Mrs. Mônica Freitas Guimarães Simão
Chief Investor Relations Officer
Mrs. Simão was elected MRV’s Investor Relations Officer at the meeting of the Board of Directors held on May 4, 2010. She earned a degree in business administration from Louisiana State University – USA and a MBA in comptrolling from University of São Paulo. She worked from 1993 to 1998 in Cia. Cervejaria Brahma (AMBEV) as Manager of Financial Operations Officer. She worked from 1998 to 2003 in TIM Maxitel, becoming Financial Director. She was Financial Director in Líder Aviação from 2003 to 2006. She began her career in MRV Engenharia e Participações S.A. in November 2006.
Corporate Profile
MRV Engenharia e Participações S.A. ("MRV" or the "Company") believes to be the largest Brazilian real estate developer and builder in the low-income residential development segment in Brazil in terms of number of units developed and cities served. MRV has 30 years of experience focusing on low-income customers. This experience and the Companys operational structure have allowed MRV to operate in the low-income residential developments segment while maintaining high margins.
In all cities in which MRV operates, the Company offers two products directed to low-income customers: Parque line (units between 40 square meters and 55 square meters of usable area and a maximum sale price of approximately R$100,000) and Spazio line (units 42 square meters and 70 square meters of usable area and prices ranging between R$70,000 and R$140,000). With this operating model MRV believes the Company is able to achieve industrial scale in the construction of its developments, which in turn provides MRV a high degree of process specialization, low production costs and a quality advantage in its segment.
MRV believes its diversification affords the Company a differentiated position in the Brazilian real estate industry. MRV has operations in 85 cities in 14 states (Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Goiás, Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Pernambuco) and the Federal District. The Company has been installed for over three years in 77% of the cities in which it operates, providing the Company with detailed knowledge of the characteristics of each of these markets.
This knowledge contributes to improve MRVs ability to grow, reduce its risks from law changes of any given city and creates a barrier to entry for potential competitors. In addition, the Company’s construction experience in these cities contributes to its ability to identify and expand its operations to new cities.
The Company believes its operating segment will benefit the most from the increased availability of real estate falling interest rates and improvements in Brazil’s overall macroeconomic conditions. Loans from the Housing Finance System (Sistema Financeiro da Habitação), or SFH, to the real estate industry have grown by an average of 76% per year over the last three years, and MRV expects that these amounts will continue to grow.
Additionally, the Company has the longest history and experience in accessing the special financing programs of the Caixa Econômica Federal, or CEF, which allows the Company to offer its customers better financing than that available in the market. Improvement in the availability and conditions of financing, have a positive impact on MRVs business, contributing increased demand, since reduced interest rates and extended maturities lead to lower monthly payments, and reducing the need to allocate its own capital for developments, thus increasing its growth capacity.
Company Release:
The MRV group was founded in 1979 by Rubens Menin Teixeira de Souza, Mário Lúcio Pinheiro Menin and Vega Engenharia Ltda., with the incorporation of MRV Serviços de Engenharia in the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, with the purpose of building and developing residential real estate projects. In the following year, the Company delivered its first houses and, in 1981, MRV delivered its first buildings in Belo Horizonte.
On July 13, 2007 our registration with the CVM as a publicly held corporation was approved, and, on July 19, 2007, we completed our Initial Public Offering with which our shares started to be traded at the Bovespa, in the segment called New Market.
In December 2007, we signed a letter of intent with CEF that makes us the corresponding business constructor of CEF in the real estate industry. Through the partnership, we began to provide services of receiving and analyzing residential financing proposals, making financing to their customers more efficient and faster. One of the benefits to us of this partnership is that our customers who do not meet the standard income requirements will benefit from a financing option called "repayment reward," which consists of recognizing a monthly payment capacity equivalent to the average of the on-time payment amount over the preceding 12 months.
In March 2009, we increased our international visibility and access to foreign investors through the launch of the program American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), level 1 in the U.S. market OTC (Over-The-Counter). In December of that year, MRVs ADRs began trading on the highest category of OTC (Over-the-Counter) in the United States, the Premier International OTCQX. The innovative platform OTCQX provides companies and their shareholders a level of market services previously only available on a stock exchange in the United States.
Due to growth of the trading volume of our stock, as of January 2010, our share MRVE3 became part of the Bovespa Index (IBovespa) the most important, indicator stock performance of Brazilian market, made up of stocks with highest negotiability, participation in financial volume and presence in the trading session.
Currently, we - MRV Engenharia e Participações S.A. - are a publicly held corporation, duly registered with the CVM, headquartered in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, located at 2720 Avenida Raja Gabaglia, 30494-170 and engaged in (i) the management of Company-owned assets, (ii) development, construction and sale of Company owned or third-party properties, (iii) the provision of technical engineering services related to the functions of the technicians in charge, and (iv) holding of equity interests in other companies.