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Boardwalk REIT Announces Positive Fourth Quarter and Solid Full Year 2010 Financial Results; FFO Per Unit for the Fourth Quarte

^{Published on 2011-02-17 17:40:43 - Market Wire}
 

CALGARY, Feb. 17 /CNW/ - Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:BEI.UN)

Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust ("Boardwalk", "Boardwalk REIT" or the "Trust") today announced solid financial results for the fourth quarter of 2010 and fiscal 2010; Funds From Operations ("FFO") per unit up 6.9% and Distributable Income ("DI") per unit up 6.8% for the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the same period last year and full-year FFO per unit down 1.6% and DI per unit down 2.4% YOY; and confirmed its February, March, and April 2011 Distribution of $0.15 per Trust Unit per month.  FFO and DI are non-GAAP measures; the reconciliation to Net Earnings and Total Operating Cash Flows, respectively, can be found in the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the year ended December 31, 2010, under the section titled, "Performance Measures".  During fiscal 2010, the Trust reduced its number of apartment units by 1,142; a total of 1,111 units of non-core assets were sold in various markets across Canada and a 31-unit building located in Grande Prairie, Alberta that was destroyed by a fire was settled with the insurers.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, the Trust reported FFO of $32.7 million and FFO per unit of $0.62 on a diluted basis, compared to FFO of $30.8 million and FFO per unit of $0.58 for the same period last year.  DI for the quarter was $33.0 million and DI per unit was $0.63 on a diluted basis, compared to $31.1 million and $0.59 per unit for the same period last year.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Trust reported FFO of $129.9 million and FFO per unit of $2.47 on a diluted basis, compared to FFO of $133.1 million and FFO per unit of $2.51 for the same period last year.  DI for the year was $131.0 million and DI per unit was $2.49 on a diluted basis, compared to $135.3 million and $2.55 per unit for the same period last year.

The majority of the decreases reported in FFO and DI for fiscal 2010 related to the loss of FFO from the sale of selected properties and the delay in deploying the proceeds into the Unit Buyback Program.  Although NOI from our stabilized operations was also down year-over-year, the Trust was able to recover this loss through interest savings. At December 31, 2010, the Trust's cash liquidity amount was in excess of $228 million.

For further detail, please refer to pages 34-38 of the MD&A.

Additional Information
A more detailed analysis is included in the Management's Discussion and Analysis and Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be viewed at [ www.sedar.com ] or on the Trust's website at [ www.boardwalkreit.com ].  Additionally, more detail on our operations will be found in our conference call presentation and other supplemental materials, to be posted on our web site today at [ http://www.boardwalkreit.com/FinancialReports/ ]. The webcast for this presentation will also be made available on our web site at [ http://www.boardwalkreit.com/ ].

For further detail, please refer to pages 34-52 of the MD&A.

For further details, please refer to pages 44-47 of the MD&A.

Sequential Revenue Analysis

On a sequential basis, stabilized revenue increased 0.29% from the same period last year.  In addition, when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, revenues have increased versus each previous quarter in 2010.

For further details, please refer to pages 36-41 of the MD&A.

Rental Market Fundamentals:

Though we began the year with a negative mark-to-market (the difference between actual rents obtained and market rental rates), we reported a positive mark-to-market for December of 2010. Market rents in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta have surpassed our occupied rents, and especially in Calgary where market rents exceeded in-place rents by over $3.0 million when annualized across our Calgary portfolio.

With improving rental market fundamentals in 2010, focus continued to be Revenue Maximization through a balance between market rents, suite-specific rental incentives and vacancy revenue losses.  Over the 12-month period, we increased overall occupancy for our portfolio to 97.11%, versus 95.45% in the same period last year.  By increasing occupancy and reducing vacancy loss, rental revenue for the fourth quarter was slightly positive.  Vacancy loss represents potential revenue from currently unoccupied suites that can offset declining rents, further explained by slides 11 and 12 in the presentation for our fourth quarter conference call (available on our website at [ www.BoardwalkREIT.com ]).  We believe our current incentives are an investment in our Customers, helping to create loyalty and retention and ensuring long-term value for our Unitholders.

For further details, please refer to pages 41-44 of the MD&A.

