Westfield supports French takeover

SYDNEY: Australian shopping mall giant Westfield reaffirmed its support on Thursday for a takeover by French firm Unibail-Rodamco as it announced a jump in full-year net profit. The company announced the deal, which would be the biggest-ever corporate takeover in Australia, in December, but since then the cash and scrip offer has lost its premium after a fall in the French property firm’s share price.

Despite this, and reported pressure from some fund managers for it to be sweetened, the proposal continued to have “the full support of the Lowy family (the chief executives) and the Westfield board”.

The backing came as Westfield posted a 13.5 per cent lift in annual profit to $1.55 billion, shrugging off tough retail conditions and competition from online platforms like Amazon. Revenue in the year to December 31 rose 17.1 per cent to $2.1 billion.

“The performance of Westfield for the year was solid and we remain confident with the strategy of developing and transforming flagship assets,” said joint chief executives Peter and Steven Lowy.

“Over many years we have adapted and improved our portfolio to meet the changing needs of retailers, consumers and brands, and this remains a core strength of Westfield.” They pointed to the successful opening of a redeveloped Century City in Los Angeles and the expansion of UTC in San Diego, along with progress on expansions at Westfield London and Valley Fair in Silicon Valley. — AFP