Canada NewsWire
FREDERICTON, Feb. 25, 2020
FREDERICTON, Feb. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - Plaza Retail REIT (TSX: PLZ.UN) ("Plaza" or the "REIT") today announced its financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2019.
While retail head winds continue, committed occupancy has remained strong at 96.3%, and Plaza has had one of its best years. Excluding lease buyouts and other similar items, annual FFO per unit and annual AFFO per unit increased by 7.8% and 6.8%, respectively. FFO per unit, as reported, increased by 19.3% in 2019 over the prior year and annual AFFO per unit, as reported, increased by 20.1%. Growth in FFO and AFFO has resulted in more conservative payout ratios which have decreased by 16.3% and 16.8%, respectively, over the prior year.
Plaza's portfolio continues to be dominated by national tenants, representing 90.7% of base rents, with a focus on value and necessity-based retail.
"We continue to demonstrate strong growth," said Michael Zakuta, President and CEO. "Plaza has experienced growth by recycling capital from re-financings at historically low rates, disposing of non-core assets, and re-investing those proceeds in higher-yielding opportunities. We are well positioned to continue driving value for our unitholders and I am extremely confident about the year ahead."
Financial Results Summary | ||||||
(CAD$000s, except percentages, per unit | Three | Three | Change | Twelve December | Twelve December | Change |
FFO 1 | $9,204 | $8,182 | +12.5% | $41,006 | $34,264 | +19.7% |
FFO per unit | $0.089 | $0.079 | +12.7% | $0.395 | $0.331 | +19.3% |
FFO payout ratio | 78.6% | 89.0% | -11.7% | 70.8% | 84.6% | -16.3% |
AFFO 1 | $8,186 | $7,466 | +9.6% | $36,466 | $30,304 | +20.3% |
AFFO per unit | $0.079 | $0.072 | +9.7% | $0.352 | $0.293 | +20.1% |
AFFO payout ratio | 88.4% | 97.5% | -9.3% | 79.6% | 95.7% | -16.8% |
Profit and total comprehensive income | $8,017 | $1,068 | +650.7% | $51,337 | $12,212 | +320.4% |
Total NOI | $16,785 | $15,740 | +6.6% | $72,727 | $63,924 | +13.8% |
Same-asset NOI 1 | $15,569 | $15,506 | +0.4% | $62,839 | $62,728 | +0.2% |
Committed occupancy | 96.3% | 96.2% | +0.1% | |||
Same-asset committed occupancy | 96.1% | 96.0% | +0.1% | |||
Normal course issuer bid – units repurchased | 137,400 | - | - | 721,689 | - | - |
1 Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" below for further explanations. |
Quarterly Highlights
Excluding the impact of lease buyouts, additional administrative costs, any loan defeasance and early mortgage discharge fees from the current and prior period:
Year-To-Date Highlights
Excluding the impact of lease buyouts, additional administrative costs, any loan defeasance and early mortgage discharge fees from the current and prior period:
Further Information
Information appearing in this press release is a select summary of results. A more detailed analysis of the REIT's financial and operating results is included in the REIT's Management's Discussion and Analysis and Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be viewed at www.sedar.com or on the REIT's website at www.plaza.ca.
Conference Call
Michael Zakuta, President and CEO, and Jim Drake, CFO, will host a conference call for the investment community on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. EST. The call-in numbers for participants are 647-427-7450 or 888-231-8191.
A replay of the call will be available until March 5, 2020. To access the replay, dial 416-849-0833 or 855-859-2056 (Passcode: 7313279). The audio replay will also be available for download on the REIT's website for 90 days following the conference call.
About Plaza
Plaza is an open-ended real estate investment trust and is a leading retail property owner and developer, focused on Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Plaza's portfolio at December 31, 2019 includes interests in 274 properties totaling approximately 8.4 million square feet across Canada and additional lands held for development. Plaza's portfolio largely consists of open-air centres and stand-alone small box retail outlets and is predominantly occupied by national tenants. For more information, please visit www.plaza.ca.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
This press release contains certain non-IFRS financial measures including FFO, AFFO and same-asset NOI. These measures are commonly used by entities in the real estate industry as useful metrics for measuring performance. However, they do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other publicly traded entities. These measures should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for related financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Please refer to the REIT's Management's Discussion and Analysis for a reconciliation of these non-IFRS measures to standardized IFRS measures.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and the environment in which we operate which can be identified by the use of forward-looking words, expressions or phrases that do not relate to historical facts. An example of a forward-looking statement implied in this press release is that the capital recycling activities described will contribute to future growth. Forward-looking statements are not future guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Plaza to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including but not limited to general economic and market factors and those described in Plaza's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2018 and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 which can be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of expectations and assumptions made in light of management's experience and perceptions of historical trends and current conditions, including that that Plaza's refinancing program will continue at low interest rates. Although forward-looking statements are based upon information currently available to management and what management believes are reasonable expectations and assumptions, there can be no assurances that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Plaza undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statements, except as required by law. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
SOURCE Plaza Retail REIT
View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2020/25/c3825.html