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For Immediate Release ·
Increase of 57.8% in net income ·
Increase of 3.0% in operating revenues and 3.7% in net operating income ·
Offering of convertible debentures for $86.3 million ·
Acquisition of Overland Realty Limited: 16
high-quality properties in the Maritime Provinces TSX
- CUF.UN Québec
City, May 13, 2010 — During the quarter ended March 31, 2010, Cominar
Real Estate Investment
Trust (“Cominar” or the “REIT”) achieved good results that are reflected
in increases in most of its performance indicators, and continued to expand by
acquiring Overland Realty Limited, giving it access
to
the Maritime Provinces, which becomes its fourth
geographic market. “We
are proud to have weathered the 2009 recession and achieved
a good performance in the first quarter of
2010. Furthermore, we have maintained distributions per unit of $0.36 while
continuing to create value through
developments and acquisitions, of which Overland Realty Limited. Since the beginning
of this year, we have completed an offering of convertible debentures for $86.3
million and a unit issuance for gross
proceeds of $1 15 million. Our sound financial position enables us to pursue our
business strategy,”
indicated Michel Dallaire, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cominar. Operating
revenues totaled $69.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, up
3.0%. This growth is due primarily to the contribution of the property acquisitions
completed in 2009. Net
operating income amounted to $38.1 million, up 3.7% over the first quarter
of 2009. The operating profit margin stood at 54.5% and the same
property profit margin at 53.8 %, a slight increase over the margins of 54.2%
and 53.7% respectively for the first quarter of 2009. Net
income
totaled $6.4 million, up 57.8% over the first quarter of 2009. Net income per diluted unit amounted
to $0.12, an increase of 33.3% over the corresponding quarter of 2009. Distributable income totaled
$19.7 million, up 13.1% over the first quarter of 2009. Recurring distributable
income per fully diluted unit amounted
to $0.36, down 5.3% from $0.38 for the same quarter of 2009. Recurring
funds from operations totaled $22.9 million, an increase of 10.0% that
reflects the contribution of the acquisitions and developments completed in 2009. Recurring
adjusted funds from operations per fully diluted unit amounted to $0.35,
down 5.4% from $0.37 for the first quarter of 2009. This
decrease primarily reflects the dilutive effect of unit issues in 2009. Cominar paid distributions of $19.8 million to unitholders during the first quarter of 2010, up from $16.5 million for the corresponding quarter of 2009, an increase of 19.9%. Distributions per unit amounted to $0.36, remaining stable compared with the first quarter of 2009.
Financial Position As
at March 31, 2010, the overall debt ratio was of 61.0%, below the maximum debt ratio of
65.0% allowed
by the REIT’s Contract of Trust when convertible debentures are outstanding.
The proceeds of the unit
offering completed on April 7, 2010 will lower the debt ratio. In addition, the annualized
interest coverage ratio,
which stood at 2.72:1 as at March 31, 2010, compares favorably with that of Cominar’s
peers. Property Occupancy Rate As
at March 31, 2010, the occupancy rate stood at 92.7%, down from December 31, 2009 (93.5%). This
decline is partly attributable to the integration into the portfolio, at the end
of 2009, of three properties that had yet to
be fully developed, thereby increasing the vacant space. Excluding these three
properties from the calculation, the occupancy rate stands at 93.3%, almost the
same as at December 31, 2009.
Cominar’s management is confident that this available space will find tenants
in 2010. It should also be noted that
the occupancy rate is below the 95% average normally posted by the
portfolio mostly due to the industrial and mixed-use sector in the Montréal
region, which was affected by the economic
slowdown. However, since the fourth quarter of 2009, Cominar has seen a significant increase in the demand for rental space in the industrial
sector and remains positive it will improve
this rate by year-end. During
the first quarter, the leasing team already renewed 53.1% of the leases expiring
in 2010. Also in the first quarter, Cominar signed new leases representing an
area of 0.4 million square feet. Acquisition Completed in the First Quarter of 2010 In
March 2010, Cominar acquired all the outstanding common shares of Overland
Realty Limited, for a transaction
amount of $71 million. Overland’s real estate portfolio consists of 16
high-quality properties located in the Maritime Provinces, including seven office,
three retail and six industrial and mixed-use buildings
as well as a land lease representing a total area of 603,000 square feet. These
properties were integrated into Cominar’s real estate portfolio at the end of the
first quarter of 2010. Ongoing Development Phase
1 of Complexe Jules-Dallaire initiated in January 2008 is almost completed and
the fitting out of the rental space is on track. This phase covers a leasable area of
396,000 square feet, of which approximately 100,000 square feet is intended for retail purposes and
296,000 square feet for office space. The
first retail tenant was welcomed in February 2010. The office premises will
welcome their first tenants in the
second quarter of 2010; the pre-leasing rate stands at 64%, in line with
objectives. Distribution
Reinvestment Plan The
REIT has a distribution reinvestment plan for its unitholders that allows
participants to reinvest their monthly distributions in additional Trust units.
Participants will be given the right to receive an effective discount of 5% of distributions to
which they are entitled in the form of additional units. Additional information
and enrolment forms are available at www.cominar.com. Additional
Financial Information Cominar’s interim consolidated financial statements and the management’s discussion and analysis for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010 will be filed with SEDAR at www.sedar.com and are available on Cominar’s website at www.cominar.com. Conference Call on May 13, 2010 On
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. (EST), Cominar’s management will hold a
conference call to discuss the results for the first quarter of 2010. Anyone
who is interested may take part in this call by dialing1-888-231-8191. To ensure
your participation, please dial in five minutes before the start of the call.
For those unable to participate, a taped re-broadcast will be available from
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.to
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. by dialing 1-800-642-1 687,followed by the code
70345557. PROFILE as at May 13,
2010 Cominar
is the largest commercial property owner in the Province of Québec. The REIT
owns a real estate portfolio of 242 high-quality properties, consisting of 45
office, 51 retail and 146 industrial and mixed-use buildings that cover a total
area of over 19.4 million square feet in the Greater Québec City, Montréal
and Ottawa areas as well as in the Maritime Provinces. Cominar’s objectives
are to deliver growing cash distributions to its unitholders and to maximize unitholder
value through proactive management and the growth of its
portfolio. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to Cominar and its operations, strategy, financial performance and financial condition. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” or “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. The actual results and performance of Cominar discussed herein could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. Some important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, competition, changes in government regulation and the factors described under “Risk Factors” in the Annual Information Form of Cominar. The cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to Cominar and persons acting on its behalf. Unless otherwise stated, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release
Non-GAAP Financial Measures Net
operating income (NO!), distributable income (D!), funds from operations (FFO)
and adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) are not measures recognized under
Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and do not have
standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP. NO!, D!, FFO and AFFO
computed by Cominar may differ from similar computations as reported by other
similar organizations
and, accordingly, may not be comparable to similar measures reported by such organizations.
The following table shows the reconciliation of D!, FFO and AFFO with the most
similar GAAP measures:
For
information: Michel
Dallaire, Eng.,
President and Chief Executive Officer Michel
Berthelot, CA, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Tel:
(418) 681-8151 Complete consolidated financial statements, including accompanying notes, are available on Cominar’s website at www.cominar.com under “Investor Relations – Quarterly Reports”.
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