Slate Grocery REIT Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results

In This Article:

TORONTO, August 08, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Slate Grocery REIT (TSX: SGR.U) (TSX: SGR.UN) (the "REIT"), an owner and operator of U.S. grocery-anchored real estate, today announced its financial results and highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024.

"Favorable fundamentals in the grocery-anchored sector continue to provide tailwinds for our portfolio of high-quality grocery real estate," said Blair Welch, Chief Executive Officer of Slate Grocery REIT. "We are seeing the impact of several consecutive quarters of strong leasing at high spreads on our same-property net operating income, which increased 3.5 percent over the past year. At the same time, our team continues to maintain strong leasing volumes at attractive double-digit spreads. With vacancy and new supply hovering at historical lows, we see runway to continue growing revenue and increasing value for our unitholders."

For the CEO's letter to unitholders for the quarter, please follow the link here.

Highlights

  • Completed 706,811 square feet of total leasing in the quarter at attractive spreads that drove revenue growth

    • New deals were completed at 28.0% above comparable average in-place rent, and non-option renewals at 12.8% above expiring rents

    • Portfolio occupancy remained stable at 94.2% as at quarter end

    • Adjusting for completed redevelopments, same-property Net Operating Income ("NOI") increased by $1.4 million or 3.5% year-over-year

    • At $12.56 per square foot, average rent in the REIT's portfolio remains well below market, providing significant runway for continued rent increases and NOI growth

  • Continued to prudently manage balance sheet to ensure the REIT remains protected in the current interest rate environment

    • 94.8% of the REIT's total debt is fixed, with a weighted average interest rate of 4.5%, providing positive leverage and stability for the REIT

    • The REIT continues to actively manage upcoming debt maturities with productive lender conversations ongoing

  • The REIT's units continue to trade at a discount to Net Asset Value ("NAV"), presenting a compelling investment opportunity for unitholders looking for an attractive total return

    • On June 27, 2024, the REIT closed the sale of a stabilized non-grocery anchored property at a premium to IFRS book value, which further validates the REIT’s NAV

    • As at June 30, 2024, the REIT's unit price represents a 42.8% discount to NAV

Summary of Q2 2024 Results

 

Three months ended June 30,

(thousands of U.S. dollars, except per unit amounts)

 

2024

 

2023

Change %

Rental revenue

$

51,818

$

50,324

 

3.0%

NOI 1 2

$

41,442

$

40,313

 

2.8%

Net income 2

$

14,003

$

18,948

 

(26.1)%

 

 

 

 

 

Same-property NOI (3 month period, 112 properties) 1 2

$

40,022

$

39,006

 

2.6%

Same-property NOI (12 month period, 97 properties) 1 2

$

123,145

$

122,583

 

0.5%

 

 

 

 

 

New leasing (square feet) 2

 

84,679

 

143,462

 

(41.0)%

New leasing spread 2

 

28.0%

 

23.7%

 

18.1%

Total leasing (square feet) 2

 

706,811

 

1,002,279

 

(29.5)%

Total leasing spread 2

 

10.0%

 

7.1%

 

40.8%

New leasing – anchor / junior anchor 2

 

22,500

 

92,574

 

(75.7)%

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average number of units outstanding ("WA units")

 

60,327

 

60,897

 

(0.9)%

FFO 1 2

$

17,472

$

16,513

 

5.8%

FFO per WA units 1 2

$

0.29

$

0.27

 

7.4%

FFO payout ratio 1 2

 

74.2%

 

79.3%

 

(6.4)%

AFFO 1 2

$

14,095

$

13,603

 

3.6%

AFFO per WA units 1 2

$

0.23

$

0.22

 

4.6%

AFFO payout ratio 1 2

 

92.0%

 

96.3%

 

(4.5)%

 

 

 

 

 

(thousands of U.S. dollars, except per unit amounts)

June 30, 2024

December 31, 2023

Change %

Total assets, IFRS

$

2,228,532

$

2,235,798

 

(0.3)%

Total assets, proportionate interest 1

$

2,439,905

$

2,448,127

 

(0.3)%

Debt, IFRS

$

1,155,591

$

1,161,756

 

(0.5)%

Debt, proportionate interest 1

$

1,361,187

$

1,369,053

 

(0.6)%

Net asset value per unit

$

13.98

$

13.97

 

0.1%

 

 

 

 

 

Number of properties 2

 

116

 

117

 

(0.9)%

Portfolio occupancy 2

 

94.2%

 

94.7%

 

(0.5)%

Debt / GBV ratio

 

51.9%

 

52.0%

 

(0.2)%

Interest coverage ratio 1

2.76x

2.72x

 

1.5%

(1) Refer to "Non-IFRS Measures" section below.

(2) Includes the REIT's share of joint venture investments.

Conference Call and Webcast

Senior management will host a live conference call at 9:00 am ET on August 8, 2024 to discuss the results and ongoing business initiatives of the REIT.