable brand rating agency. The Sustainable Retail Index combines Good On You methodology and a store-level assessment, which allows us to better understand retailers' practices and plans. We have already launched the assessment process with 800 fashion tenants at our shopping centres in Europe, looking at 2,500 stores that make up over 50% of eligible revenues. Based on preliminary data, 82% of these eligible revenues are from tenants engaged in some level of sustainability activity, with 52% rated active, advanced or leader. This provides insight into the durability of our revenues in the context of increasing consumer attention to sustainability. As announced in October, our target is to assess 70% of our eligible revenues annually by the end of 2024, at 100% by 2027. We look forward to updating you on our progress as part of our commitment to the sustainable evolution of retail. Better place to future-proof our portfolio, both in terms of its environmental performance and by ensuring that we are working with the readers of the future. It also enables us to access sustainability-linked financing In December 2023, we raised 750 million euros from a new green bond, our first in the euro market since 2015. The success of this bond issue was also made possible by the positive response to the 2023 hybrid exchange. This was the first transaction of its kind by a corporate issuer and supported by more than 90% of bondholders, of which over 60% went on to participate in the green bond. With the exchange, we are proactive in offering a comprehensive and balanced solution to fixed-income investors while maintaining the group's solid capital structure, rating, and continued access to credit markets. On to leveraging, where in 2023, we secured 1 billion euros of transactions on 11 assets. This is a significant achievement in a challenging investment market which saw an over 50% decrease in transaction volumes versus 2022 in our geographies. These disposals have contributed €5.1bn to IFRS net debt reduction since 2021. We are fully committed to our Deveraging Plan and we are in active discussions on over €1bn of assets across the US and Europe. Our plan is supported by our strong operational performance 2024 project deliveries, our tight capex control, and our liquidity position, which all enable us to execute at the right time and in an orderly manner. Since 2021, we have consistently worked to overcome the COVID crisis and deliver the company. Our 2023 results confirm the operational recovery of our business. and our solid progress on leveraging has led to a net debt to EBITDA ratio below 2019 levels. The improved visibility of our operating performance, the delivery of major development projects in 2024, and our strong liquidity position give us confidence to reinstate a shareholder distribution for fiscal year 2023. We will therefore cash payment of €2.50 per share for approval at our AGM in April, to be paid on May 16th, 2024. Going forward, it is our intention to significantly increase our distribution based on operating performance, delivery in progress, and the evolution of valuations. On behalf of the group, I would like to thank our shareholders for their support over the past three years and express our confidence in the future. With that, I will hand it over to Fabrice and be back to cover our guidance ahead of the Q&A. Over to you, Fabrice.

Thank you, Jean-Marie, and good morning, everyone. URW achieved strong financial results in 2023, and all of our main KPIs, including rent collection, MGR signed, vacancy, like-for-like EBDA, are back to or better than previous levels. Thanks to the sales performance of our assets and the value of our stores to retailers, we've also been able to pass on inflation via indexation and sales-based rents. Together with a reduction in vacancy and positive rental uplift, this has translated into strong lack-for-luck net rental growth. And we also secured additional debt reduction, driving a further improvement in the group's net debt-to-BDA ratio. Adjusted recurring earnings for 2023 totaled €9.62 per share, a 3.3% increase on 2022. Excluding the impact of the increased hybrid cost following the exchange offer completed in June, recurring EPS was up 5% year-on-year. Our guidance for 2023 was at least €9.5 per share. We ended slightly above that figure thanks to a strong finish to the year in terms of rent collection, viable income and cash remuneration. Lack for lack net rental income increased by 6.1% thanks to a strong performance in shopping centres and offices partly offset by conventional exhibition, which reflected event seasonality in 2023 and the subsidies we received in 2022. This performance led to a 6.7% increase in like ABDA. So let's take a closer look at our ABDA trajectory on a group and like for like basis since 2019. Total EBITDA reflects the impact of the circa €8 billion of disposals since 2019, partly compensated by deliveries including Westfield Model of the Netherlands and Trinity. