CAPREIT Reports Another Year of Record Performance for 2011
Acquisitions and Strong Organic Growth Contribute to Solid Increase in NFFO
(firmenpresse) - TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/28/12 -- Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust ("CAPREIT") (TSX: CAR.UN) announced today strong operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011.
"We are proud to have generated another year of record operating and financial performance in 2011, the result of our proven property and asset management programs, the decades of experience possessed by our people, and continuing strong fundamentals in all of our geographic markets," commented Thomas Schwartz, President and CEO. "In 2012 we will be celebrating fifteen years of delivering stable and sustainable growth and returns on investment to our Unitholders, and we look for this strong track record to continue in the years ahead."
Operating Revenues
For the three months and year ended December 31, 2011, total operating revenues increased by 10.4% and 6.8%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year primarily due to the contribution from acquisitions, increased average monthly rents, and higher occupancies in most regions. For the three months and year ended December 31, 2011, ancillary revenues, including parking, laundry and antenna income, rose by 16.2% and 16.3%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year, as Management continued its focus on maximizing the revenue potential of its property portfolio.
CAPREIT's annualized net rental revenue run-rate based on the average monthly rents in place on CAPREIT's share of residential suites and sites as at December 31, 2011 increased to $361.3 million, up 10.7% from $326.2 million as of December 31, 2010 primarily due to acquisitions completed within the past twelve months. Net rental revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 was $343.1 million (2010 - $322.7 million).
The increases in average monthly rents and occupancy as at December 31, 2011, compared to last year, were due to ongoing successful sales and marketing strategies and continued strength in the residential rental sector in the majority of CAPREIT's regional markets, partially offset by certain luxury property acquisitions in lower rent geographic regions.
The lower rate of growth in average monthly rents on lease renewals during the current year is primarily due to the Ontario guideline increase of 0.7% for 2011, which compares unfavourably to the permitted Ontario guideline increase of 2.1% in 2010. In 2012, the rent increase guideline in Ontario and British Columbia has been increased significantly to 3.1% and 4.3%, respectively.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased for the three months and year ended December 31, 2011 to 44.4% from 45.6% and 43.0% from 43.8% respectively, for the same periods last year.
The decrease is primarily due to: (i) the diversification of the portfolio into regions with lower taxation rates, (ii) successful energy-saving initiatives, and (iii) enhanced procurement strategies.
Net Operating Income
In the fourth quarter of 2011, NOI improved by $6.0 million or 12.8%, and the NOI margin increased to 55.6% from 54.4% for the same period last year. For the year ended December 31, 2011, overall NOI increased by $15.8 million or 8.3%, and the NOI margin improved to 57.0% from 56.2% for last year. The significant improvements in NOI contribution in specific regions of the portfolio were primarily the result of acquisitions completed in the last 12 month period and higher operating revenues.
For the three months and year ended December 31, 2011, operating revenues for stabilized suites and sites increased 2.3% and 2.9%, respectively, and operating expenses increased 0.5% and 1.5%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year. As a result, for the three months and year ended December 31 2011, stabilized NOI increased by a significant 4.6% and 3.9%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year.
Normalized Funds From Operations
NFFO is not a financial measure determined by IFRS, and is calculated by excluding from FFO the effects of certain non-recurring items, including changes in fair value of hedging instruments, amortization of losses on certain hedging instruments, and losses incurred on the amendment of natural gas contracts. NFFO, increased by 18.7% and 12.9%, for the three months and year ended December 31, 2011, respectively, compared to the same periods last year. The increase was primarily due to the contribution from acquisitions, higher average monthly rents and higher occupancy levels.
For the year ended December 31, 2011, basic NFFO per Unit decreased by 1.0% compared to last year primarily due to the approximately 14% increase in the weighted average number of Units outstanding arising from the equity offering completed in October 2011. However, for the three months ended December 31, 2011, basic NFFO per Unit increased by 1.0% compared to the same periods last year resulting from higher NFFO, due to higher operating revenues in the current quarter. Management expects per Unit FFO and NFFO and related payout ratios to improve in the medium term.
