US mall operator Simon Property's profit drops 20.2%
Mall operators are set for a rough few months as lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pushed many retail tenants to the brink of collapse.
BENGALURU: Simon Property Group reported a 20.2% decline in quarterly profit and scrapped it annual forecast on Monday as the mall operator was forced to temporarily close all its U.S. retail properties in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mall operators are set for a rough few months as lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pushed many retail tenants to the brink of collapse.
Gap Inc, one of Simon's biggest tenants, said in April it would save about $115 million a month in rent for its stores.
J. Crew and Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, while Reuters reported that J.C. Penney was preparing to do so and close about a quarter of its roughly 850 stores.
Net income attributable to Simon's shareholders fell to $437.6 million, or $1.43 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $548.5 million, or $1.78 per share, a year earlier.
Funds from operations (FFO), a key metric for real estate investment trusts, fell to $980.6 million, or $2.78 per share, from $1.08 billion, or $3.04 per share, a year earlier.
The United States' biggest mall owner said it had reopened 77 retail properties in regions where the lockdown restrictions had eased.