Unibail-Rodamco, the largest listed property company in Europe, has reported EUR 647 mln in net rental income for the first half of 2011, a like-for-like increase of 5.5%.

The company saw tenants' sales rise by 4.2% in its shopping centre business compared to an average 0.8% in the countries in which it is active. In H1 2011, Unibail-Rodamco signed 60 contracts with major league retailers versus 48 in the whole of 2010. The office sector also saw overall positive like-for-like net rental income growth of 3.2%.

The strong rental income performance contributed to the company's 0.9% growth in recurring earnings per share despite a EUR 1.8 bn exceptional dividend payment in 2010 and EUR 1.1 bn of asset disposals in the first six months of the 2011.

Chief Financial Officer Peter van Rossum said the recurring earnings per share for the full-year 2011 would probably come closer to the lower end of the outlook of -3% to -5%.