QUÉBEC CITY, May 9, 2013 /CNW
Telbec/ - Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust ("Cominar" or
the "REIT") (TSX: CUF.UN) announced today its results for
the first quarter of fiscal year 2013.
Highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2013
- Increased operating revenues by 34.3%
- Increased net income by 82.4%
- Increased total assets by 4.0%, totalling $5.8 billion (+25.1% compared to Q1 2012)
- Invested $177.4 million in
acquisitions
-
- $156.9 million for the
acquisition of buildings
- $20.5 million for the acquisition
of lots
- Issued $100 million in unsecured
debentures
Subsequent Events after March 31, 2013
- Appointed Mr. Gilles Hamel, CPA,
CA as Vice-President, Corporate Finance and Administration
- Issued $100 million in unsecured
debentures bearing interest at 4.0% and maturing in 2020
- Acquired an industrial property in Montréal for $12 million
"The quarter started off strong for Cominar,
with a $177.4 million investment
in the strategic acquisition of 20 income properties and lots for
future development in promising sectors. Overall, results show
solid growth and a healthy financial position for the first quarter
ended March 31", stated M. Michel Dallaire, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Cominar. "In general, we are quite satisfied
with our results, as they compare well with those obtained in the
first quarter of 2012".
"While remaining focused on cost control,
operational synergies and high-quality customer service, we carry
on with our acquisitions, which will continue to contribute to our
distributable income in the coming quarters", concluded Mr.
Dallaire.
PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL RESULTS
For the quarter ended March, 31, 2013,
Cominar's operating income totalled $169.6 million, up 34.3% over the
corresponding period in 2012, when they totalled $126.3 million. This increase is mainly due
to the contribution of the acquisitions made in 2012 and 2013.
Net operating income reached $89.9 million, up 34.5%, compared to $66.9 million in the first quarter of 2012.
Net income grew to $59.7 million, an increase of 82.4% over last
year's first-quarter result, which was $32.7 million.
Recurring net distributable income per unit
(fully diluted) was $0.38 at the
end of the first quarter of 2013, which is the same as last year's
first-quarter result. This demonstrates, namely, that the synergies
generated by our acquisitions have allowed us to reduce our debt
ratio from 54.4% to 51.2%, without affecting our per-unit
results.
Recurring funds from operations for the
first quarter of 2013 reached $55.1
million, up 29.6% over the corresponding quarter in 2012,
when they totalled $42.5 million.
Recurring funds from operations per unit (fully diluted)
stood at $0.43, compared to
$0.45 as at March 31, 2012, representing a decrease of
4.4%.
Recurring adjusted funds from operations
per unit (fully diluted) stood at $0.38, the same as in the first quarter of
2012.
In the first quarter of 2013, Cominar's
distributions to unitholders totalled $45.2 million, compared to $35.6 million in the corresponding quarter in
2012, representing an increase of 26.7%. The monthly distribution
per unit remained stable at $0.12.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
As at March 31,
2013, Cominar's debt ratio stood at 51.2%, whereas
its annualized interest coverage ratio remained conservative
at 2.85: 1, and the weighted average interest rate of long-term
debt stood at 4.87%, compared to 5.15% as at March 31, 2012.
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Leasing Activity
As at March 31,
2013, the average occupancy rate of our properties stood at
93.9%, compared to 94.6% as at March 31,
2012. Cominar renewed 23.3% of leases maturing in 2013, and
also signed new leases representing an area of 0.7 million square
feet.
Acquisition Activities
- On January 31, 2013, Cominar
acquired a portfolio of 18 industrial properties primarily located
on the South Shore of Montréal and one office property located in
Montréal, for a purchase price of $149.8
million. The portfolio represents a total of approximately
1.8 million square feet of leasable area. As part of this
transaction, Cominar also acquired a vacant lot of 173,569 square
feet located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, for $1.4 million. The capitalization rate for this
transaction is 7%.
- On March 15, 2013, Cominar
acquired approximately 508,780 square feet of vacant land located
in Calgary, Alberta, which
includes a parkade structure for approximately 347 parking spaces.
Cominar paid $20.5 million in cash
for these properties. Thanks to the acquisition of these lots,
Cominar is now the sole proprietor of the Centron Park Complex.
- On March 21, 2013, Cominar
acquired an office building located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, for $5.7 million, paid in cash; this building
represents a leasable area of 44,500 square feet. The
capitalization rate for this transaction is 8%.
- On May 1, 2013, after quarter
end, Cominar acquired an industrial building located in
Pointe-Claire, Québec, for a
purchase price of $12 million, paid
in cash; this property represents a leasable area of 199,000 square
feet. The capitalization rate for this transaction is 7.6%.
Financing Activities
- On February 5, 2013, Cominar
re-opened its Series 2, issuing $100.0
million in unsecured debentures bearing an interest rate of
4.23% and maturing on December 4,
2019. Cominar allocated the net proceeds to repaying its
credit facility and to various general needs.
- On April 29, 2013, after quarter
end, Cominar issued $100 million
worth of Series 3 senior unsecured debentures bearing an interest
rate of 4.0%, and maturing in November
2020.
These financing transactions are part of
Cominar's strategy to take advantage of lower interest rates by
replacing short-term debt with long-term debt, without increasing
overall debt.
ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Cominar's condensed interim consolidated
financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for
the quarter ended March 31, 2013,
will be filed with SEDAR at www.sedar.com and will be available on
Cominar's website at www.cominar.com.
CONFERENCE CALL — MAY
9, 2013
On Thursday, May 9,
2013, at 11:00 a.m. (ET), Cominar's management will hold
a conference call to present the results for the first quarter of
2013. Anyone who is interested may take part in this call by
dialing 1-888-231-8191. A presentation regarding these
results will be available before the conference call on the REIT's
website at www.cominar.com, under the Conference Call header. In
addition, a taped re-broadcast of the conference call will be
available from Thursday, May 9, 2013,
at 2:00 p.m. to Thursday, May 16, 2013, at 11:59 p.m., by dialing 1-855-859-2056
followed by this code: 47590240#.
DISTRIBUTION REINVESTMENT PLAN
Cominar offers unitholders the opportunity to
participate in its Unitholder Distribution Reinvestment Plan, which
allows them to reinvest their monthly distributions in additional
Cominar units. Participants will be entitled to receive an
additional distribution equal to 5% of the distributions
reinvested, which will be reinvested in additional units. For more
information and to obtain a participation form, please visit
Cominar's website at www.cominar.com.
PROFILE AS AT MAY 9,
2013
Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust is the
third largest diversified real estate investment trust in
Canada and currently remains the
largest commercial property owner in the Province of Québec. The
REIT owns a real estate portfolio of 501 high-quality properties in
three different market segments, that is, office buildings, retail
buildings and industrial and mixed-use buildings. Cominar's
portfolio totals 37.1 million square feet spread out across Québec,
Ontario, the Atlantic Provinces
and Western Canada. Cominar's
objectives are to pay growing cash distributions to unitholders and
to maximize unitholder value by way of integrated, proactive
management and the expansion 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
Cominar's Annual Information Form. 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-IFRS MEASURES
Net operating income, recurring distributable income (DI),
recurring funds from operations (FFO) and recurring adjusted funds
from operations (AFFO) are not measures recognized by International
Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and do not have standardized
meanings prescribed by IFRS. Such measures may differ from similar
computations as reported by similar entities and, accordingly, may
not be comparable to similar measures reported by such other
entities. Cominar's Interim Management's Discussion and Analysis
for the first quarter ended March 31,
2013, presents the reconciliation of DI, FFO and AFFO with
the most similar IFRS measures:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quarters ended March 31, |
|
2013 |
|
2012 |
|
Δ% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recurring DI |
|
47,579 |
|
35,246 |
|
35.0 |
Distributions |
|
45,155 |
|
35,630 |
|
26.7 |
Recurring FFO |
|
55,100 |
|
42,508 |
|
29.6 |
Recurring AFFO |
|
47,084 |
|
35,022 |
|
34.4 |
SOURCE COMINAR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST