Scentre Group’s sales rise

WestfieldScentre Group has announced that quarterly sales have been lifted by over five per cent, in its third quarter operational update.

As at 30 September 2015, the portfolio remained more than 99.5 per cent leased, and had specialty sales growth of 5.9 per cent for the nine months and 5.4 per cent for the quarter.

In particular, the footwear, leisure, jewellery and technology and appliances retail categories were strong performers in this period. The strong growth in specialty sales for the period outpaced the growth in specialty store rents, and reduced specialty store occupancy cost to 17.9 per cent.

In Australia, average specialty retail sales increased to $10,666 per square metre and comparable specialty store sales growth was 5.8 per cent for the nine months to 30 September 2015. In New Zealand, average specialty retail sales increased to NZ$10,534 per square metre, and comparable specialty store sales growth was 6.5 per cent for the nine months.

“2015 will be Scentre Group’s first full year of operations as an independent entity, and the group is undertaking a number of initiatives that demonstrate our commitment to creating extraordinary places connecting and enriching communities,” said CEO, Peter Allen.

“Scentre Group has delivered continued strong portfolio performance, commenced $830 million of development starts in 2015, introduced several new technology initiatives and reallocated capital to higher quality assets.”

The group’s $830 million of developments in 2015 (SCG share: $583 million), have created additional value for the business with development yields in a target range of 7.0-7.5 per cent. These starts include new projects at Westfield Chatswood, Hurstville, North Lakes, Kotara, Casey and Warringah.

These projects are focused on expanding the food, dining and entertainment precincts, as well as introducing new domestic and international retailers that will resonate with the local community. The projects at Westfield Hurstville, Chatswood, Kotara and North Lakes are on track to have openings prior to Christmas this year.

The Scentre Group has also reconfirmed its forecast FFO of 22.5 cents per security, representing 3.5 per cent growth with a distribution forecast of 20.9 cents per security for the twelve months ending December 31 2015.

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