Centro Properties Group (Centro) has lifted its financial year growth figures following an independent revaluation of its Australian and US property portfolios.
The revaluation has given Centro a $1 billion valuation gain. This increases the value of Centro's fund under management to $26.6 billion.
Centro chief executive Andrew Scott said valuation gains across the company's managed Australian portfolio were strong with an overall 0.32 per cent firming of capitalisation rates since June 2006 to an average now of 6.24 per cent.
"We are pleased that the independent valuations have supported the value we placed on our recent acquisitions," Scott said.
About 56 per cent of the annual Australian valuation growth was driven by higher portfolio income, both from development and organic growth, while the remaining 44 per cent of valuation growth is derived from capitalisation rate improvements, Scott said.
Centro chairman Brian Healey said the majority of the revaluation increase has been driven by income growth within the portfolio, with the component being 78 per cent of growth in the US and 56 per cent in Australia.
Centro's US portfolio has grown by more than $14 billion through significant acquisitions during the year and the continued improvement in US valuations is a pleasing result, Healey said.
"The significant gains reflect a further firming of valuation capitalisation rates across the Centro portfolio to a weighted average 6.55 per cent," he said.
Upon completion, the US revaluation program will include all assets acquired during the past nine months, including those acquired as part of the Heritage and New Plan transactions.
The former core Heritage portfolio has received a strong valuation uplift with the weighted average capitalisation rate shifting from 7.06 per cent on acquisition to 6.80 per cent at 30 June 2007.
