Westfield Group, a shopping centre operator in Australia, announced today in its annual report that the company had paid $A14.9 million to its executive chairman Mr. Frank Lowy as the total remuneration for 2009.

Westfield Group reported a loss of $A458 million in FY 2009 mainly attributable to the property write downs. Also the company said that it is cautiously optimistic for FY 2010.

Westfield said in its annual report that Mr. Frank Lowy was paid $A14.9 million in the year 2009. It was reported 8% less salary compared to his 2008 remuneration of SA16.2 million. Westfield said that Mr. Lowy got $A8m million as base salary and $A5.95 million as cash bonus for the year, while last year he got $A7.0 million in cash bonus. Also he got non- monetary benefits of $A890000 by the company in 2009.

Westfield reported a net loss of $A458 million in FY 2009. The loss was mainly attributable to the property write downs of $A3.5 billion in 2009. The Group has reported operating income of $2.064 billion in FY 2008, increasing by
6.2% comparing to the previous corresponding period.

However, the company said that it is cautiously optimistic about its prospects for 2010. The company said that it expects to commence $300 million of Australian projects in the second half of 2010, including Fountain Gate in Melbourne.