By Mike Cherney 
 

SYDNEY--Westfield Corp. (WFD.AU), the Australia-based operator of shopping malls in the U.S. and Europe, said 2017 net profit rose some 13% as the company continued to focus on developing amenity-filled flagship malls to attract shoppers who may otherwise go online.

Westfield, which late last year agreed to sell itself to European mall operator Unibail-Rodamco (UL.AE), said 2017 net profit was US$1.55 billion. Revenue rose by 17% to US$2.1 billion and funds from operations were US$707 million, a roughly 2% increase.

The company said full-year distributions would total 25.5 U.S. cents per share, up 1.6% on the prior period.

"The performance of Westfield for the year was solid and we remain confident with the strategy of developing and transforming flagship assets," Westfield co-Chief Executives Peter Lowy and Steven Lowy said in a statement.

Westfield said the transaction with Unibail-Rodamco, which would create a US$73 billion portfolio comprising 104 assets, still has the full support of the Lowy family and the Westfield board. Concerns have risen lately about the deal given a drop in Unibail-Rodamco's share price and currency movements since the transaction was announced, impacting the value offered for Westfield.

Documentation for the deal will be sent to shareholders in April with a vote expected later in the first half of 2018, according to Westfield.

Looking ahead, Westfield said the company's 2018 earnings would be positively impacted by the stabilization of recently completed projects like Century City in Los Angeles and UTC in San Diego, as well as the completion of an expansion at Westfield London. No forecasts for distributions or funds from operations were provided given the pending deal with Unibail-Rodamco.

-Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 18:30 ET (23:30 GMT)