MERLIN Properties Annual Report 2018 / English

ı 65 ı Annual Report 20 18 Main risks and uncertainties The policies of financial risk management within the commercial real estate sector deal mainly with the analysis of investment projects, the management of the building’s occupation and the situation of the financial markets: • Credit risk: credit risk relating to the Company’s ordinary business is not significant because the contracts signed with the tenants require payment in advance of most sums. These contracts also require the tenant to provide legal and additional financial guarantees or deposits to cover possible nonpayment of the rent. This risk is also mitigated by the diversification of the type of product in which the Company invests and consequently the typology of clients. • Liquidity risk: The Company, in order to manage liquidity risk and to meet the needs of funds, uses an annual budget and monthly forecast of the liquid assets. This monthly forecast is detailed and updated on a daily basis. The main liquidity risk is due to the potential for negative working capital resulting from short term debt. The factors mitigating liquidity risk include the following: (i) cash generated in the ordinary course of business is very stable; and (ii) the company’s liabilities are largely long-dated and the high quality of the assets provides ample ability to obtain new sources of funding. When formulating consolidated annual accounts, the Company had already covered all of its funding requirements, enabling it to meet its commitments with providers, employees and the Public Sector, according to the cash flow for FY2018. Furthermore, given the type of industry in which the Company operates, the investments, the financing for such investments, the stable EBITDA generated and the high occupancy rate of properties is more likely to produce surplus cash. The company’s policy is to invest this cash in short-term investments and liquid deposits with highly rated institutions. The acquisition of options or futures on stocks, or any other high-risk activities as a means of investing its cash surplus are not considered by the Company. • Interest rate risk: in order to minimize the Company’s exposure to this risk, financial hedges, such as interest rate swaps, have been executed. Total interest rate hedged amount to 96.3% of total debt. • Exchange rate risk: the Company’s policy is to contract debt only in the same currency as that of the cash flows of each business. Therefore, the Company is currently not exposed to exchange rate risk. Within this type of risk, it is noted the fluctuation of the exchange rate in the conversion of the financial statements of the foreign companies whose functional currency is other than euro. • Market risk: MERLIN Properties is exposed to market risk from potential downward movement in rental rates when current contracts terminate. This risk could negatively affect the cash flow and valuation of the assets of the Company. However, the market risk is mitigated by policies of attracting and selecting new high quality clients and negotiating compulsory lease terms that maximize the length of the lease term. For this reason, on 31 December 2018, the occupancy rate of the Company’s assets is 93.4%, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 5.8 years (weighted by gross rents).