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of these disposals and deliveries, CNE Seasonal FX, 2023 EBITDA is back to 2019 levels. We have achieved this earlier than the 2024 target we announced at our investor day in March 2022, demonstrating the strength of our assets and our proactive management. This EBITDA is consistent with the level communicated for Europe at our investor day, with further increase expected in 2024 from deliveries, Like-for-like net NRI growth, pre-generated media revenues, C&E performance, and general expenses savings mitigating inflation impact. Let's come back now to the key components of our 2023 ARAPs. As you can see, The key drivers are the positive like-for-like NRI performance from shopping centers and offices, as well as the reduction in general expenses and financial expenses that I will discuss later. This more than offsets the 78 cents impact on lost rents from 2022 and 2023 disposals and the 19 cents impact of the increased hybrid cost. As already mentioned, convention exhibitions primarily reflect the effect of event seasonality, as well as the subsidies received in 2022. Moving now to net rental income for shopping centers with 8% on the like-for-like basis, including 9.7% in Europe and 6.2% for U.S. flagships. This performance was supported by indexation, which provided a positive effect of 6.5% in continental Europe and 4.4% at group level. The impact of strong leasing activity in previous quarters is reflected in the renewals and relating column. This contributed 2.9% like NRI growth, thanks to the rental uplift and vacancy reduction achieved in particular in the US and the UK. Sales based rents had a slightly positive impact in 2023 thanks to Europe. US sales based rents were down 3.2% for flagships reflecting the higher SBR settlement seen in 2022 and the proactive conversion of SBR into MGR through the leasing activity mentioned earlier by Jean-Marie. Doubtful debtors were up slightly in continental Europe due to bankruptcies And there was also a negative impact of doubtful letters in the US due to a base effect from 2022 reversals. And last, we saw a positive contribution from retail media, parking income, utilities revenues, as well as the settlement of rent discounts and property taxes. All these items being included in the order category. 2023 performance was supported by the group's ability to pass on inflation via indexation and sales-based rents. Indexation, based on 2022 inflation, made a 6.5% contribution to 2023 like-for-like NRI performance in continental Europe. Our capacity to pass on inflation was demonstrated by high rent collection, standing at 97% for 2023, in line with pre-COVID levels. A23 rent collection is now 98%, up from the 96% we reported in July. And we have also collected another 58 million euros of rents from 2022, taking rent collection for the year to 98%. Sales momentum and inflation also translated into plus 3.5% SBR growth on the like-for-like basis, mainly driven by Europe. SBR represented 5.8% of 2023 NRI, including 4% in continental Europe, 8.1% in the UK, and 10.3% in the U.S., Bankruptcies are back at normal levels, having fallen to record lows in H2 2021 and full year 2022 due to both government support and COVID-related rent relief. Overall, the COVID period resulted in a stronger tenant base with higher sales performance. The number affected by bankruptcies to that 355 in 2023. They represent 3.5% of total stores, but only 2.5% in MGR terms. It was 3.3% of the total stores and 2.8% of MGR in 2019. In total, 87% of total units affected are still occupied by existing tenants or relets, limiting the effect on 2023 vacancies. Third of the stores and over 40% of the MGR affected by bankruptcies were in France due to the end of French government support to weak retailers. Overall vacancy as of December 2023 decreased by 110 basis points to 5.4% back to its pre-COVID level. In continental Europe, the vacancy rate increased slightly to 3.2%, mainly due to bankruptcies in France and the Nordics, departures of some international brands in the Nordics, as well as lease expiries in Austria. UK vacancy decreased significantly from 9.4% in December 2022 to 6.9% in December 2023. Westfield London's vacancy dropped below 10% for the first time since the 80,000 square meter extension opened in 2018. Westfield Stratford continued to demonstrate low and still decreasing vacancy below 4%. And U.S. flagship vacancies stood at 7.3%, below 8.2% at year-end 2022, and below pre-COVID levels of 7.7% in 2019. Overall MGR signed in 2023 amounted to €449 million, a 7% increase compared to 2022 and 28% more than 2019. This high volume of activity allowed us vacancy as I've just outlined. The primary focus of our leasing activity is the signing of long-term deals. GMGR signed on long-term deals in 2023 to that 351 million euros, a 14% increase compared to last year and up 23% compared to 2019. The proportion of long-term leases increased to 78% for the group close to pre-COVID levels. In the US, long-term increase from 63% in 2022 to 72% in 2023, reflecting a strong demand for URW's assets. Demand for space in our assets is also visible in the rental uplift achieved in 2023, reflecting a pricing tension as vacancy decreases and tenant sales increase. The group uplift in 2023 was 6.8% on top of and 10.6% for long-term deals. The performance was especially strong in the US with a 32.7% uplift on long-term deals. This sharp increase in MGR uplift is explained by long-term renewals and relatings at rents significantly higher than the short-term deals signed at the discount during the COVID period. In continental Europe, The uplift to that 2.7%, including plus 4.4% long-term deals on top of indexation. Adding the impact of indexation, the uplift at group level would be above 10% and 15% for long-term deals. Moving now to our occupancy cost ratio, which stands