General Growth Properties Inc., the owner of Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers, says Hawai'i remains a bright spot for the company with the new Nordstrom store doing well here.

The Chicago-based company told analysts and investors on a conference call that Hawai'i has remained good, with "very, very strong" sales. General Growth is the second-largest U.S. owner of shopping malls and on Tuesday reported first-quarter net income fell to $8.6 million.

"We really didn't elaborate much on the expansion of Ala Moana, but the Nordstrom store is doing terrifically well and the new shops that have opened in conjunction with Nordstrom are performing at a very high level," said General Growth Chief Executive Officer John Bucksbaum on the call today.