For the six months to June 30, the ASX-listed company posted funds from operations of $568 million, a rise of 2 per cent. Statutory profit rose to $404 million, compared to $149 million in the prior year, as it booked lower adjustments to its property valuations.

Tenant mix refreshed

As part of its shift to become more resilient to cost-of-living pressures, Westfield has revved up the mix of tenants to offer more “online-shopping proof” retailers, such as entertainment venues, in-house dining attractions and lifestyle offerings.

At Bondi Junction, the company is replacing the David Jones food court area with a flagship Virgin Active fitness concept club and a new rebel rCX store. It also plans to turn the former Fitness First gym on Level 6 into an entertainment and lifestyle precinct.

“We have pursued a strategy whereby our malls are not as correlated to the month-to-month retail sales and not as reliant on macroeconomic fluctuations,” Rusanow said.

The best-performing sectors in terms of sales growth were health and beauty, which rose 4.9 per cent; leisure and sports, which gained 6.8 per cent and food retail, which saw sales rise 7.8 per cent during the June half.

Reflecting the crunch in discretionary spending, department store sales growth fell 3.1 per cent, while footwear, apparel, and jewellery tenants also struggled.

Scentre has a $4 billion pipeline of planned retail developments, including projects such as the refurbishment of Westfield Eastgardens in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. During the period, it started reconfiguring department store space at Bondi Junction and Westfield Burwood in Sydney, and Westfield Southland in Melbourne.

The group declared an interim dividend of 8.6¢, payable on August 30.