below pre-COVID levels in continental Europe at 15.3%. Strong tenant sales growth has absorbed the effects of indexation, rental uplift and increased service charges, primarily due to higher energy. In the UK, OCR decreased to 18.5% as a result of stronger tenant sales and a decrease in business rates since April. In the US, OCR for flagship assets is also down compared to 2019 at 11.4% with the tenancy increase exceeding the impact of rents and SBR evolutions. And as we have demonstrated previously, The volume of activity generated by omnichannel retailers in stores goes beyond sales figures that are used to compute the OCR. This additional activity includes click and collect and store returns, which have huge value for retailers, are strong contributors to the margin, but are not captured in the 2023 OCR. The strong performance of our retail assets in 2023 was mirrored by our office's portfolio. Offices NRI amounted to 84 million euros, a 14.5% increase in the leasing activity, the ramp-up of the Pullman Montparnasse Hotel, and the delivery of Getty offices in 2022. On a like-for-like basis, NRI was up 22.1%. Leasing progress at Trinity, now a 96% lease, was the key contributor to this growth. Thanks to the quality of this asset, four additional leases were signed in 2023 for over 10,000 square meters at an average rent of €506 per square meter, including €600 for the top floors. This is in line with prime rents in La Défense with lease incentives below the market average. These lettings help to reduce the office vacancy rate from 15% to 11% at group level and 10% in France. This does not include the Lightwell project, a 32,000 square meter office redevelopment in La Défense due to be delivered in H2 2024 and 80% pre-let. These lettings all demonstrate the appeal for URW's high quality office space with strong ESG credentials. Now on to Convention Exhibition. 2023 recurring net operating income amounted to €132 million compared to €190 million in 2022 and €157 million in 2019. As a reminder, 2022 announced €25 million in subsidies from the French state to compensate for pandemic-related closures. 2023 was also impacted by the change in seasonality patterns as certain biennial shows shifted from audios to eveniers after COVID. This shift had a negative impact of 23 million euros of 2023 NOI compared to 2019. 2023 performance reflects the return of major in-person events and the significant consumer experiences. Successful shows included VivaTech, the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, the Millipole Security and Safety event, and the Agriculture Show. Our 2024 CNE pre-bookings confirm the significant demand and a high level of commitment for our venues. They represent 94% of the net rental income budgeted for the year, up from 89% at the same time last year. 2024 will benefit from both seasonality patterns and the positive impact of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. The Paris sites will host a number of events as well as broadcasting and press facilities. This will further boost CNE performance in 2024, given summer is usually a quieter period. 2023 results were also supported by a 5% decrease in our general expense to 199 million euros. Beyond this recent evolution, we have reduced our general expenses by 18% since 2019, despite inflation of 20% over the period. Circa 60% was due to efficiency gains, including headcount reductions, office relocation, as well as lower consulting fees and travel expenses. The rest was attributable to the change in perimeter following disposals and the reduction of our development pipeline. And we will continue to be disciplined on cost and pursue further optimization as part of our constant search for efficiencies. Moving now to our portfolio values, which stand at 49.6 billion euros, a 5.1% decrease versus year-end 2022. Portfolio values saw a like-for-like decrease of circa 2 billion euros, or 4.3% compared to December 2022. This like-for-like evolution included a decrease of 4% for retail, of 10.8% for offices, and 6.1% for convention and exhibition. Disposals had an impact of 1.2 billion euros, including San Francisco foreclosure in H2. This was offset by 1.4 billion euros of CapEx, and FX had a negative impact of 0.3 billion euros, mainly due to the strengthening of the euro against the US dollar. Net range statement values to that 146.7 euros per share at the end of December 2023, a 5.8% decrease compared to year-end. This evolution is mainly driven by the decrease of like-for-like valuation mitigated by retained earnings. Non-like-for-like revaluation was also down as a result of goodwill impairment and certain project depreciation such as sister's. The lack for lack value of our retail portfolio decreased by 4% in 2023, including a minus 9.4% of yield impact and a plus 5.3% of rent impact. This yield impact is due to the increase in discount rates and exit cap rates of 40 and 50 basis points respectively at a time when long-term rates were down in Europe and were flat in the U.S. The H2 evolution is similar to H1 with an increase partly offset by higher cash flows. Since 2018, the Group's retail portfolio has been adjusted downwards by 22% on a life-for-life basis. In contemporary Europe, valuations are down 4.2% in 2023 and minus 16% since 2018. UK valuation saw an increase for the first time in five years with a 0.6% growth in 2023, including a 0.8% decrease in H1. Overall, the UK has seen a