Behind The Design : The Making Of Westfield Newmarket. Video / Scentre Group
Retailers in New Zealand's biggest group of shopping centres got nearly 40 million customer visits in the year December 31, 2019.
Scentre Group, which owns 51 per cent of five New Zealand malls in a venture with Singapore's GIC, posted a full-year net profit of A$1.18 billion (NZ$1.23b), down 48.4 per cent from a year ago after costs including property revaluations hit the bottom line.
However, the company's funds from operations came in at A$1.344b, up 0.4 per cent on 2018 and operating earnings were up 3.6 per cent to A$1.2b.
In Australia and New Zealand, it recorded 548 million customer visits and made total annual retail sales of A$25b, up $1b in the year.
Scentre's presentation to the ASX as part of its annual result showed shopper visitor numbers and trading numbers for Westfields at Albany, Manukau, Newmarket, Riccarton and St Lukes.
The most popular and profitable New Zealand mall is Christchurch's 55,333q m Westfield Riccarton. That got 12.6 million annual shopper visits, more than any other owned by Scentre and GIC here.
Christchurch retailers in that mall made $531m total annual sales, down slightly on 2018's $536m. Average household income in that area is $85,322 and the mall has 193 retailers and 2400 carparks.
The area that is home to the Christchurch mall has a 1.6 per cent annual expected population growth projection. Farmers takes 12.8 per cent by area, trading from 7097sq m of space, followed by Kmart, Pak N Save and the cinemas.
The 20.8ha site of Westfield Albany on Auckland's North Shore has a 53,326sq m mall, but Scentre has announced plans to spend about $600m there, building towers which could be for residential, commercial and hotel accommodation.
Albany, with 145 retailers, got 8.3m annual visits and had total retail sales of $417m, down on last year's $423m. The population is expected to grow 2 per cent per annum and average household incomes are $92,856, Scentre's presentation showed.
The 45,236sq m Westfield Manukau on its 11.9ha site got 8.1m annual shopper visits. Sales were up from 2018's $293m to $309m. Average household income was $84,702. That mall has 187 retailers and 2113 carparks. Farmers leases the biggest area, at 7958sq m or 17 per cent of the centre, Scentre said.
The 88,150sq m Westfield Newmarket, with its $790m expansion and upgrade, got 3.6m annual shopper visits but only opened from the spring so no full annual figures were available. It was shut for about 18 months. Average household incomes in the trade area is $95,441. The lifestyle centre, as Scentre calls it, has 258 retailers and 2504 car parking spaces. But the area it stands on is far smaller than many other Scentre malls here at only 3ha.
Scentre and the Singaporeans own Westfield Newmarket. Photo / Dean Purcell
The new multiplex in the Newmarket centre is due to open soon but has been delayed by the internal fit-out taking longer than expected.
No retail sales were declared by that centre for 2018 or 2019 - only $135m for 2017, which was the last full year it traded before being shut.
The 39,743sq m Westfield St Lukes with 171 retailers got 7 million annual customer visits and made sales of $359m, down on 2018's $363m. Average household incomes there are $92,092.
