Unibail-Rodamco – which ranked first in PropertyEU's overview of the Top Retail Developers this year – has announced strong half-year results, buoyed by an increased pipeline of development projects.
The company announced that its pipeline of development projects had increased to €7.9 bn, in the wake of an exceptional pace of deliveries in 2015, when three new and three renovated and extended retail assets and one new office tower came online.
In April, the Paris-listed company delivered the extension and renovation project of Forum des Halles, with the addition of a Lego Store, a Sephora concept store, Superdry, Liu Jo, Nike and Rituals Parisian flagships, as well as two new restaurants and a canopy over the entrance. H1 2016 also saw the group add two extension projects to its pipeline, La Part Dieu (Lyon) and Garbera (San Sebastian), representing €0.4 bn of TIC. The group’s development pipeline as of 31 December 2015 stood at €7.4 bn.
Recurring earnings per share (EPS) reached €5.81 over the period, representing a 13.5% increase year on year, adjusted for 2015’s disposals. The total value of Unibail-Rodamco’s portfolio increased to €39.3 bn, up 4.1% and an increase of 3.5% on a like-for-like basis.
The growth in recurring EPS was primarily due to robust rental growth in the company's shopping centres, and the strong decrease in the average cost of debt. The group also announced it benefitted from the positive impact of the recognition of tax losses carried forward.
In April of this year, Unibail-Rodamco emerged as the winner of PropertyEU’s Top Retail Developers ranking in Europe. The ranking is based on projects completed between 2013 and 2015. During this period, the Paris-listed retail property specialist completed a total of 350,537 m2, including the massive 100,000 m2 Mall of Scandinavia which opened its doors in Stockholm in November last year.