total decrease of 45% since 2018. US assets were down 4.7% in 2023 and 30% since 2018, including minus 17% for flagship assets. One point I wanted to mention, for the first time, exit year NRI assumed by appraisers is above COVID level, confirming the recovery of the group's shopping center performance. This decrease in values combined with higher rental levels for 2023 resulted in an overall increase in net initial yield of 50 basis points on the same scope basis. In content Europe, this increased from 4.2% in 2018 to 4.9% in 2022 and 5.4% in 2023 and a potential yield assuming the letting of vacant space at 5.7%. The net initial yield for the EU now stands at 6.2%, a 190 basis points increase since 2018 for what are considered the two best retail assets in the market. The potential yield for the UK stands at 7%. The net initial yield for U.S. flagship assets has increased from 3.8% in 2018 to 4.3% in 2022 and 4.8% in 2023. The net initial yield needs to be put in perspective with the growth in cash flows embedded in these prime assets. Stabilized yield for U.S. flagship assets based on appraisers' rent estimates for 2026 stands at 5.6%, close to the potential yields in Europe. Focusing now on our retail portfolio in continental Europe, which represents circa 72% of our total shopping center GMV. Higher net insured yields together with lower risk-free rates led to an interest premium in 2023. Looking at the premium with a long-term perspective, after a peak in 2020 and 2021, today's risk premium is back to normalized level for European assets. And these have emerged stronger from the COVID crisis as they clearly benefit from retailers increasing selectivity and omnichannel strategies. This should support the cash flow growth assumed by appraisers at plus 3.8% per year, including 2% from indexation over a 10-year horizon. Central banks are expected to decrease their rates in 2024, which should also support valuation for prime retail assets. On to development now. The total investment cost of the Group's development pipeline decreased from 3.1 billion euros to 2.5 billion following the removal of the Sisters Office project from our control pipeline. This pipeline includes 2.4 billion euros of committed projects. Circa 90% of these committed projects will be delivered in 2024, including Westfield Hamburg, Lightwell and Knitte Hall in La Défense, as well as the remaining phase of the Coppermaker Square residential development in London. This corresponds to 2.1 billion euros of projects, of which 0.5 billion euros remain to be spent. 86% of the retail surface city's 2024 deliveries are pre-let. This will have a positive impact on 2024 NRI, with a fuller impact in 2025. Following these deliveries, URW's development pipeline will decrease to €0.3 billion, and as a result, CAPEX will be significantly lower from 2025. Moving now to net debt and financial ratios. IFRS net financial debt has dropped €1 billion in 2023, down from €20.7 billion last year. This is mainly as a result of 1.4 billion euros of retained earnings and 0.8 billion of disposals. This was partly offset by the 1.3 billion spent in CapEx in 2023 as we continued our disciplined approach to investment with a focus on projects to be delivered in 2024. The partial cash reimbursement of our hybrid increased net debt by 2 billion euros, but also reduced the amount of hybrid outstanding from 2 to 1.8 billion euros. Proforma for the disposals of Ocrit in the US and Equinoccio in Spain, signed to date but not completed at year-end, the net debt stands at 19.8 billion euros. IFRS LTV increased from 41.2% to 41.8% year-on-year as a result of the value decline and 41.5% pro forma for the disposal order. Proportionate LTV was slightly down compared to last year to 42.8% on a pro forma basis. And since 2020, IFRS net debt has decreased by 4.3 billion euros and our LTV has fallen by 3% even after a 12% decline in life-for-life values. Our net debt to EBITDA ratio has improved from 9.6 times in 2022 to 9.3 times in 2023, below 29 thanks to both debt reduction and the ongoing improvement in operating performance. And we expect to see continued improvements in these ratios, especially thanks to the delivery of committed projects in 2024. Our financial debt is fully hedged against interest rates evolution in the coming years. In 2023, this hedging program protected our cost of gross debt even in a high interest rate environment. On a net basis, URW's cost of debt for 2023 was slightly lower at 1.8% thanks to the higher deposit interest on the group's increasing cash. This supported our interest coverage ratio, which was stable at 4.2 times in 2023. Cost of debt for 2024 is expected to be slightly above 2% as a result of the full year effect of debt raised in 2023, in particular in the US, as well as lower antecedents on the group's cash. 2023 was an active year for the group in terms of financing. We raised a total of 3.3 billion euros of IFRS debt through mortgage and corporate financings. In December 2023, the group raised a 750 million euro green bond at a coupon of 1.125% with a seven-year maturity. We saw strong demand for this transaction, which was at times oversubscribed, with a peak order book of 4.5 billion euros. This was the first bond issued by URW since 2021. And it was made possible by the successful hybrid exchange completed in June with a 92% participation rate. This exchange supported the group's rating and provided