Cominar completed $2.6 billion
worth of strategic acquisitions and raised $1.1 billion in new capital in 2012
QUÉBEC CITY, March 14,
2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Cominar Real Estate Investment
Trust ("Cominar" or the "REIT") (TSX: CUF.UN) announced
today the results for the fourth quarter and for fiscal year
2012.
Highlights for fiscal year ended December 31, 2012
- Increased operating revenues by 77.7%
- Increased net income by 92.8%
- Increased total assets by 103.1%, totalling $5.6 billion
- Invested $2.6 billion in
acquisitions
- Obtained BBB (low) credit rating from DBRS
- Raised $1.1 billion in new
capital
- Reduced debt ratio to 50.0%
Subsequent Event after December 31, 2012
- $149.8 million acquisition (18
industrial properties and one office building in the Montréal
area).
"Fiscal 2012 will always go down in Cominar's
history as a year of phenomenal asset growth and the successful
execution of our strategic plan. Our challenge was daunting:
prioritize the reduction of our debt ratio while maintaining a
slight increase in per-unit results and a strong acquisition
strategy that allowed us to expand the geographic and segment
diversification of our portfolio. The results are in and they are
conclusive. We must remember that when we began our debt reduction
efforts in the fall of 2011, our debt ratio was 54.6%, compared to
50.0% as at December 31, 2012," said
Michel Dallaire, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Cominar.
"We are taking on 2013 with enthusiasm and
vigour, and we are better positioned today than ever before. We
have considerably expanded our reach and created a critical mass of
resources to serve our customers at the local and national levels.
We are determined to stay focused and manage our operations with
transparency, caution, efficiency, integrity and rigour, to stay
attuned to our clientele and to value the investments of those who
have placed their trust in us," concluded Mr. Dallaire.
PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL RESULTS
For the year ended December 31, 2012, Cominar's operating
income totalled $564.5 million, up 77.7 %. This increase is
mainly due to the contribution of the acquisitions made in 2011 and
2012.
Net operating income reached $317.8 million, up 72.1% over fiscal 2011.
Net income grew to $342.2 million, an increase of 92.8% over fiscal
2011.
Recurring net distributable income per
unit (fully diluted) was $1.53, compared to $1.52 in 2011.
Recurring funds from operations totalled
$200.5 million, up 79.1%.
Recurring funds from operations per unit
(fully diluted) totalled $1.78,
compared to $1.65 in 2011, up 7.9%.
Recurring adjusted funds from operations per unit (fully
diluted), after taking into account the impact of the reduction
in debt ratio achieved by Cominar in 2012, amounted to $1.56, up $0.06 or
4%, compared to 2011.
In 2012, distributions to unitholders
totalled $164.0 million, compared to
$95.6 million in 2011, representing
an increase of 71.6%. The distribution per unit remained stable at
$1.44.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
As at December 31,
2012, Cominar had a debt ratio of 50.0%. The
interest coverage ratio remained conservative at 2.74:1, and
the weighted average interest rate of long-term debt was
4.93%, compared to 5.54% as at December 31,
2011.
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Leasing Activity
As at December 31, 2012, the average
occupancy rate of our properties stood at 93.9%, compared to 93.6%
in 2011. Cominar renewed 74.2% of leases maturing in 2012 and
signed new leases representing a total leasable area of 1.2 million
square feet.
Acquisition Activities
March
2012
Acquired Canmarc Real Estate Investment Trust for $1.9 billion, increasing leasable area by 44% and
allowing Cominar to penetrate the Western
Canada market, namely in Calgary, to support future growth.
June
2012
Acquired three fully rented income properties in Manitoba, Nova
Scotia and Quebec at a cost
of $11.6 million, at a capitalization
rate of 8.6%, which added 0.1 million sq. ft. to the industrial
property portfolio.
September
2012
Acquired a portfolio of 67 income properties from GE Capital Real
Estate for $697 million, increasing
leasable area by 14.1% and adding a platform in Ottawa.
November
2012
Acquired a fully rented income property located in Brockville, Ontario, at a cost of $4.4 million, and at a capitalization rate of
9.1%.
Financing Activities
- Improved Cominar's position and obtained a BBB (low) credit
rating from DBRS
- Completed three issues of unsecured debentures for a total of
$450 million, whose net proceeds were
allocated to the repayment of existing debt, replacing short-term
debt with long-term debt
- Redeemed Series A and B convertible debentures outstanding for
$86 million, which led to a
non-recurring charge of $981,000 due
to the write-off of capitalized financing costs
- Issued 28,088,750 units for gross proceeds of over $661 million
ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Cominar's consolidated financial statements and management's
discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2012, will be filed with SEDAR at
www.sedar.com and will be available on Cominar's website at
www.cominar.com.
MARCH 14, 2013,
CONFERENCE CALL
On Thursday, March 14, 2013, at
11:00 a.m. (EST), Cominar's
management will hold a conference call to present the results for
fiscal 2012. 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, March 14,
2013, at 2:00 p.m. to
Thursday, March 21, 2013, at
11:59 p.m., by dialing
1.855.859.2056 followed by this code: 96721683#.
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 MARCH
14, 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 499 high-quality properties in three
different market segments, that is, office buildings, retail
buildings and industrial and mixed-use buildings. Cominar's
portfolio totals 36.8 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 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-IFRS MEASURES
Net operating income, Adjusted Net 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. The following table shows
the reconciliation of DI, FFO and AFFO with the most similar IFRS
measures:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quarter |
|
Cumulative |
Periods ended December 31, |
|
2012 |
|
2011 |
|
Δ% |
|
2012 |
|
2011 |
|
Δ% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recurring DI |
|
48,717 |
|
26,738 |
|
82.2 |
|
169,905 |
|
100,885 |
|
68.4 |
Distributions |
|
45,287 |
|
26,429 |
|
71.4 |
|
164,021 |
|
95,567 |
|
71.6 |
Recurring FFO |
|
57,071 |
|
29,666 |
|
92.4 |
|
200,450 |
|
111,927 |
|
79.1 |
Recurring AFFO |
|
47,025 |
|
26,216 |
|
79.4 |
|
166,412 |
|
99,090 |
|
67.9 |
SOURCE COMINAR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST