Scentre Group full-year profit soars on revaluations, demand

The news: Westfield-operator Scentre Group has reported a jump in full-year profit on the back of revaluation of its assets and stronger demand in its malls.

The numbers: Statutory profit soared to $1.05 billion from $174.9 million last year, as the company recorded its first upward property revaluation in the second half — its first gain after five consecutive halves of valuation haircuts since late 2022.

Funds from operations, the property sector’s standard earnings metric that excludes valuation fluctuations, rose 3.5% to $1.13 billion, slightly below the $1.15 billion Visible Alpha consensus.

The mall owner said total customer visitor numbers were up 2.7% from a year ago to 526 million. Store sales rose 1.9% in the period to $29 billion, while portfolio occupancy was at 99.6% at December-end. Gross rent collections were $98 million higher from a year ago to $2.82 billion.