French retail specialist Klépierre expects total gross rents to grow by around 2% on a like-for-like basis in 2013, the Paris-listed group said in a statement.
French retail specialist Klépierre expects total gross rents to grow by around 2% on a like-for-like basis in 2013, the Paris-listed group said in a statement.
In the first six months of the year, the group’s gross rents increased by 2.1% on a like-for-like basis, reaching €500 mln largely as a result of recently opened spaces in new or extended shopping centres.
The shopping centre landlord has raised its 2013 guidance for net current cash flow per share which it expects to rise by at least 3%, versus 2-2.5% previously, thanks to improvements in the cost of debt.
'Klépierre continues to demonstrate its capacity to generate sound rental growth through accelerated retenanting and active mall management,’ commented Laurent Morel, chairman of Klépierre's executive board.
The company has carried out €202 mln of asset disposals since the beginning of the year and is confident that it will reach its €1 bn divestment target by year-end. ‘Additional asset sales are in advanced negotiations,’ said Klépierre, which counts Simon Property Group and BNP Paribas among its largest shareholders.
Earlier this year, Klépierre signed a new €750 mln revolving credit facility with a banking syndicate and lowered its average cost of debt to 3.42%, compared to 3.95% at end-2012.
‘We welcome that Klépierre was able to improve its financial position by securing its refinancing needs until 2015 and by diversifying the debt structure further,’ commented Kai Klose, an analyst with Berenberg Bank in London.
The company now has less than 25% of its financial liabilities with BNP Paribas, its former parent company. The analyst upgraded the stock to 'Hold' from 'Sell' following publication of the company's first-half results.
