Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Centro Properties Group, the world’s fifth-largest shopping center owner, said its loss in the first- half doubled because of one-time charges for reducing the value of property assets.

The loss was A$2.4 billion ($1.6 billion), or 292.23 cents a share, compared with a loss of A$1.1 billion, or 136.25 cents a share, a year ealier, the Melbourne-based company said today in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

Centro has more than 70 percent of its assets in the U.S. where declining home values and the worst unemployment in 16 years have caused consumers to cut spending. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predict retail sales in February will decline by as much as 2 percent.

Centro wrote down A$1.23 billion in value from its Australian and U.S. property investments, it said. It also took one-time charges of A$1.12 billion for “financial instruments” and A$1 billion for currency losses because of the decline in the Australian dollar.

Centro has declined 83 percent in the past 12 months and is the second-worst performer on the benchmark property index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rebecca Keenan in Melbourne at rkeenan5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 25, 2009 17:23 EST