International shopping centre specialist Sonae Sierra has announced a net profit of €59 mln for the first half of 2016, as the company's global occupancy rate rose to 96.1%.
Tenant sales in the company's European portfolio were up 3.9% on a like-for-like basis, compared to the same period of 2015, with an 11.1% growth in Spain and 4.5% in Italy in particular. The global occupancy rate of the portfolio reached 96.1%, boosted by the company's European performance, where occupancy reached 97.1%.
CEO Fernando Guedes de Oliveira said: 'The first six months of 2016 have confirmed the recovery trend, particularly in Europe, where tenant sales rose 3.9% and occupancy rates reached 97.1%. We have continued to boost our third-party service provision, launched a fund with CBRE GIP to maintain our business positions in Spain and Portugal, and confirmed the opening of ParkLake, in Romania, for September 1st.'
The company's indirect result was €32.3 mln, €20 mln below the previous year, as a result of lower yield compression.
The opening in Bucharest of ParkLake, Sonae Sierra's venture with Caelum Development, will mark the debut of several new brands and retail concepts in Romania. The 70,000 m2 scheme, which represents a total investment of over €180 mln, was already more than 97% let as of end-June.
