RioCan Announces Second Quarter 2022 Results – Portfolio Quality Delivers Continued Growth

• Net income of $78.5 million and FFO per unit ¹ of $0.43
• 1.5 million sq. ft. of new and renewed leases with renewal leasing spread of 11.2% and blended spread of 10.5%

TORONTO, Aug. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (“RioCan” or the “Trust”) (TSX: REI.UN) announced today its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 (the “Second Quarter”).

“Our strong results for the quarter reflect our capacity to generate quality income and growth in any environment,” said Jonathan Gitlin, President and CEO of RioCan. “Focused on our strategy to drive growth and create value over the long-term, we will continuously evolve our portfolio to meet ever-changing market demands with more essential and resilient tenants. The quality and positioning of our portfolio combined with our balance sheet strength will continue to drive performance. As we enter into the second half of the year, we remain confident in our growth trajectory and the ongoing demand for the quality real estate that defines RioCan.”

FFO per Unit and Net Income

• FFO per unit of $0.43 for the Second Quarter was $0.03 per unit or 7% higher than the same period last year. Strong operational performance drove Same Property NOI¹ growth to 6.2%, which contributed $0.03 to the increase in FFO per unit. Higher residential NOI, residential inventory gains and fee income combined contributed another $0.03 of incremental FFO per unit. These increases were partially offset by the reduction in FFO from assets sold and restructuring costs. The FFO Adjusted per unit, which excludes the impact of the restructuring costs, was $0.44 for the quarter. FFO Payout Ratio¹ for the quarter of 57.3% was in-line with the long-term target range of 55% to 65%.
• Net income for the Second Quarter was $78.5 million, lower than the comparable period last year by $66.8 million, as the items described above were offset by a net loss related to the fair value of investment properties of $42.3 million compared to a $22.9 million fair value gain in the same period last year. The average portfolio capitalization rate increased 8 basis points, the impact of which was partially offset by higher stabilized NOI, as well as gains in certain properties under development as projects advanced.
• Our major market, necessity-based portfolio continued to prove resilient, generating strong operating results despite the broader macro-economic volatility during the quarter. Our FFO Payout Ratio of 57.3%, ample Liquidity¹ of $1.4 billion, large Unencumbered Asset¹ pool of $9.2 billion, which can be used to obtain secured financing, low proportion of floating rate debt at 8.0% of total debt and staggered debt maturities all contribute to the Trust’s financial flexibility.
• For 2022, RioCan reaffirms FFO per unit growth guidance of 5% to 7%. Development Spend for 2022 is now estimated to be in the $425 million to $475 million range, down from $475 million to $525 million in the previous guidance due to minor timing shifts.

Operation Highlights

• Same Property NOI grew by 6.2% in the Second Quarter when compared to the same period last year and was driven by occupancy gains, rent growth and a lower pandemic-related provision partially offset by certain 2021 favourable items which did not recur in 2022. Adjusted Same Property NOI¹ growth was 3.0% after adjusting predominantly for the impact of the pandemic-related provision and legal and property tax settlements.
• Committed occupancy improved for the sixth consecutive quarter and returned to the pre-pandemic level of 97.2%. Increases of 110 basis points when compared to the same period last year and 20 basis points when compared to Q1 2022, were driven by improved retail committed occupancy, which currently stands at 97.6%.
• New and renewed leases generated a blended leasing spread of 10.5% and the volume of 1.5 million square feet (at 100% ownership interest) was up 9.4% over the same period last year. Renewed leases of 1.1 million square feet representing a 93.3% retention ratio were completed at leasing spreads of 11.2%. New leasing of 0.4 million square feet was completed at new leasing spreads of 6.8%.
• Our strong and stable tenants, which are largely comprised of national, necessity-based retail tenants represent 85.7% of our portfolio measured as a percentage of annualized net rent.
• Leasing momentum at The Well™ continued into Q2 2022 and accounted for the majority of new property under development leases with retail leasing at 67% completed or 81% including leases nearing finalization and in advanced negotiations. For the office component, only 30,000 of the 1.2 million square feet (at 100% ownership interest) remains to be leased. Achieved average rent per square foot has exceeded pro forma.
• Given recent inflationary pressures, the resulting increased asset replacement costs are expected to limit an already tight supply of quality retail assets and exacerbate a supply/demand imbalance. RioCan’s well-positioned assets will benefit from demand shifting in their favour, which is expected to lead to positive tension in lease negotiations and ultimately rising rents.

