Simon Means Group was asked this past weekend to close its Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, again, as Covid-19 protections in the area are on the rise, Chief Executive David Simon said Monday.
On Oct. 7, the biggest mall owner in America had at the end of the day reopened all of its properties that had been forced to shut due to the pandemic, the company said. The last to reopen was in Los Angeles county. But, with the closure of Cielo Vista, another volley of shutdowns could be looming.
Outside of this closure, Simon said all its U.S. malls and outlet centers are reopen, and conveyance continues to improve each month.
El Paso County announced at the end of October that it would shutter all nonessential roles for two weeks in an effort to curb the recent rise of Covid-19 cases, which has been overwhelming local hospitals.
The Partnership States topped 10 million coronavirus cases Monday, as global cases surpassed 50 million. And the outback is setting record one-day spikes in cases, spurring some officials to reinstate restrictions in an effort to contain the virus.
“That’s the on the other hand one,” so far, Simon said about the Cielo Vista Mall, the largest mall in El Paso. “I think enclosed malls are being managed unfairly and inconsistently. … The level of inconsistency is very frustrating.”
“I don’t know if further restrictions will be in order,” the CEO combined, when asked about the possibility of other malls in other states being forced to close. “We have yet to see any confirmation that our environment spreads anything.”
Simon shares closed Monday up nearly 28%, amid a broader customer base rally. The stock has fallen about 47% in 2020, bringing its market cap to $24.2 billion.
But shares were down around 5% in extended trading, after the company released disappointing third-quarter results. Total revenue fell 25% to $1.06 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier. Analysts were career for $1.08 billion, according to Refinitiv estimates.
Simon said the occupancy rate at its properties, which include the Roosevelt Freak Mall in New York and the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania, was 91.4% as of Sept. 30, compared with 94.7% during the verbatim at the same time period in 2019.
Base minimum rent per square foot was $56.13, on average, up 2.9% from a year earlier.
Some of the biggest lessees in Simon’s portfolio, based on how much rent they pay, include Gap, L Brands, Macy’s and J.C. Penney. Earlier this year, Simon took Gap to court for not fee rent during the pandemic.
As of Nov. 6, Simon has collected 85% of its billed rents for the third quarter, compared with 72% of billed holes collected at its U.S. properties during the second quarter.
With Brookfield, Simon is in contract to acquire most of Penney’s assets, containing its real estate, out of bankruptcy court. Simon previously acquired two retailers, Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand, out of bankruptcy earlier this year, with the lend a hand of the apparel-licensing firm Authentic Brands Group.
“The company has a loyal, diverse and inclusive customer base … and we wait for we will continue to grow this customer [base] over time,” CEO Simon said Monday about the Penney act on, which has not yet closed.
Simon ended the third quarter with more than $9.7 billion of liquidity on its harmony sheet, including $1.5 billion of cash on hand, and $8.2 billion of available capacity under its revolving impute facility and term loan.
Find the full earnings press release from Simon here.