Macerich sells assets in strong fourth quarter performance

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Feb 8, 2017

Macerich announced this week its results of operations for the quarter ended on December 31, 2016.
 
Net income for the quarter was $37.1 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, compared to $415.0 million, or $2.65 per diluted share, in the previous year. The previous year’s net income included a $311 million gain on selling joint venture interests in four malls.

 
Diluted funds from operations were $180.6 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, compared to $186.4 million, or $1.12 per diluted share. Mall tenant annual sales per square foot were $630 compared to $635 in the previous year and were $650 on a same center basis compared to $643 in the prior year.
 
In addition, mall portfolio occupancy decreased slightly to 95.4% from 96.1%.

"As borne out by the continued strength in our operating results and portfolio metrics, Macerich remains well-positioned in an ever-changing and evolving retail landscape," said The Company's chairman and chief executive officer, Arthur Coppola.  "Furthermore, we have continued to re-shape our portfolio by selling two non-core assets with the proceeds slated for reinvestment in our highly value-accretive pipeline of development/redevelopment projects in densely-populated hub and gateway cities." 
 
Macerich sold the two non-core assets, Northgate Mall and Cascade Mall, for a combined price of $170 million. The transaction resulted in net proceeds after debt repayment of approximately $107 million.
 
For fiscal 2017, Macerich expects diluted earnings per share to range from $1.26 to $1.36 and funds from operations to range from $3.90 to $4.00.