Comparing distributions declared to NFFO, the NFFO payout ratios for the three months ended December 31, 2011 was 91.7% compared to 91.5% for the same period last year. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the NFFO payout ratio was 82.8% compared to 82.1% for the same period last year. The change in payout ratios was due primarily to the higher weighted average number of units outstanding during 2011. The effective NFFO payout ratio, which compares NFFO to net distributions paid, improved for the three months and year ended December 31, 2011, to 71.3% and 64.5%, respectively, from 74.9% and 69.0% for the same periods last year primarily due to higher NFFO during the current year periods and higher participation in distributions reinvested. Management believes NFFO will be sufficient to fund CAPREIT's distributions on an annualized basis.
Financial Strength
Management believes CAPREIT's strong balance sheet and liquidity position will enable it to continue to take advantage of acquisition and property capital investment opportunities over the long term.
CAPREIT is achieving its financing goals as demonstrated by the following key indicators:
Property Capital Investment Plan
During the year ended December 31, 2011 CAPREIT made property capital investments of $116.4 million as compared to $82.0 million for the same period last year.
Property capital investments were higher in 2011 compared to the prior year primarily due to the acceleration of building improvement programs and higher investments in suite improvements, common areas and equipment, which generally tend to increase NOI more quickly. CAPREIT continues to invest in energy-saving initiatives, including boilers, energy-efficient lighting systems, and water-saving programs, which permit CAPREIT to mitigate potentially higher increases in utility and R&M costs and significantly improve overall portfolio NOI.
Acquisitions
During the fourth quarter of 2011, CAPREIT completed the acquisition of a 185-suite property in Montreal, Quebec. The total acquisition cost of $32.2 million was funded through a new ten-year mortgage of approximately $15.1 million maturing on January 1, 2022 with an interest rate of 3.30% and the balance from CAPREIT's Acquisition and Operating Facility. For the year ended December 31, 2011, CAPREIT completed the acquisition of 2,660 residential suites and land lease sites for total acquisition costs of approximately $321.5 million.
Subsequent Events
Subsequent to the year end, CAPREIT disposed of a 136-suite mid-tier property in the Greater Toronto Area for a sale price of $17.5 million. The mortgage of approximately $9.5 million was discharged and the balance applied to pay down the Acquisition and Operating facility. The transaction was completed on February 22, 2012.
Effective January 1, 2012, CAPREIT terminated its construction management agreement with the related party and has entered into a new construction management agreement with a non-related party on substantially similar terms.
Additional Information
More detailed information and analysis is included in CAPREIT's audited consolidated annual financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2011, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be viewed at under CAPREIT's profile or on CAPREIT's website on the investor relations page at .
Conference Call
A conference call hosted by Thomas Schwartz, President and CEO and Scott Cryer, Chief Financial Officer, will be held Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 10.00 am EST. The telephone numbers for the conference call are: Local/International: (416) 340-2218, North American Toll Free: (877) 240-9772.
A slide presentation to accompany Management's comments during the conference call will be available one hour and a half prior to the conference call. To view the slides, access the CAPREIT website at , click on "Investor Relations" and follow the link at the top of the page. Please log on at least 15 minutes before the call commences.
The telephone numbers to listen to the call after it is completed (Instant Replay) are local/international (905) 694-9451 or North American toll free (800) 408-3053. The Passcode for the Instant Replay is 4145007#. The Instant Replay will be available until midnight, March 7, 2012. The call and accompanying slides will also be archived on the CAPREIT website at . For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please refer to our website at .
About CAPREIT
CAPREIT owns interests in multi-unit residential rental properties, including apartments, townhomes and manufactured home communities located in and near major urban centres across Canada. At December 31, 2011, CAPREIT had owning interests in 31,014 residential units, comprised of 29,681 residential suites and two Ontario manufactured home communities ("MHC") comprising 1,333 land lease sites. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please refer to our website at and our public disclosure which can be found under our profile at .