Economic Market Fundamentals From Across Canada:
Unemployment, Migration and Wages

Western Canada:
In the latter half of 2010, we began to see economic fundamentals improve in our Western markets.  Alberta posted strong employment, while net migration across the west tempered.  Historically, employment growth is a significant contributor to increased rental demand. As of January 2011, Alberta's unemployment rate decreased to 5.9% from 6.6% reported for the same period last year. Saskatchewan posted the lowest unemployment rate in the country for another consecutive month in January, at 5.4% compared to 4.7% in last year. In British Columbia, the January unemployment rate increased modestly from 8.1% in 2009, to 8.2%.  All provinces continue to see positive wage growth on a year-over-year basis. While natural gas prices remain historically low, the price of oil remained high in 2010, increasing from just over $74 a barrel at the beginning of January to just below $88 at the end of December. Alberta recorded a climatic $2.39 billion in revenue from Land Sales in 2010 as investment demand increased in the province.  While Saskatchewan's Oil and Gas Industry remains robust, Potash continues to be a driver of investment in the province.  With global demand for food increasing as developing countries continue to grow, Potash remains a viable source of investment demand.  All three Western provinces, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, continue to see consistent positive net migration.  It is expected that 2011 will continue to be a positive year for migration statistics.

Eastern Canada:
Economic fundamentals in the East remain weaker than our Western markets; however, they showed signs of gaining traction during the latter half of 2010. As of January 2011, Ontario's unemployment rate improved from 9.2% to 8.1% from the same period a year ago, driven by improvements in both the public sector as well as the Automotive Industry.  In January of 2011, the Province of Ontario reported significant additional investment from Automotive companies which has equated to a 43% increase in the number of vehicles produced between November of 2009 and November of 2010.  Quebec's unemployment rate decreased slightly from 8.0% to 7.9% year-over-year and, in addition, had strong wage growth of 4.3% in November of 2010.  Both provinces continue to report positive net migration with over 36,000 in Ontario and over 16,000 for Quebec as of the third quarter of 2010.

MLS Housing Prices:

As the rental market is in direct competition with the housing market, Boardwalk reports on MLS Housing Prices each quarter.  MLS Housing Prices have historically been a leading indicator for both rental rates and rental demand. 

Internally generated, NA = Data not available, * Internally calculated based on volume of sales and total sales as provided by the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. Source: Association of Regina REALTORS®, Calgary Real Estate Board, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Real Estate Association, Edmonton Real Estate Board, Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®, Victoria Real Estate Board, Windsor-Essex County Real Estate Board

Western Canada:
Home prices were higher in both Saskatechwan and British Columbia as both reported strong year-over-year gains in the average price of home ownership.  Vancouver's average overall home price increased 2.7% to $577,808, whereas both Saskatoon and Regina saw prices increase by 3.5% and 4.0% to $300,693 and $251,960, respectively, in December of 2010.  Alberta home prices tempered as supply continues to be absorbed with decreases in prices for both Calgary and Edmonton.  The average price of a home in Calgary was $441,341 in December of 2010, whereby Edmonton's average single family home price was reported to be $355,271, both decreases of approximately $10,000 compared to the previous year.  Similarily, condo prices in both Calgary and Edmonton decreased from $288,640 to $282,768 and $240,796 to $233,454, respectively. 

Eastern Canada:
The housing market in Ontario and Quebec showed signs of improvement in 2010 as both single family and condo prices increased in London and on an overall basis in Windsor.  In Quebec, the average overall home price increased 6.6% in 2010.  Both of these gains can partially be attributed to the low interest rate environment in 2010 as consumers took advantage of historically low mortgage rates.

Acquisitions and Dispositions
Demand for Multi-Family buildings continued to be strong as the gap in capitalization rates between public apartment companies and private market remains intact.  This has provided a unique opportunity for the Trust to selectively sell apartment assets to private buyers and redeploy these proceeds to acquire our Trust Units as part of our Normal Course Issuer Bid.      

In 2010, the Trust's dispositions (exclusive of a 31-unit building destroyed by a fire and subsequently settled with the insurers during the year) were as follow:

Dispositions

* Habitat required $1,100,000 in capital expenditures; Bourassa required $700,000 in capital expenditures; 600 Cote Vertu required $1,055,000 in capital expenditures
** 6.38% maturing June 1, 2011

For further detail, please refer to page 37-38 of the MD&A.

Unit Buyback
In August 2010, Boardwalk successfully renewed its fourth Normal Course Issuer Bid, which allowed Boardwalk to purchase up to 3,918,286 Trust Units, representing approximately 10% of its public float of Trust Units, through the facilities of The Toronto Stock Exchange. The Bid commenced on August 24, 2010, and will terminate on August 23, 2011, or such earlier time as the Bid is complete.

