David Simon on Retail: ‘Most of the Bad News Is Behind Us’

The churn at the mall continues — as retail aligns with the digital reality — but David Simon said mall giant Simon Property Group thrives on change and is going to keep moving with the times. “It’s safe to say that we’re going to anticipate some bankruptcies,” said Simon, chairman and chief executive officer, on a call with analysts after the company reported first-quarter results. “We are looking at few others that will see how the rest of the year shapes up.…I think most of the bad news is behind us.” During the first quarter, Simon’s funds from operations — the standard financial yardstick for real estate companies — rose to $1.08 billion from $1.03 billion. In the company’s U.S. malls and premium outlets, occupancy grew to 95.1 percent at the end of the quarter on March 31, up from 94.6 percent a year earlier. And retailer sales per square foot a rose 3.1 percent to $660 for the past 12 months The company’s net operating income grew by 1.7 percent for the quarter. “NOI growth was impacted by approximately 100 basis points due to the impact of retailer liquidations and bankruptcies resulting higher bad debt expense, unfavorable foreign exchange rates and slightly lower NOI

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...

from WWDWWD http://bit.ly/2Y0TTOt