Shoppers are returning to Westfield shopping malls in droves, as owner Scentre Group posts an operating profit of over half a billion dollars for the first half of 2022.

For the six months to June 30, Scentre Group reported operating profit of $540.5 million, up 17.5 per cent year-on-year, with funds from operations (FFO) of $548.6 million, up 18.3 per cent.

During the six-month period, net operating cash flow (after interest, overheads and tax) was $570.2 million, up 16.9 per cent.

Scentre Group controls 42 Westfield centres, including five in New Zealand. They report over 277 million customer visits during the first half of this year, with this number forecast to reach over 500 million this year.

Over $12 billion in sales were made by Westfield stores during this six-month period, $800 million more than in the first six months of 2021, and $500 million more than the same period in 2019, pre-pandemic.

Membership program Westfield Plus has ballooned to 2.75 million members, an increase of 550,000 members since the start of 2022.

Retailers are also back in full force. Occupancy rates are up to 98.8 per cent, up 0.30 per cent since June 30, 2021. Scentre completed 1,579 lease deals, including 585 new merchants, of which 108 brands are new to Westfield centres.

Average rent across the entire portfolio has increased $5 per square metre since 30 June last year, to
$827 per square metre.

Scentre Group CEO Peter Allen said: “I am very pleased with these results. Our team has continued to drive our business and deliver strong operational performance.

“We’ve grown customer visitation, portfolio occupancy, rental income and cash collection resulting in strong profit growth for the half.

“Our customer focused strategy is to create the places that more people choose to come, more often, for longer.”

Dividends of 7.5c, up 7.1 per cent, will be paid on August 31.