The Trust continues to view the purchase of its Trust Units on the public market as a good investment; however, it believes that a balanced approach is necessary with respect to its buyback strategy compared to other options for deploying proceeds from the sale of non-core assets.  During the twelve months of 2010, the Trust purchased a total of 423,400 Trust Units for cancellation at a total purchase price of approximately $17.0 million, or an average cost of $40.21 per Trust Unit. Cumulatively, since August 17, 2007, the Trust purchased and cancelled 4,381,847 Trust Units, representing a total purchase cost of $163.8 million, or an average cost of $37.37 per Trust Unit. The Trust continues to review all available options that management believes will provide the greatest return to our Unitholders.

As at December 31, 2010, Boardwalk REIT had 47,891,133 issued and outstanding Trust Units, plus 4,475,000 Class "B" Units of Boardwalk REIT Limited Partnership exchangeable for Trust Units on a one-for-one basis at the option of the holder. Accordingly, if all of the LP B Units were exchanged for REIT Units, the total issued and outstanding REIT Units would be 52,366,133.

For further detail, please refer to pages 30-31 of the MD&A.

Liquidity and Continued Financial Strength
The Trust continued to build on its solid financial position throughout fiscal 2010.  The Trust maintained a total principal mortgage and debt outstanding balance of $2.36 billion as of December 31, 2010, as compared to $2.35 billion as of December 31, 2009.  In addition, the Trust has reduced the weighted average interest rate of the Mortgage and Debt Portfolio by 25 basis points to 4.27% with an average term maturity of approximately 3 years.  The Trust's debt-to-enterprise value was approximately 51% at the end of 2010.

At December 31, 2010, the Trust had available cash on its Balance Sheet of approximately $228 million.  In addition, the Trust had access to a committed revolving credit facility in the amount of approximately $200 million, resulting in a total current liquidity of $428 million.  For fiscal 2011, the Trust has maturing mortgages totalling approximately $257 million, which currently represent approximately 45% loan-to-underwriting value ratio and, thus, represents a source of additional potential liquidity, if needed.

Current new and renewal interest financing rates on National Housing Act insured mortgages are well below the maturing rate of 4.56% for our 2011 mortgages.  For indicative purposes, five-year CMHC-insured mortgage financing rates are estimated to be approximately 3.40%.

The Trust's interest coverage ratio, excluding gains, for the year ended December 31, 2010, was 2.32 times compared to 2.28 times for the same period last year.

For further detail, please refer to pages 54-58 of the MD&A.

Unsecured Debenture

At December 31, 2010, The Trust's unsecured debentures principal balance was $112.4 million and is scheduled to mature January 23, 2012.  Given the current pricing in the unsecured market, it is our intention upon maturity to repay this outstanding liability through a combination of existing cash on hand and new secured NHA-mortgages on existing assets, which currently would carry interest rates substantially below the face rate on the unsecured debenture of 5.61%.  As the maturity of this debenture continues to be well out into the future, that is, January 23, 2012, the passage of time brings the increased risk of interest rates increasing in the interim. 

Accordingly, the Trust has forward-committed approximately $107 million of NHA secured mortgages with an average term of 6.5 years at a forward-locked rate of approximately 3.99%.  It should be noted that the Trust is currently in the final process of forward-locking one remaining mortgage of a total of seventeen mortgages to complete the targeted debt financing amount of $107 million, but anticipates the aggregate average interest rate to remain near 3.99% The remainder of the proceeds required to repay the unsecured debentures of $5.4 million will come from cash reserves.  The estimated annual interest savings in 2012 as a result of the repayment of the unsecured debenture is estimated to be $1.82 million.

For further detail, please refer to pages 55-56 of the MD&A

Outlook and 2011 Financial Guidance

Our Financial Guidance for 2011 remains unchanged from our third quarter outlook, and is as follows:

As is customary, management will update the market on our Annual 2011 Financial Guidance on a quarterly basis.  The reader is cautioned that this information is forward-looking information and actual results may vary materially from those reported.

Changes to GAAP over the years have prompted the boards of certain public real estate investment trust entities ("REIT Entities") to revise their definition of Distributable Income, with the result being that it has become difficult to rely on Distributable Income as a relative financial measure amongst the various REIT Entities and a less reliable financial measure for any one REIT Entity over time.  The Trust's definition of Distributable Income as adopted in 2004 was in response to the state of GAAP in effect at that time.  Expected future changes in GAAP will only serve to further decrease the reliability of Distributable Income as it becomes increasingly disconnected with cash flow from operations.  Accordingly, at the Annual and Special Meeting of Boardwalk REIT Unitholders on May 18, 2010, it was proposed by management to eliminate any reference to Distributable Income from the Declaration of Trust.  This proposal was voted on and passed by Unitholders that day.  It is the intent of the Trust to cease to report on Distributable Income, effective January 1, 2011.

