Westfield mall owner sees earnings boost from Paris Olympics venues (updated)

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE

08/02/2024 08:55

(Adds detail on vacancy rates and EBITDA in paragraph 6, share
price in paragraph 7, retail media revenues and margin in
paragraphs 8 and 9)
    By Helen Reid
       LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Westfield mall owner
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield  URW.PA  sees the Paris Olympics and
Paralympics boosting its earnings for 2024, it said on Thursday,
with several of its Viparis convention centres hosting events
over the Games.
    Viparis, owned equally by URW and by the Paris Ile-de-France
Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, operates venues
including Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, where the handball,
table tennis, volleyball, and weightlifting will take place. 
    Its Palais des Congrès de Paris venue will host the
International Olympic Committee and the main press centre for
the Games, URW said.
    URW sees its adjusted recurring earnings per share for 2024
increasing to between 9.65 and 9.8 euros, up from 9.62 euros in
2023, partly thanks to increased footfall over the Olympics,
which take place at a time when Parisians typically flee the
city to holiday at the coast.
    The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to Aug. 11, with
the Paralympics taking place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8. 
    In a sign of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, vacancy
rates in URW shopping centres dropped to 5.4% last year, back to
2019 levels, and group earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also recovered to
pre-pandemic levels, hitting 2.199 billion euros.
    Shares in URW were up 5.5% by 0850 GMT.
    URW is also growing its advertising business, charging
brands to be featured on screens and in pop-up spaces in its
shopping centres. Its retail media revenues increased to 121.3
million euros in 2023, up 15% on a like-for-like basis.
    URW said Westfield Rise, its in-house retail media agency
for Europe, would generate 75 million euros in net margin this
year, up from 53.3 million euros in 2023.

 (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
 ((Helen.Reid@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7584 155 200 ;))