Westfield first-half profit of $651m misses expectations
It's the first result for the group since it spun off half of its Australia and New Zealand assets into Westfield Retail Trust.
The net profit result was below market expectations of an average $732m from five analysts. Westfield Group's first-half profit from a year ago was $961m.
"Today's announcement is consistent with our full-year earnings and distribution forecasts, and demonstrates the resilience of our business and the continuing improvement of our operating platform," joint chief executives Steven and Peter Lowy said in a statement.
Operational segment earnings for Westfield Group were $850m, or 36.9 cents per security. Management said it expects full-year 2011 operational segment earnings of 74.6c per security and forecast a 48.4c distribution per security.
For the first-half of the year, the group declared a distribution of 24.2c per security, in line with what it forecast earlier this month.
Westfield has interests in and operates one of the world's largest shopping centre portfolios with 119 centres in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Britian valued at more than $58 billion.
Last week the company said it was broadening its global footprint by expanding into Brazil by taking a 50 per cent interest in shopping mall owner, developer and manager Almeida Junior Shopping Centers and a 50 per cent interest in a development site in Milan, Italy
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