Increase in Westfield shopping centers sales

It has been announced that sales at Westfield shopping centers located in New Zealand and Australia have seen an increase.

The operator of the centers, Scentre Group, said the sales of comparable specialty stores in Australia increased by 4.2% during the September quarter.

Peter Allen, the chief executive, said an improvement has been seen in retail sales with 15 consecutive months of sales growth within Australia.  He said there have been good increases in the retail services, leisure, jewelry, footwear and fashion categories.  

According to Scentre, Australian retail sales reached $20.2bn for the year ending September.

Average rent for specialty stores increased to $1551 per square meter as at September 30, which is an increase of 1.9% on the previous year.

New Zealand has also seen an improvement in sales, with comparable specialty store sales increasing by 3.7% during the September quarter.

Scentre issued confirmation that it was in line to meet its forecast of gaining funds from operations of 10.88c per security and distribution of 10.2c per security for the half year to the end of December. Scentre’s shares closed at $3.55, 2c lower at 10.27am (AEDT).

The Westfield Group and WRT, its passive property trust, underwent restructuring during June to separate the Australian and New Zealand operations from its international division.  The new structure resulted in Westfield Corporation owning the international division, including Westfield London, with the Australasian centers under the control of Scentre.