For further detail, please refer to page 82-83 of the MD&A.

2011 Distribution
The Trust's Board of Trustees confirmed distributions for the next three months in the amount of $0.15 per Trust Unit ($1.80 on an annualized basis) as per the following schedule:

Supplementary Information
Boardwalk produces the Quarterly Supplemental Information that provides detailed information regarding the Trust's activities during the quarter.  The Fourth Quarter 2010 Supplemental Information is available on our investor website at [ www.boardwalkreit.com ].

Teleconference on Fourth Quarter 2010 Financial Results
We invite you to participate in the teleconference that will be held to discuss these results tomorrow morning (February 18, 2011) at 11:00 am EST. Senior management will speak to the fourth quarter financial results and provide an update.  Presentation materials will be made available on our investor website at [ www.boardwalkreit.com ] prior to the call.

Participation & Registration: Please RSVP to Investor Relations at 403-206-6739 or by email to [ investor@bwalk.com ].

Teleconference: The telephone numbers for the conference are 647-427-7450 (local/international callers) or toll-free 1-888-231-8191 (within North America).

Note: Please provide the operator with the below Conference Call ID or Topic when dialling in to the call.
Conference ID: 27599855

Topic: Boardwalk Fourth Quarter Results

Webcast: Investors will be able to listen to the call and view our slide presentation over the Internet by visiting [ http://www.boardwalkreit.com/ ] 15 min. prior to the start of the call. An information page will be provided for any software needed and system requirements. The webcast and slide presentation will also be available at [ http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=3329700 ].

Replay: An audio recording of the teleconference will be available from 2:30 pm ET on Friday, February 18, 2011 until 11:59 pm ET on Friday, February 25, 2011.  You can access it by dialling 416-849-0833 and using the passcode 27599855. 

Corporate Profile
Boardwalk REIT is an open-ended real estate investment trust formed to acquire all of the assets and undertakings of Boardwalk Equities Inc. Boardwalk REIT's principal objectives are to provide its unitholders with monthly cash distributions, partially on a Canadian income tax-deferred basis, and to increase the value of its units through the effective management of its residential multi-family revenue producing properties and the acquisition of additional properties.  Boardwalk REIT currently owns and operates in excess of 225 properties with 35,277 units totalling approximately 30 million net rentable square feet, and is Canada's largest owner/operator of multi-family rental communities.  Boardwalk REIT's portfolio is concentrated in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

¹ Funds From Operations ("FFO") is a generally accepted measure of operating performance of real estate investment trusts and companies; however, it is a non-GAAP measure.  The Trust calculates FFO by taking net earnings after discontinued operations, adjusting for gains or losses on disposal of discontinued operation assets and extraordinary items, and adding non-cash expenses including future income taxes and amortization. The determination of this amount may differ from that of other real estate investment trusts and companies. Distributable Income ("DI") is calculated based on the definition as set out in the Trust's declaration of trust and is computed by taking FFO and adding back amortization on any deferred financing charges incurred prior to May 3, 2004 as well as adjusting for any discounts or premiums relating to the amortization of mark-to-market debt adjustment incurred subsequent to the real estate investment trust conversion date of May 3, 2004.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information in this news release that is not current or historical factual information may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Implicit in this information, particularly in respect of our objectives for 2010 and future periods, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to management's beliefs, plans, estimates and intentions, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations are estimates and assumptions subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Management's Discussion & Analysis of Boardwalk REIT's 2009 Annual Report under the heading "Risks and Risk Management", which could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward looking information contained in this news release. Specifically we have assumed that the general economy remains stable, interest rates are relatively stable, acquisition capitalization rates are stable, competition for acquisition of residential apartments remains intense, and equity and debt markets continue to provide access to capital. These assumptions, although considered reasonable by the Trust at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect. For more exhaustive information on these risks and uncertainties you should refer to our most recently filed annual information form which is available at [ www.sedar.com ]. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on our current estimates, expectations and projections, which we believe are reasonable as of the current date. You should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While we may elect to, we are under no obligation and do not undertake to update this information at any particular time.