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Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) writes 10pc off its portfolio value in 1H FY20

Market News, Real Estate
ASX:SCA
06 August 2020 15:15 (AEST)

Retail operator Scentre Group (SCG) has given investors a preview of its interim financial results.

At present, the group predicts its operating cashflow will head beyond the $250 million mark for the first half of 2020.

However, in Scentre’s last half-year report, it delivered $629.1 million in net operating cashflow. This means FY20’s first-half figures mark a cashflow slump in the $300 million ballpark, compared to the same period last year.

In addition, the group’s interim report will include valuations of its current property holdings. Because of COVID-19’s financial impacts, however, Scentre believes its portfolio’s carrying value has fallen by roughly 10 per cent in this first half, compared to its value at the end of 2019.

Essentially, carrying value calculations weigh up the cost involved with running an asset to determine its overall value — meaning the worth of the group’s portfolio has sunk on last year’s statistics.

That decrease has been categorised as a non-cash item, so it won’t appear in Scentre’s operating earnings or funds from operations statements.

Positively, by the end of FY20’s first half, the group had $4.4 billion in available liquidity.

In addition, Scentre has announced remuneration for its board and senior leadership team will return to normal from August 1. Temporary changes to management’s pay packets were announced back in April and ushered in from May to combat the economic hit from the pandemic. But now that those financial impacts have begun to ease, payments will return to pre-COVID levels.

The company’s full interim results will be released on August 25.

Today, Scentre Group shares tumbled 3.56 per cent to trade for $1.90 at 2:13 pm AEST.

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