Plaza S.A

What it is

Mallplaza was created in 1990 as the dedicated mall arm of the Falabella group; today it operates 17 malls in Chile, 15 in Peru and 5 in Colombia. Its brands are Mall Plaza, Autoplaza and Motorplaza.

The business model is simple: Mallplaza builds and owns the buildings, then charges retailers rent for the space — a landlord that also curates a destination. It is the only real-estate company in South America to be included in the MSCI index.

Who owns it

Plaza S.A. is controlled by Falabella S.A. through its subsidiary Desarrollos Inmobiliarios S.A., which directly owns 55.42% of the shares. The second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.0% and 8.1% of the stock.

Key family-related entities linked to the Solari family — the founding dynasty behind Falabella — sit behind the controlling stake. The remaining roughly 25% of shares trade freely on the Santiago exchange, giving outside investors real access to the stock.

Who runs it

Pablo Pulido joined Mallplaza in 2015, took over the Chile Division in 2021 and the Colombia Division in 2024, and has been CEO since January 2026. His appointment marks the first leadership change since the company was founded, succeeding Fernando de Peña, who led Mallplaza for 35 years.

The CFO is Derek Tang, a US-trained economist who joined Mallplaza in 2023. He brings over 15 years in corporate finance, investor relations and M&A in the Latin American real-estate sector, including prior roles at Brazilian mall operator BRMalls.

The board chair is Sergio Cardone, who has held that role since April 2009.

The money, in plain words

Revenue — rents collected — grew 32.2% in 2025 and 17.8% in 2024 (our calculation from EODHD), driven largely by the absorption of the Peru portfolio. The net income figure of CLP 1.43 trillion / US$1.58 billion looks eye-catching but requires a caveat: under IFRS accounting rules, property companies must revalue their buildings every year and book any increase in value as profit, even though no cash changes hands; that is why net income can exceed rental revenue.

Strip that revaluation effect aside and focus on the operating business: leverage stands at 2.3 times net financial debt to operating profit, a conservative level for a mall landlord. For every peso owners have put in, the company earns back about 37 centavos a year — a return on equity of 37.2%, exceptionally high for property.

The price-to-earnings ratio of 5.79× is low, reflecting the market’s caution about revaluation-inflated earnings.

What it is doing now

New CEO Pablo Pulido has announced a US$600 million investment plan for “growth and transformation,” already under execution. The plan aims to push premium (“Tier A”) assets above 70% of the leasable portfolio; works have already started or are imminent at Mallplaza Trébol, Mallplaza Oeste, Mallplaza Trujillo and Mallplaza Piura.

A residential strategy is also under way, targeting up to 10,000 homes around existing mall sites on a build-to-rent, build-to-sell and land-sale basis, with 2,000 units currently in execution. The flagship project at Mallplaza Vespucio will add 320 apartments across 27 floors, with ground-breaking expected in late 2026.

What to watch

• Peru integration. The 2024 acquisition of Falabella Perú — absorbing Open Plaza’s 11 assets and full ownership of Mall Plaza Perú — for US$848 million makes Peru the company’s largest growth engine; execution quality matters more than the deal price now.
• Revaluation versus cash. The stated net income includes large non-cash property gains. Watch the funds-from-operations (FFO) line, which strips those gains out, for a truer picture of cash generation — FFO per share grew 6.3% in Q1 2026, outpacing the 5.2% expansion in operating profit.
• Parent risk. Falabella S.A. itself is recovering from a credit-rating cut to sub-investment grade in late 2023. Asset sales and cost cuts are meant to rebuild Falabella’s financial ratios — a distressed parent could still pressure Mallplaza’s dividend or capital structure.
• Residential bet. Moving from landlord to residential developer is a new skill set. Success would diversify income; missteps could absorb capital the malls need.

This is news, not investment advice.