URW continues to bounce back, shrugs off Q3 woes

Malls, offices and convention centres giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) had a good Q3 and that helped like-for-like turnover to rise 11.7% in the first nine months of the year. Total turnover was just shy of €2.322 billion.

However, when the impact of 2022 and 2023 disposals and lower property development and project management revenues following 2022 deliveries are factored into the equation, the total performance was only a rise of 1.9%.

That said, like-for-like gross rental income up was up 11.6% in its shopping centres and tenant sales rose 7.9% so those who are going shopping are clearly spending more. And they’re also spending more than the average 5.9% inflation figure.

The company said that overall, the performance was “above national sales indices with sales up by 9.7% in Continental Europe, 6% in the UK, and 4.3% in the US (or 6.2% excluding Luxury), “showing that URW’s assets continue to gain market share”.

It’s encouraging that the specific Q3 tenant sales performance of +5.5% didn’t seem to be too badly affected by the deteriorating economic backdrop in many countries.

It all meant that nine-month total shopping centre turnover reached €1.823 billion, with gross rental income (GRI) at €1.549 billion.

GRI rose in low double digits in France but was down a similar percentage in Spain, while Central Europe, Austria and Germany were all positive. The Nordics rose only slight with the Netherlands down. And UK GRI surged 34.5%, although the US dipped.

Rent collection was at at 96% for Q3 (which was better than Q1 and in line with Q2 levels), while the nine-month figure was 97%.

The company said it’s also seeing good leasing activity with 1,685 deals signed in the nine months, which is up 5.5% year on year.

Some 90% of its €4 billion European disposals programme is complete, with the sale of Polygone Riviera in France having closed on 18 October. The ongoing streamlining of the US portfolio also continues with sales of Westfield Mission Valley Shopping Centres and Westfield Valencia Town Center.

For the full year, the company expects 2023 adjusted recurring earnings per share (AREPS) of at least €9.50.