- ASX-200 lister Scentre Group (SCG) will pay another 7 cent dividend to shareholders as it gears up to announce its half year results
- The owner of Westfield Shopping Centres paid only a 7 cent dividend throughout 2020, after COVID-19 impacted operations
- SCG customer visitation numbers are beginning to improve since 2020 ended, with portfolio occupancy hitting 98.5 per cent leased in March
- The real estate stock also notched up $601 million in rentals billings during the first quarter of 2021, with 588 lease deals completed
- Shares in Scentre Group are trading down 1.71 per cent as investors react to the dividend news, worth $2.59 per share
ASX-200 lister Scentre Group (SCG) will pay another 7 cent dividend to shareholders as it gears up to announce its half-year results.
The owner of Westfield Shopping Centres announced the half-year dividend on Monday, the second time in a row SCG has paid shareholders that amount.
The real estate stock paid a 7 cent dividend in February for the six months to December 30, its only dividend for 2020 amid COVID-19 disruptions.
The pandemic related lockdown left SCG with a $3.7 billion loss in what the company described as a “challenging year”.
Since the end of 2020, the shopping centre group has noted an uplift in operations including an improvement in customer visitation numbers.
SCG said at the end of March, visitation across its portfolio of centres was equivalent to 93 per cent of 2019 levels.
Its total portfolio occupancy hit 98.5 per cent leased at the end of the same period, with 588 lease deals signed.
The real estate stock notched up $802 million in rental billings across in the year to March 31, with $601 million of that total coming in Q1.
The company’s full half-year results until June 30 will be announced on August 24.
Shares in Scentre Group were trading down 1.71 per cent at $2.59 per share at 3:53 pm AEST as investors reacted to the dividend news.