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(Reuters) – Shopping center operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announced on Thursday the resumption of dividend payments and expects to benefit from the Paris Olympics this summer, when several events will take place at its centers .

“The strength of the group’s activities, the visibility of our operational performance, the delivery of major development projects in 2024 and the strong liquidity position give us the confidence to restore distributions to shareholders,” said CEO Jean- Marie Tritant in a press release.

URW will resume payment of a dividend of 2.50 euros payable in May.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares listed on the Paris Stock Exchange rose 5.20% at 9:26 a.m. GMT.

The group says it expects adjusted recurring earnings per share (AREPS) in a range between 9.65 and 9.8 euros in 2024, compared to 9.62 euros in 2023.

The Viparis company, owned equally by URW and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Paris Ile-de-France region, operates sites such as Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, where handball and tennis events will take place. table tennis, volleyball and weightlifting.

The group also reported an Ebitda of 2.2 billion euros in 2023, announcing a return to the pre-pandemic level on a like-for-like basis.

“The group’s results on a like-for-like basis have returned to their 2019 level and are ahead of the 2024 target that we set for ourselves during our 2022 investor day,” said Jean-Marie Tritant, CEO in a statement.

Rental income increased by 6.4% while the vacancy rate of shopping centers returned to its 2019 level, i.e. 5.4%.

(Written by Nathan Vifflin, edited by Blandine Hénault and Kate Entringer)

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