Equity One Reports Minimal Damage from Hurricane Jeanne
NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equity One, Inc. (NYSE:EQY), an owner, developer and operator of community and neighborhood
shopping centers located predominantly in high growth markets in the southern
United States, announced today that its shopping centers have incurred minimal
damage from Hurricane Jeanne which made landfall at Hutchison Island just east
of Stuart on Florida's Atlantic coast this past Saturday evening. Damage to the
properties was limited primarily to cosmetic matters such as landscaping and
signage with minor damage to facades and roofs.
Equity One property managers and maintenance personnel have been on-site in the
affected area securing the properties, attending to tenant needs and ensuring
the safety of shoppers and tenants. All Equity One properties in the affected
areas are either fully functional and open for business or in the case of three
properties - Ryanwood Shopping Center, Treasure Coast Plaza and Bluffs Square
Shoppes - are ready to open pending restoration of power by the local utility
which is expected shortly and the completion of certain repair work. Overall,
Equity One anticipates that its total out-of-pocket costs from Hurricane
Jeanne, net of any insurance recoveries, will be no greater than $500,000, with
the bulk of these costs capitalized into the underlying assets.
"We are grateful the damage from Hurricane Jeanne is of a limited nature,"
stated Doron Valero, President and Chief Operating Officer of Equity One. "Our
properties are secure and operating normally. We extend our thoughts to all
those affected by the storm and are extremely proud of our employees, tenants
and vendors, both in their preparedness before the storm and in their ability
to quickly respond and restore operations in its aftermath." "We currently anticipate that the cumulative effect of the four recent
hurricanes, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, will be a reduction to our 2004
calendar year earnings of between $400,000 and $600,000 due to incremental
clean-up expenses, uninsurable damages and lost rents, which is equivalent to
less than $0.01 per share in the aggregate, and no change to our current
earnings guidance," added Howard Sipzner, Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer. "Our losses from this unusual storm activity have been
minimized in part due to a well-designed risk management program with adequate
levels of insurance coverage, along with a comprehensive response plan
encompassing our properties, people and systems infrastructure." About Equity One, Inc.
Equity One is a real estate investment trust that principally acquires,
renovates, develops and manages neighborhood and community shopping centers
anchored by national and regional supermarket chains and other necessity-
oriented retailers such as drug stores or discount retail stores. Our 19.9
million square foot portfolio consists of 182 properties located primarily in
metropolitan areas of the southern United States, encompassing 127
supermarket-anchored shopping centers, 9 drug store-anchored shopping centers,
41 other retail-anchored shopping centers, a self-storage facility, an
industrial property and three retail developments, as well as non-controlling
interests in two unconsolidated joint ventures. For additional information,
please visit our web site at http://www.equityone.net/.
Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters discussed by Equity One in this press release constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although Equity One believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-
looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no
assurance that these expectations will be achieved. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations include changes
in macro-economic conditions and the demand for retail space in Florida, Texas,
Georgia and the other states in which Equity One owns properties; the
continuing financial success of Equity One's current and prospective tenants;
continuing supply constraints in its geographic markets; the availability of
properties for acquisition; the success of its efforts to lease up vacant
properties; the effects of natural and other disasters; the ability of Equity
One to successfully integrate the operations and systems of acquired companies
and properties; and other risks, which are described in Equity One's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For additional information at the Company:
Howard Sipzner, EVP and CFO, 305-947-1664
Media Contact:
David Schull, 305-446-2700
DATASOURCE: Equity One, Inc.
CONTACT: Howard Sipzner, EVP and CFO, Equity One, Inc., +1-305-947-1664; or media David Schull, +1-305-446-2700, for Equity One, Inc. Web site: http://www.equityone.net/
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