an attractive alternative to a non-call for hybrid holders at a limited cost to the group. As a result, over a set of existing hybrid holders participated in the new green bond in December. It was also URW's first green bond since 2015 and was fully aligned with the group's green financing framework, which we updated in 2022. In total, two thirds of the debt raised by the group in 2023 was green financing, including 90% in Europe. Thanks to this financing, the cash position has further improved in 2023, standing at a record high level of 5.5 billion euros. This compares to 3.3 billion euros last year. Together with 8.1 billion euros of undrawn credit facilities, the group has 13.6 billion euros in total liquidity. The group's average debt maturity stands at 7.8 years. And we have the resources to cover all debt maturities for at least three years, even in a scenario where we raise no new financing and make no further disposals. Based on our cash on hand and the maturities of our credit facilities, our resources in December 2026 will stand at 10 billion euros. In 2023, we demonstrated the full recovery of activity following COVID, taking our BDA back to pre-COVID level. This recovery, together with the delivery of the majority of development pipeline in 2024 at high pre-lating levels, provides clear visibility on our future cash flows. We have also made progress on the leveraging, reducing net debt by 4.3 billion euros and improving our LTV by 3% despite value decreases. Our net debt to EBITDA ratio is now below its pre-COVID level and will further improve thanks to 2024 deliveries. We remain committed to further the leveraging and have 1 billion euros of assets under active discussions. Our CAPEX needs are also expected to decrease following our 2024 deliveries, while our ESG CAPEX will be limited thanks to the quality of our assets as we presented in October. We will continue to be very disciplined in terms of capital allocation and cost reduction. And finally, we have reinforced our liquidity position and demonstrated our good access to funding thanks to our bond and hybrid transactions. All these factors put us in a position to reinstate distributions. I want to provide you with some more color on our proposed distribution in 2024 and beyond. We'll propose a 2.5 euro per share distribution to be paid in cash in May 2024, subject to AGM approval. Rating agencies have confirmed that this would have no impact on the group's current rating. Total statutory retained losses in URWSE stand at minus €2.9 billion, so this distribution will be made out of premium, which amount today to €13.5 billion. It will therefore qualify as an equity repayment for tax purposes. In future years, this €2.5 per share distribution will significantly increase based on the group's operating performance, deleveraging progress and valuation evolution. Deleveraging is a key component of our decision-making around distributions. On this slide, we have provided an illustration of our deleveraging path over the 2024-2026 period, even in the absence of disposals. Taking into consideration conservative assumptions over the three-year period of recurring profit of around 1.3 billion based on 2023 results, a distribution of 2.5 euros per share, i.e. circa 150 million euros per year, and reduced capex needs beyond 2024, IFRS LTV, excluding the hybrid, will track well below 40% in 2026, even in the absence of any disposals over the next three years. To be crystal clear, this is a worst-case scenario as we are fully committed to further deleveraging through disposals. showing a sensitivity analysis of our LTV based on different valuations assumptions. For the sake of illustration, if our European retail assets were to be revalued based on the estimated cash flow growth over the next three years, while office assets would continue the negative adjustment, this would equate to a 5% increase in total GMV, everything else being equal. Such an increase over this three-year time horizon would take down our IFRS LTV, including hybrids, from 41.6% to 40%, and even lower with further increases in values. Our pressure performance and strong liquidity position give us time to continue our deleveraging in an orderly manner while reinstating a distribution. That's all from me, and I will now hand over to Jean-Marie to comment on our 2024 guidance.

Thank you, Fabrice. Before we open up for questions, I want to cover our 2020 guidance. In 2024, we expect adjusted recurring earnings per share to be between €9.65 and €9.80. The main assumptions behind this are consistent shopping center operating performance supported by retailers' demand for premium space, growing revenues from large-scale deliveries, the positive effect of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games for our convention division, our expanding retail media activities as well as our ongoing cost discipline. We're also taking into consideration the impact of 2023 and 2024 disposals as part of our ongoing leveraging plan and our cost of debt with the full year effect of debt raised in 2023, the impact of the hybrid exchange and anticipated lower returns on cash. This guidance does not include major disposals in the EU, which are part of our radical reduction of our financial exposure to the US, as well as no major deterioration to the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. With that, it's now the time to start the Q&A session. Thank you.