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
CAPREIT prepares and releases unaudited quarterly and audited consolidated annual financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. In this and other earnings releases and investor conference calls, as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS, CAPREIT also discloses and discusses certain non-IFRS financial measures, including Net Rental Revenue Run-Rate, NOI, FFO, NFFO and applicable per Unit amounts and payout ratios. These non-IFRS measures are further defined and discussed in the MD&A released on February 28, 2012, which should be read in conjunction with this press release. Since Net Rental Revenue Run-Rate, NOI, FFO and NFFO are not determined by IFRS, they may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other issuers. CAPREIT has presented such non-IFRS measures as Management believes these non-IFRS measures are relevant measures of the ability of CAPREIT to earn and distribute cash returns to Unitholders and to evaluate CAPREIT's performance. A reconciliation of Net Income and such non-IFRS measures including Adjusted Funds From Operations ("AFFO") is included in this press release. These non-IFRS measures should not be construed as alternatives to net income (loss) or cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of CAPREIT's performance.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained, or contained in documents incorporated by reference, in this press release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to CAPREIT's future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial position, business strategy, budgets, litigation, projected costs, capital investments, financial results, taxes, plans and objectives of or involving CAPREIT. Particularly, statements regarding CAPREIT's future results, performance, achievements, prospects, costs, opportunities and financial outlook, including those relating to acquisition and capital investment strategy and the real estate industry generally, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding expected growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. In addition, certain specific assumptions were made in preparing forward-looking information, including: that the Canadian economy will generally experience growth, however, may be adversely impacted by the global economy; that inflation will remain low;
that interest rates will remain low in the medium term; that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ("CMHC") mortgage insurance will continue to be available and that a sufficient number of lenders will participate in the CMHC-insured mortgage program to ensure competitive rates; that conditions within the real estate market, including competition for acquisitions, will become more favourable; that the Canadian capital markets will continue to provide CAPREIT with access to equity and/or debt at reasonable rates; that vacancy rates for CAPREIT properties will be consistent with historical norms; that rental rates will grow at levels similar to the rate of inflation on renewal; that rental rates on turnovers will remain stable; that CAPREIT will effectively manage price pressures relating to its energy usage; and, with respect to CAPREIT's financial outlook regarding capital investments, assumptions respecting projected costs of construction and materials, availability of trades, the cost and availability of financing, CAPREIT's investment priorities, the properties in which investments will be made, the composition of the property portfolio and the projected return on investment in respect of specific capital investments. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions, Management believes they are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements; they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond CAPREIT's control, that may cause CAPREIT or the industry's actual results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities in future periods to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to: reporting investment properties at fair value, real property ownership, leasehold interests, co-ownerships, investment restrictions, operating risk, energy costs and hedging, environmental matters, insurance, capital investments, indebtedness, interest rate hedging, taxation, harmonization of federal goods and services tax and provincial sales tax, government regulations, controls over financial accounting, legal and regulatory concerns, the nature of units of CAPREIT ("Trust Units") and of CAPREIT's subsidiary, CAPREIT Limited Partnership ("Exchangeable Units") (collectively, the "Units"), unitholder liability, liquidity and price fluctuation of Units, dilution, distributions, participation in CAPREIT's distribution reinvestment plan, potential conflicts of interest, dependence on key personnel, general economic conditions, competition for residents, competition for real property investments, continued growth and risks related to acquisitions. There can be no assurance the expectations of CAPREIT's Management will prove to be correct. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in regulatory filings, including CAPREIT's Annual Information Form, which can be obtained on SEDAR at , under CAPREIT's profile, as well as under Risks and Uncertainties section of the MD&A released on February 28, 2012. The information in this press release is based on information available to Management as of February 28, 2012. Subject to applicable law, CAPREIT does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.
SOURCE: Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
Contacts:
CAPREIT
Mr. Michael Stein
Chairman
(416) 861-5788
CAPREIT
Mr. Thomas Schwartz
President & CEO
(416) 861-9404
CAPREIT
Mr. Scott Cryer
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 861-5771
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 28.02.2012 - 16:10 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 1087916
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Contact person:
Town:
TORONTO, ONTARIO
Phone:
Kategorie:
Commercial Real Estate
Anmerkungen:
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 157 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"CAPREIT Reports Another Year of Record Performance for 2011
"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
