August 16 (SeeNews) - Real estate developer AFI Europe Romania said on Tuesday its net operating income (NOI) rose 13.1% on the year to nearly 22.2 million euro ($25 million) in the first half of 2016.
AFI Palace Cotroceni Shopping Mall in Bucharest, the company’s largest and most important asset, generated a NOI of 16.5 million euro in January-June, up 8.6% the year.
AFI Cotroceni retailers' sales, excluding the hypermarket, increased by an annual 14% to 112 million euro in the first half. Occupancy rate of AFI Palace Cotroceni is close to 99%, the company said in its first-half financial statement.
The NOI of AFI Palace Ploiesti shopping mall rose 8.1% on the year to over 2.2 million euro, boosted by a significant increase in retailers' sales, which grew 19%. The occupancy rate of the shopping mall in the southern city of Ploiesti remains stable at 99%.
Ploiesti is currently under expansion works in addition to introducing new important retailers such as Deichmann and Starbucks, AFI Properties said.
“Following the 13% higher NOI, our long term strategy is to continue and achieve constant and steady growth in the NOI development. Including our pipeline projects, the portfolio in Romania will increase to 300,000 sqm of leasable areas,” AFI Europe Romania CEO David Hay said in a statement.
In February, AFI Europe Romania completed AFI Park 4 and 5 office buildings offering additional 32,000 sqm of gross leasable area to the total project. Currently, the two new office buildings are close to a 70% occupancy rate.
AFI Europe operates in Romania since 2005 and is currently planning a 45,000 sqm gross letable area (GLA) shopping mall and 20,000 sqm GLA office project in the city centre of Brasov.
In the office segment, AFI will develop Afi Tech Park, a 50,000 sqm of GLA Class A Business Park located in close proximity to the J.W. Marriott hotel and the Romanian Parliament.
In addition, AFI Europe Romania has two other projects to be developed in the near future - a retail park on the company’s 80,000 sqm land plot in Arad, and a mix use project on the 148,000 sq m land plot in Bucurestii Noi district 1 of Bucharest.
($=0.897 euro)