On Thursday, commercial real estate giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) reported a positive recurring net result, its benchmark financial indicator, of €1.47 billion, up 4.5% and exceeding the target set by the group.

The Westfield owner has reduced its financial debt to €19.5 billion, and generated €1.6 billion through asset disposals since January 2024, including the sale of the stakes it held in the Westfield Forum des Halles shopping mall and the Trinity office tower at La Défense in Paris.

In a conference call, URW CEO Jean-Marie Tritant hailed the group’s “excellent financial results” in 2024, notably the increase in net rents received in all of its business sectors: rents received were up by 5.8% in shopping malls, by 14.4% in office properties, and by 21.3% in convention and exhibition facilities.

In shopping malls, which account for the main share of the rents received by URW, the vacancy rate fell to 4.8%, its lowest level since 2017, while visitor attendance increased by 2.6% and retailers’ revenue by 4.5% compared to 2023.

EBITDA increased by 6.9% over 2023, reaching €2.35 billion.

Adjusted recurring earnings per share, URW’s benchmark profitability indicator, rose by 2.4% to €9.85 per share, above the target set between €9.65 and €9.80 per share.

In the last four years, URW has divested €6.4 billion worth of assets as part of its strategic transformation, a plan that Tritant described as “successful,” leading the group to decide to “retain our high-performing flagship assets in the US.”

URW will propose to pay a dividend of €3.50 per share.