Unibail Rodamco's turnover up 3.4% in Q1

Franco-Dutch property company Unibail Rodamco saw its first-quarter turnover increase by 3.4% year-on-year to EUR 417 mln. Turnover was boosted in particular by the high performance in the retail sector where revenues increased to EUR 259 mln in the first three months from EUR 248 mln in the same period a year before.

'Despite a deteriorating economic context characterised by increasing unemployment and a significant decline in consumer confidence in Continental Europe, traffic in Unibail-Rodamco's shopping centres showed resistance during the first quarter, recording a decrease of less than 1% compared to Q1 2008,' the company said. The group is targeting 7% growth in net recurring Earnings Per Share (EPS) for 2009.

Tenants' sales continued to trend downwards in the first quarter, in line with Q3 and Q4 2008. They have decreased versus Q1 2008 by an average of -3.5% across the European portfolio. Tenants' sales performance for French assets was relatively resilient (- 0.9%), especially compared to Spain which recorded a decline of 9.3 %.

In the office division, a significant nine-year firm lease has been signed for 32,167 m² in Michelet-Galilee building in Paris-La Défense, following Total's departure. This lease will take effect in the first quarter of 2010 after renovation works. A disposal agreement has been signed for a 1,686 m² office building, located at Avenue d'Iéna in Paris at a net price corresponding to a 6% premium above the last appraised value in December 2008.

Additionally, the company said it has launched EUR 575 mln worth of bonds convertible into new and/or existing shares with a maturity date of January 1, 2015. The bonds, with a nominal value set at EUR 146.36, represent a premium of 20% compared to the current share price of EUR 116 per share.

The bonds will bear an interest rate of 3.50% per annum, payable each year in arrears on January 1 from January 1, 2010. The offering is managed by Morgan Stanley & Co International, acting as sole global coordinator and joint lead manager and joint bookrunner, and by ABN Amro Corporate Finance France and Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, acting as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners.