RioCan Announces Third Quarter Results for 2020

TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (“RioCan" or the "Trust”) (TSX: REI.UN) announced today its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 ("Third Quarter").

"While we are living and working through unprecedented challenges facing the retail sector due to the pandemic and resulting government restrictive measures, we are proud to report strong Third Quarter results that clearly demonstrate the quality of our portfolio and our people. This is reflected in virtually every operating metric, from 93.4% cash rent collection, 96.0% occupancy and 368,000 square feet of new leases at well above our portfolio's average net rent, to FFO per Unit growth of $0.06 or 17.2% quarter to quarter," said Edward Sonshine, CEO of RioCan. "Given the quality and sustainability of our income, as well as our strong liquidity position, we are confident that we will not only navigate through this storm but will be poised to take advantage of any emerging opportunities as we continue to create value for our Unitholders."

COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impacts on RioCan Property Operations

• After several months of COVID-19 related shutdowns since mid-March 2020, businesses only started to reopen under various restrictions on a phased regional approach in late Q2 2020. As of September 30, 2020, essentially all of the Trust's tenants were open and operating, compared with 85% as of July 28, 2020. However, after the quarter ended, further modified restrictions, albeit more limited in scope, were mandated by various provinces.
• The resumption of business activities has had a positive impact on RioCan's operations as reflected in rent collections, building on the strength and resiliency of its tenants. As of October 28, 2020, the Trust collected 93.4% of Q3 2020 billed gross rents in cash, including government funding received under the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program. As of the same date, the Trust collected 84.5% of Q2 billed gross rents. The Trust's collections of billed gross rents as of October 28, 2020 are summarized as follows:

• Most tenants with deferred rents in Q2 2020 have been paying their deferred rents based on definitive payment schedules, which led to the increase in cash rent collection, decrease in deferred rents and decrease in remaining rent to be collected for the second quarter when compared to what was disclosed in the Q2 2020 MD&A. RioCan is confident in the collectability of the 3.5% in deferred rents and 1.5% in remaining rents to be collected.
• As of October 28, 2020, the Trust has collected 91.9% of the billed October gross rents in cash while approximately 93% of the Trust's tenants are currently open despite the recently imposed closures for certain types of tenants such as indoor cinemas and gyms in some regions. While the length and extent of such mandated closures are difficult to predict, the strength of the Trust's tenant base offers significant downside protection.
• Based on annualized net rent as of September 30, 2020, approximately 77.7% of the Trust's tenants are identified as "strong" or "stable" as reflected in the combined average cash rent collection of 96.7% for Q3 2020.
  
  

• Furthermore, RioCan holds approximately $26.5 million of security deposits and approximately $5.2 million in letters of credit from a number of tenants which can serve to offset rents owed on a tenant-by-tenant basis in the event of unresolved tenant defaults.
  
• Throughout the pandemic, RioCan has been continuously supporting its small and independent businesses and certain corporate franchisee and sub-lessee tenants by actively participating in the federal government’s CECRA program for eligible tenants at all of its properties. Subsequent to the initial roll out in Q2 2020, this program was extended to September 2020.
• Based on eligibility criteria and final tenant participation, the Trust updated its Q2 2020 CECRA participation rate to 13.3% of its tenants, as measured by billed gross rents for the quarter, lower than its previous 14.4% estimate. This led to a $9.0 million CECRA rent abatement for the second quarter. In Q3 2020, a lower participation rate of 7.6% resulted in a CECRA abatement of $5.2 million for the Trust. The government funding relating to CECRA tenants for both quarters was received in cash.
• In addition, the Trust has accrued a $10.1 million and $9.2 million provision for rent abatement for other tenants and bad debts for the second and third quarter, respectively. Inclusive of the CECRA abatement, this brought the total provision for each respective quarter to $19.1 million and $14.4 million, or a total provision of $33.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. In the limited circumstances where abatement was provided in favor of a tenant other than in the case of the CECRA program, RioCan typically received concessions of value in exchange, such as development rights, lease term extensions or waiver of exclusivity provisions.
• RioCan continues to identify areas of operations to reduce costs and manage the cash flow impacts of the pandemic. On a year to date basis, the Trust deferred a net $19.9 million in mostly municipal realty tax payments based on available government programs. Further, the Trust achieved $4.3 million in recoverable operating costs savings on a year to date basis from the same period in the prior year. The impact of such payment deferrals and cost savings further enhance the Trust's overall cash flow and liquidity position.
  

FFO and Net Income

• FFO per unit for the Third Quarter was $0.41, an increase of $0.06 per unit or 17.2% from Q2 2020. This was mainly due to an $11.2 million increase in inventory gains resulting from the disposition of a 50% interest in Dufferin Plaza and a decrease of $4.7 million in the aforementioned pandemic related provisions for rent abatement and estimated bad debts.
• The Trust reported net income of $117.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 as compared to a net loss of $350.8 million for the previous quarter. The improvement was mainly attributed to fair value write-downs recorded in Q2 2020.
• While there was a rebound in the economy during the Third Quarter, a relatively more moderate or uneven pace of economic growth in the following quarters is expected and will depend on the length and severity of the restrictive measures introduced or to be introduced by different levels of government to curtail the second wave of the pandemic. Even though mandated restrictive measures and their impacts on RioCan operations and financial performance are difficult to predict, the Trust maintains its FFO per unit guidance for 2020 in the $1.60 range.
  

Same Property NOI - Commercial

• Same property NOI for the Third Quarter decreased by 9.1% or $14.6 million from the same period last year for the overall commercial portfolio mainly from the aforementioned pandemic related provision for rent abatement and bad debts. Despite the decline, same property NOI improved from the prior quarter as more tenants were open and operating.
• Similarly, same property NOI for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 decreased by 6.0%, partially offset by the strong 3.0% same property NOI growth in Q1 2020.
• Excluding the provisions for rent abatement and bad debts, same property NOI would have decreased by 0.8% and increased by 0.7% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. This measure excludes the effect of the provision for rent abatement and bad debts but reflects the other effects of the pandemic on property operations.
• The Trust expects same property NOI growth to be negative for 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Given the aforementioned risks and uncertainties, RioCan does not provide 2021 growth guidance at the current stage.

Operations - Commercial

• Leasing activity during the quarter was strong despite the pandemic with approximately 368,000 square feet of new leases executed at an average net rent per square foot of $23.29, well above the Trust's portfolio average net rent of $19.82 per square foot. Given the Trust's well-positioned portfolio and strategic leasing initiatives, new leases were completed with strong covenant tenants ranging from essential, value and specialty retailers to office users.
• New leasing spread of 9.2% for the overall portfolio was driven by the 11.9% new leasing spread for major markets in the Third Quarter. The new leasing spread, together with a 4.6% renewal leasing spread, resulted in a blended leasing spread of 5.5% for the overall portfolio in the quarter. The Third Quarter retention ratio was strong at 88.4% and relatively consistent with Q1 and Q2 2020.
• Committed and in-place occupancy for the overall portfolio remained strong, considering the impact of the ongoing pandemic, ending the Third Quarter at 96.0% and 95.4%, respectively. The respective 40 and 60 basis point decline in occupancy rates from Q2 2020 were primarily attributed to disclaimed leases relating to tenant bankruptcy filings accelerated by the pandemic. Since March 31, 2020, approximately 2.8% of the Trust tenants, measured by percentage of annualized total rental revenue, have filed for creditor protection while confirmed store closures accounted for approximately 0.9% of the Trust's annualized rent revenue. Such vacant space is expected to be re-tenanted in due course to new uses better suited to the evolving economy and consumer trends.
  

Operations - Residential

• NOI from residential rental operations was $2.4 million for the Third Quarter from eCentral™, Frontier™ and Brio™, which are all part of the the Trust's growing purpose-built RioCan Living™ residential rental portfolio. As of October 28, 2020, 100.0% (227 units) at Frontier were leased at an average monthly rent of $2.50 per square foot while eCentral was 92.1% (429 units) leased at $3.90 per square foot for market rent units. Residential rental leasing at the 361-unit Pivot™, the newest RioCan Living addition, commenced in October with first occupancy expected for December 2020.
• Despite being launched in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in late March, and in Calgary which has also been impacted by the prolonged oil crisis, 52.5% or 85 units out of 163 units at Brio have been leased, at an average monthly rent of $2.53 per square foot as of October 28, 2020. This highlights the resilience of well-located and well-designed buildings, as well as the management expertise of RioCan and its partner Boardwalk REIT.
• The Trust collected 99.1% of the Third Quarter residential rents as of October 28, 2020. 

Dispositions

• During the Third Quarter, the Trust completed the sale of a 50% non-managing interest in the mixed-use residential development at Dufferin Plaza in Toronto at $115 per square foot of future density and a 50% interest in Luma™, the first phase of the mixed-use development at Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre in Ottawa, at $45 per square foot of future density. The two partial dispositions, together with two more small dispositions, generated total gross sale proceeds of $54.9 million including development costs reimbursements and $11.0 million of inventory gains.
• Both the Dufferin Plaza and Luma transactions are a continuation of RioCan’s strategy to monetize the value that is inherent in its development pipeline, and to reduce the amount of capital required to build out our urban mixed-use developments that are an important part of RioCan's evolution. The selection of the Dufferin Plaza project by the new partner Maplelands Development Inc., an affiliate of United Arab of Emirates based real estate conglomerate ASGC Construction, as its first entry into the Canadian real estate market, and the third co-ownership with Killiam Real Estate Investment Trust at Luma, reflect the demand for well-located, high quality residential assets as well as the significant value creation opportunities that RioCan’s pipeline offers combined with the Trust's established development expertise.
• As of October 28, 2020, the Trust has entered into a number of firm or conditional agreements to dispose 100% or partial interests in a number of properties, all of which are located in the major markets, for aggregate sales proceeds of $276.1 million. These dispositions consist of $227.6 million of income producing properties and $48.5 million of development properties. The income producing properties have a weighted average in-place capitalization rate of 3.6% based on firm or conditional deal prices and the development properties do not have material in-place NOI.
• Included in the above firm and conditional transactions are the two firm deals announced the day before this press release - a firm agreement to sell a 50% non-managing interest in eCentral and the commercial component of ePlace™ in Toronto and a firm agreement to sell a 50% non-managing interest in Rhythm™, the first phase of a multi-phased mixed-use development on a discrete portion of RioCan's Westgate Shopping Centre in Ottawa.

Development Highlights

• Virtually all of the Trust's development projects are located in the six major markets with 73.2% located in the GTA. Residential components represent 35.1 million square feet or 83.5% of the Trust's current estimated development pipeline of 42.0 million square feet.
• Construction at The Well™ continues to progress well. The office component has now reached 29 of 36 storeys, is approximately 84% pre-leased and on track for initial office tenants to take possession in 2021. A portion of the air rights sales at The Well are expected to close in 2020 with the remainder in 2021. Furthermore, the Trust is in advanced discussions with a number of retail tenants that would add to the overall character of The Well as envisioned.
• 11YV, the 586-unit (at 100%) prestigious Yorkville condominium project in Toronto, Ontario was 98.5% (577 units) pre-sold as of October 28, 2020, at average prices of over $1,700 per square foot. Demolition continues at the site with project completion expected in the fall of 2024. Inventory gains are estimated in the $65.0 million to $71.0 million range at RioCan's share.
• Strong demand for the 503 condominium units (at 100%) at U.C. Tower™ and the 153 townhouses (at 100%) at U.C. Uptowns™ at our Windfields Farm development in Oshawa, Ontario resulted in a significant increase in sales activity in the Third Quarter. As of October 28, 2020, the Trust and its 50% partner, Tribute Communities, entered into agreements to sell 94.8% (477 units) at U.C. Tower, leaving only 26 unsold units remaining at this project. At U.C. Uptowns, all units except for one have been pre-sold with sales having commenced only late in the first quarter of 2020. The brisk velocity of the sales activity is a testament to the quality of the Trust's mixed-use developments.
• U.C. Tower construction is underway and is expected to be completed by Q1 2023 with estimated inventory gains in the $14.0 million to $16.0 million range at RioCan's interest. Site work at U.C. Uptowns commenced in September 2020 with an expected project completion date of Q2 2022 and estimated inventory gains in the $5.0 million to $5.5 million range at RioCan's interest.
• The above Windfields Farm's residential units will be complemented by RioCan's retail development at the site, which is 93% pre-leased, excluding two undeveloped pads. During the Third Quarter, the first 31,140 square feet of Windfields Farm commercial component was completed and possession was taken by tenants predominantly of essential uses. This is an inherent benefit of the Trust's multi-use development strategy as astute retail tenants understand the opportunities that arise from being part of and servicing new communities such as these.
• Purpose-built RioCan Living residential rental properties, as well as condominium and townhouse projects, remain a cornerstone of RioCan's development program and growth strategy. RioCan is confident in the asset diversification and Unitholder net asset value growth prospects of such developments. The Trust will continue to self-fund development through continuous asset pruning, quicker capital recycling through condominium or townhouse projects, air rights sales, strategic partnerships and retained earnings.
• As of September 30, 2020, properties under development and residential inventory accounted for 11.0% of the Trust's consolidated gross book value of assets, well under the 15% limit permitted under the Trust's revolving line of credit agreement. RioCan’s development spend for 2020 is estimated to be approximately $450 million, net of expected cost recoveries and air rights sales, an increase from the previous quarter as a result of productivity gains.

Ample Liquidity and Balance Sheet Strength

• RioCan continued to maintain ample liquidity. As of September 30, 2020, the Trust had $803.4 million of liquidity in the form of cash and cash equivalents and undrawn lines of credit on a proportionate share basis. RioCan had a large unencumbered asset pool of $8.7 billion as of September 30, 2020 on a proportionate share basis, which generated 57.1% of RioCan's annualized NOI and provided 221% coverage over its unsecured debt.
• As of October 28, 2020, only $45.4 million of RioCan's mortgage maturities for the remainder of 2020 have yet to be refinanced or have refinancing commitments in place. They are all expected to be refinanced in due course.
• Debt to Adjusted EBITDA was at 9.13x and debt to total assets was at 44.8% as of September 30, 2020, both on a proportionate share basis. The increases in the two metrics from the previous quarter were because of the two quarters of impacts of the pandemic on the Trust's property operations and valuations particularly given that debt to Adjusted EBITDA is a twelve-month trailing measure. The Trust's long-term goal remains to keep its leverage and debt to Adjusted EBITDA within the target ranges, although it expects them to marginally increase in the near term due to twelve-month trailing effect of the pandemic.
  

Conference Call and Webcast

Interested parties are invited to participate in a conference call with management on Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). Participants will be required to identify themselves and the organization on whose behalf they are participating.

In order to participate, please dial 647-427-3230 or 1-877-486-4304. For those unable to participate in the live mode, a replay will be available at 1-855-859-2056, passcode 2031687#.

For a copy of the slides to be used for the conference call or, to access the simultaneous webcast, visit RioCan’s website at http://investor.riocan.com/investor-relations/events-and-presentations/ and click on the link for the webcast.

About RioCan

RioCan is one of Canada’s largest real estate investment trusts. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. As at September 30, 2020, our portfolio is comprised of 221 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 38.4 million square feet (at RioCan's interest) including office, residential rental and 16 development properties. To learn more about us, please visit www.riocan.com.

Basis of Presentation and Non-GAAP Measures

All figures included in this News Release are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. RioCan’s unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements ("Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements") are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Financial information included within this News Release does not contain all disclosures required by IFRS, and accordingly should be read in conjunction with the Trust's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, which is available on RioCan's website at www.riocan.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Consistent with RioCan’s management framework, management uses certain financial measures to assess RioCan’s financial performance, which are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) under IFRS. Funds From Operations (“FFO”), Same Property NOI, Debt to Adjusted EBITDA, RioCan's Proportionate Share, Unencumbered Assets to Unsecured Debt and Total Enterprise Value, as well as other measures that may be discussed elsewhere in this News Release, do not have a standardized definition prescribed by IFRS and are, therefore, unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other reporting issuers. RioCan supplements its IFRS measures with these Non-GAAP measures to aid in assessing the Trust’s underlying performance and reports these additional measures so that investors may do the same. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered as alternatives to net earnings or comparable metrics determined in accordance with IFRS as indicators of RioCan’s performance, liquidity, cash flow, and profitability. For full definitions of these measures, please refer to the "Non-GAAP Measures” section in RioCan’s MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020.

Forward-Looking Information

This News Release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. This information reflects RioCan’s objectives, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to management’s beliefs, estimates and intentions concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook”, “objective”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “should”, “plan”, “continue”, or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking information reflects management’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. All forward-looking information in this News Release is qualified by these cautionary statements.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future events or performance and, by its nature, is based on RioCan’s current estimates and assumptions, which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in the “Risks and Uncertainties” section in RioCan's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and in our most recent Annual Information Form, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this News Release. General economic conditions, including interest rate fluctuations, may also have an effect on RioCan’s results of operations. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to: a gradual recovery and growth of the retail environment and the general economy over the remainder of 2020 and 2021; relatively historically low interest costs; a continuing trend toward land use intensification at reasonable costs and development yields, including residential development in urban markets; access to equity and debt capital markets to fund, at acceptable costs, future capital requirements and to enable our refinancing of debts as they mature; the availability of investment opportunities for growth in Canada; the timing and ability for RioCan to sell certain properties; the valuations to be realized on property sales relative to current IFRS values; and the Trust's ability to utilize the capital gain refund mechanism. Although the forward-looking information contained in this News Release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with this forward-looking information.

Given the current level of uncertainties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be no assurance regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the business, operations, and financial performance of RioCan and its tenants, as well as on consumer behaviors and the economy in general. General risks and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic also include, but are not limited to, the length, spread and severity of the pandemic; the nature and length of the restrictive measures, implemented or to be implemented by various levels of government in Canada; RioCan's tenants' ability to pay rents as required under their leases; the availability of various support programs that are or may be offered by the various levels of government in Canada; domestic and global supply chains; timelines and costs related to the Trust’s development projects; the pace of property lease-up and rents and yields achieved upon development completion; potential changes in leasing activities, market rents and property valuations; the capitalization rates that arm's length buyers and sellers are willing to transact on properties; the availability and extent of rent deferrals offered or to be offered by the Trust; domestic and global credit and capital markets, and the Trust's ability to access capital on favourable terms or at all and its ability to maintain its credit ratings; the total return and dividend yield of RioCan's Units; and the health and safety of our employees, tenants and people in the communities that our properties serve.

The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof, and should not be relied upon as representing RioCan’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this News Release. Management undertakes no obligation, except as required by applicable law, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact Information
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
Qi Tang
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
416-866-3033 | www.riocan.com