Pan-European retail real estate specialist Corio saw a strong improvement in its financial performance last year. The Amsterdam-listed company reported a net profit of EUR 375.7 mln or EUR 4.31 per share. This compares to a negative EUR 131.9 mln (-EUR 1.83 per share) a year earlier.

Corio saw its direct result (rent excluding costs) rise 15% to EUR 251 mln from EUR 218 a year earlier. This translated into a direct result per share of EUR 2.88, with the decline reflecting a dilution of the company's stock.

Net rental income was up 14.8% at EUR 386.8 mln from EUR 337 mln in 2009. Like-for-like net rental growth in the retail portfolio was up 1.9% in 2010, compared to 1.7% in the previous 12 months.

The value of the company's portfolio rose by EUR 180.0 mln in 2010 after EUR 389.7 mln in devaluations in 2009. At-end 2010, the portfolio stood at EUR 7.2 bn compared to EUR 5.8 bn at end-2009. The increase was largely due to the EUR 1.3 bn acquisition of a portfolio of existing shopping centres and projects from Multi Corporation. The Multi deal helped lift the value of Corio's development pipeline to just over EUR 3 bn, EUR 773 mln more than in 2009.