RioCan Living Update

• As of August 8, 2022, the RioCan Living™ residential rental portfolio is comprised of 2,005 purpose-built completed units (at 100% ownership interest) across nine buildings located in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary. In the Second Quarter, the leasing velocity was very strong across stabilized buildings and buildings in lease-up. An additional 214 units at Rhythm™ are scheduled to be completed in Q4 2022. The 592 units at FourFifty The Well™ will be completed in phases with first move-ins scheduled to commence in late-2023 and ongoing lease-up is expected to occur through to early 2024.
• RioCan Living also oversees condominium and townhouse developments that generated residential inventory gains of $5.1 million in the Second Quarter.
• As of August 8, 2022, 2,627 condominium and townhouse units (at 100% ownership interest) are either under construction or in the process of interim closing and an additional 451 units are in pre-sale. Of RioCan’s five active construction projects, 95% of the total units have been sold while 98% of our pro-forma revenues have been achieved.

Development Highlights

• RioCan’s in-house development team delivered 0.2 million square feet of completions during the first half of 2022. The total embedded development potential within the Trust’s portfolio is 42.4 million square feet, of which 23.7 million square feet are currently zoned or have submitted applications.
• Our development pipeline includes 16.0 million square feet of permitted projects, of which 2.3 million square feet is currently under development. Construction at our largest development project, The Well, continued to progress during the Second Quarter. Approximately 867,000 square feet (at 100% ownership interest), is undergoing tenant fixturing and three tenants are now operating in their respective units. Cash rents remain on track to commence in the second half of 2022.
• The Trust’s Development Spending target for 2022 is estimated to be in the $425 million to $475 million range, excluding acquisitions for purposes of development. The decrease in the estimated annual development spending range for 2022 from that previously reported is mainly a result of minor construction delays caused by a series of work stoppages by various trades. In 2022, the Trust expects to deliver projects with costs of $625 million to $675 million, the largest amount of annual cost transfers since the inception of this development program.

Balance Sheet Strength

^{(i)   At RioCan’s proportionate share.}

• The Trust had $1.4 billion of Liquidity in the form of $1.0 billion undrawn revolving lines of credit, $0.4 billion undrawn construction lines and other bank loans and $0.1 billion cash and cash equivalents.
• RioCan’s unencumbered asset pool was $9.2 billion, which can be used to obtain secured financing to provide additional liquidity, generated 62.6% of Annual Normalized NOI1 and provided 2.19x coverage over Unsecured Debt¹.
• Adjusted Debt to Adjusted EBITDA¹ was 9.41x on a proportionate share basis, as at June 30, 2022, compared to 9.59x as at the end of 2021. The decrease was primarily due to higher Adjusted EBITDA partially offset by higher average Total Adjusted Debt balances.
• The Trust’s Total Adjusted Debt to Total Adjusted Assets at RioCan’s proportionate share increased from December 31, 2021 mainly due to higher Total Adjusted Debt resulting from the timing of debt draws for capital deployment activities.

Capital Management Update

• The Trust has $250.0 million of bond forward contracts remaining as at June 30, 2022 with an effective 7-year government of Canada bond yield of 1.46% to hedge its exposure to changes in the risk-free interest rates on anticipated refinancings.
• On June 9, 2022, Standard and Poor’s revised its Outlook on RioCan from Negative to Stable and affirmed its Issuer Credit Rating of BBB. The Stable Outlook reflects improvements in the Trust’s operating performance and credit-protection measures over the past year, and expected improvement in credit metrics from development completions supported by sound operating performance despite macro-economic headwinds.
• On April 18, 2022, RioCan issued $250.0 million, Series AF senior unsecured debentures with a 7-year term. Inclusive of the benefit of bond forward hedges, the all-in interest rate of the Series AF debentures is 3.829%. This issuance provides additional liquidity to RioCan to support its strategy, pursue opportunities and manage potential risks.
• Pursuant to its current Normal Course Issuer Bid, the Trust acquired and cancelled 6.0 million units at a weighted average purchase price of $21.52 per unit, for a total cost of $128.8 million during the Second Quarter. This is in additional to the 8.0 million units repurchased in Q4 2021.

