But the group’s stake in listed property unit trust Sycom dragged down its overall performance.

Mike Rodel, who presented his last set of results as CEO of Hyprop, said that, given the continued tough retail environment last year the results were in line with expectations. The results also benefited from completed extensions at shopping centres Canal Walk and The Glen.

"The additional retail space saw total shopping centre revenue increase 18%, with distributable earnings up 14%," he said.

Mr Rodel said that even excluding the new extensions, revenue grew 13,3% and distributable earnings 8,8%.

But it has not been all smooth sailing for the group as its investment in Sycom valued at R1,5bn at the end of December dragged down the performance.

Sycom’s underperformance in the year resulted in Hyprop deriving no income growth from the investment.

Hyprop’s overall property expenses in its shopping centres increased 27%, driven primarily by increases in assessment rates and electricity costs. Excluding municipal expenses, total property expenses in the shopping centre portfolio increased 5,4%.

Income from hotels underperformed due to pressure on the leisure market generally.

Hyprop’s income comes from hotels such as The Grace and Southern Sun Hyde Park.

A hard-hit global leisure sector saw a drop in income from the hotels in the group’s portfolio.

"Although occupancy levels during the World Cup exceeded 90% at Southern Sun Hyde Park, we anticipate occupancy levels to remain under pressure in the short to medium term," Mr Rodel said. He said The Mall of Rosebank remained the development focus for the year ahead.

"In consultation with all interest groups in the Rosebank node we are seeking to extract the maximum value from the refurbishment and extension of The Mall". Mr Rodel said Hyprop was finalising the planning and design process, which would be released in due time.

Stanlib property funds head Keillen Ndlovu said distribution growth was "impressive" and "ahead of our expectations".

"The results reflect the strength and defensive nature of bigger and dominant shopping centres in Hyprop’s portfolio, (that is) 13,3% like-for-like revenue growth and vacancies of only 1,6%," Mr Ndlovu said.

Last month, Mr Rodel resigned as CEO due to differences between himself and the board on operational issues. He could not be drawn on the reasons for his resignation, saying he would rather not comment.