Investing and Capital Recycling

• As of August 8, 2022, closed, firm or conditional dispositions totaled $375.8 million at a weighted average capitalization rate of 6.7%, including $123.0 million of completed dispositions during the first half of 2022. These dispositions include several non-core and secondary market assets, which improves our portfolio quality while bringing in capital that can be recycled into more productive uses.
• Total Acquisitions¹ including land assemblies and properties acquired within equity-accounted joint ventures were $187.8 million on a year-to-date basis.

Conference Call and Webcast

Interested parties are invited to participate in a conference call with management on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). Participants will be required to identify themselves and the organization on whose behalf they are participating.

To access the conference call, click on the following link to register at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call: https://ige.netroadshow.com/registration/q4inc/11247/riocan-real-estate-investment-trust-second-quarter-earnings-conference-call-and-webcast/. Participants who pre-register at any time prior to the call will receive an email with dial-in credentials including login passcode and PIN to gain immediate access to the live call. Those that are unable to pre-register may dial-in for operator assistance by calling 1-833-950-0062 and entering the access code: 185791.

For those unable to participate in the live mode, a replay will be available at 1-866-813-9403 with access code 294296.

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 June 30, 2022, our portfolio is comprised of 202 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 35.9 million square feet (at RioCan’s interest) including office, residential rental and 12 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 six months ended June 30, 2022, which are 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”), FFO per unit, FFO Adjusted per unit, Net Operating Income (“NOI”), Same Property NOI, Development Spending, Total Acquisitions, Liquidity, Adjusted Debt to Adjusted EBITDA, Total Adjusted Debt to Total Adjusted Assets, RioCan’s Proportionate Share, Ratio of Unsecured Debt to Total Contractual Debt, Ratio of Secured Debt to Total Contractual Debt, Unencumbered Assets to Unsecured Debt and Percentage of Normalized NOI Generated from Unencumbered Assets, 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 income 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 three and six months ended June 30, 2022.

The reconciliations for non-GAAP measures included in this News Release are outlined as follows:

RioCan’s Proportionate Share

The following table reconciles the consolidated balance sheet from IFRS to RioCan’s proportionate share basis as at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021:

The following tables reconcile the consolidated statements of income from IFRS to RioCan’s proportionate share basis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021:

NOI and Same Property NOI

The following table reconciles operating income to NOI and Same Property NOI to NOI for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021:

^{(i)   Includes properties acquired or disposed during the periods being compared.}

Same Property NOI including completed PUD

Adjusted Same Property NOI 

FFO

The following table reconciles net income attributable to Unitholders to FFO for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021:

Development Spending

Total Development Spending for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:

Total Acquisitions

Total Acquisitions for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:

Total Adjusted Debt and Total Contractual Debt

The following tables reconcile total debt to Total Adjusted Debt, total assets to Total Adjusted Assets, and total debt to Total Contractual Debt as at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021:

Liquidity

As at June 30, 2022, RioCan had approximately $1.4 billion of Liquidity as summarized in the following table:

Unsecured Debt and Secured Debt

The following table reconciles total Unsecured Debt and Secured Debt to Total Contractual Debt as at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021:

Adjusted EBITDA

The following table reconciles consolidated net income attributable to Unitholders to Adjusted EBITDA:

Adjusted Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio

Adjusted Debt to Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as follows:

Unencumbered Assets

The tables below summarize RioCan’s Unencumbered Assets to Unsecured Debt and Percentage of Normalized NOI Generated from Unencumbered Assets as at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021:

^{(i)  Annual Normalized NOI are reconciled in the table below.}

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 six months ended June 30, 2022 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 2022; a rising interest rate environment; a continuing trend toward land use intensification at reasonable costs and development yields, including residential development in urban markets; the Trust’s ability to redevelop, sell or enter into partnerships with respect to the future incremental density it has identified in its portfolio, 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 of 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.

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: Contact Information
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust 
Dennis Blasutti 
Chief Financial Officer
416-866-3033 | www.riocan.com