MONTRÉAL, May 10, 2021 /CNW/ - BTB
Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: BTB.UN) ("BTB" or the
"REIT") releases today its financial results for the first
quarter ended March 31st,
2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 and announces the
following highlights and information:
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31ST, 2021
- The Stability of BTB's Portfolio: whilst at the
beginning of the pandemic it was impossible to predict the impact
that it would have on the Trust, we are now seeing that the Trust
has solidified its operations throughout the past year. Its real
estate portfolio continues to improve, and leasing activity is also
sustainable. BTB's occupancy rate is maintained at 91 %, its
balance sheet is solid with significant liquidity and its debt and
distribution ratios reduced. BTB believes it emerges from this
pandemic with solid foundations.
- Funds From Operations (FFO) & Adjusted Funds From
Operations (AFFO): For Q1 2021, BTB is reporting a recurring
FFO of 8.9¢ per unit compared to 10.0 ¢ per unit for the same
period in 2020 and a recurring AFFO of 8.6¢ per unit for Q1 2021
compared to 8.8¢ per unit compared to the same period in 2020:
i. The recurring FFO payout ratio stands at 84 % for the
quarter compared to 105.2 % in Q1 2020.
ii. The recurring AFFO payout ratio stands at 87.4 % for the
quarter compared to 119.3 % in Q1 2020.
- Debt Ratio: As of March
31st, 2021, BTB's total debt ratio stood at
58.9%, recording an improvement of 0.4%
compared to the same quarter of 2020. The debt metrics continue to
demonstrate BTB's intent to maintain a total debt ratio below
60%.
- Rent Collections Remain Robust: As of March 31st, 2021, BTB collected
99.6% of invoiced rents. Rent collection efforts remained
strong as BTB is reporting a significant reduction in the balance
of receivables from $5.2 million at
the end of Q4 2020 to $4.8 million at
the end of Q1 2021. Compared to the same quarter last year, the
balance has also decreased by $0.4
million, therefore showing a level equivalent to
pre-pandemic times.
- Net Operating Income:
i. Tenant Departures: due to the previously announced
departure of an important tenant in January
2021 as well as of two other retail tenants, BTB recorded a
negative impact of $0.5 million on
its revenues. BTB is pleased to announce the conclusion of a lease
for 38,000 sq.ft. in the space left vacant by the tenant previously
mentioned. BTB is also in advanced lease negotiations with
potential tenants for the two other vacated spaces.
ii. Collection Improvement: collection efforts generated a
positive impact resulting in the Trust recording a $0.3 million reduction of expected credit
losses in administration expenses due to better rent collection
rate compared to the same period in 2020.
- Leasing Activity: Lease renewal activities remained
active throughout the quarter as BTB renewed leases totaling
95,171 sq.ft. of which, 40,694 sq.ft. were renewed
for leases expiring in 2021and 54,477 sq.ft. were renewed
for leases expiring in the years 2022 and after. For the quarter,
BTB achieved a 5.9% increase in average rent renewal rates
(compared to a 4.1% increase in Q1 2020), all whilst keeping its
weighted average lease term above 5 years.
- NOI Margin: NOI margin was 52.75 % compared to
53.49 % for the same period in 2020. Excluding COVID-19 special
charges, the results would have shown an NOI margin of 54.25 %, an
increase of 0.76 % of the NOI margin compared to the same quarter
of 2020.
- Net Income & Comprehensive Income: totalled
$2.5 million compared to a
loss of $5.6 million for the same
period in 2020. In 2020, BTB recorded a reduction in the fair value
of its properties and its financial instruments of $8.0 million, thereby impacting net income and
comprehensive income.
- Cash Position: BTB concluded Q1 2021 with a cash
position of $6.3 million. At the end
of the quarter, the operating line of credit of $8.0 million was fully available, and the
acquisition line of credit of $15
million was fully used. Following the issuance of equity
announced and concluded in April
2021, the acquisition line of credit has been completely
paid and is fully available.
- CERS Program: BTB continued to work with its tenants
that are participating in the CERS program enacted to cover the
period ranging from October 2020 to
June 2021. The government has since
extended the program, as well as the lockdown support top-up, until
September 25, 2021. It is important
to note that tenants are responsible to apply for subsidies and
that BTB has no financial concessions to make in light of this new
program.
A MESSAGE FROM MICHEL LÉONARD,
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
"We can see the "light at end of the Covid tunnel" and it will
be beneficial to us all. As Canadians receive the vaccine, the
first and second doses, the markets will progressively reopen as
will the economy. We will be able to reexperience restaurants,
bars, and cinemas, be able to travel to exotic locations. It is
coming soon and confidence in the different segments of real estate
will abound. In our recent lease negotiations, we could already see
tenants' confidence increasing, the desire to go back to office
spaces, signing long term lease renewals and securing office and
retail locations.
Over the past year we solidified our foundations, and we are
embarking in our second quarter with a lot of optimism. We look
forward to continuing our rent collection efforts in order to
protect our collection rate which is established at 99.6%.
For the quarter, our recurring FFO payout ratio stood at 84%
while our AFFO payout ratio is 87.4 %, recording our best
performance for the past couple of years.
Our ability to adapt and embrace change has been a determining
factor in our resiliency throughout the past year and we are
prepared to embrace the changes and opportunities that have been
made available to us. To capitalize on these opportunities, we have
decided to adopt a positive and opportunistic outlook for the
coming year, leaving the past fifteen months' events behind us.
With this, we are ready to embark on BTB's growth plan for the
upcoming years."
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
- Important New Lease Transactions: At the beginning of
the month of April, we concluded an unconditional long-term lease
agreement with a tenant set to occupy approximately 38,000 sq.ft.
on the South-Shore of Montréal, with a scheduled occupancy set for
mid-July 2021. Including this lease,
our committed occupancy rate would be 91.7%.
- Bought Deal of Trust Units: On April 8th, 2021, BTB signed an agreement with a
syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. to
issue to the public, on a bought deal basis, 6,791,000 trust units
at a price of $4.05 per unit for the
total gross proceeds of $27.5
million. The over-allotment option was fully exercised, and
the total number of units sold pursuant to the offering was
7,809,650 for total gross proceeds of $31.6
million, and net proceeds of $30.4
million. The Trust filed a short form preliminary prospectus
on April 14, 2021 and the closing of
the offering took place on April 28,
2021. Of the gross proceeds received, $15 million were used to pay the total amount
outstanding under the acquisition credit facility. The remaining
balance will be used to fund the Trust's future acquisitions and
for general trust purposes.
SUMMARY OF OTHER SIGNIFICANT HIGHLIGHTS AS AT MARCH 31ST, 2020
- Total number of properties: 64
- Total leasable area: approximately 5.3 million
sq.ft.
- Total asset value: $924
million
- Market capitalization: $273
million
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The following two tables summarize our results for the quarters
ended March 31st 2021 and
2020.
Quarterly Results Information
|
|
Quarters ended March
31st,
|
Quarter
|
(in thousands of
dollars, except for ratios and per unit data)
|
2021
|
2020
|
∆%
|
|
$
|
$
|
|
Financial
information
|
|
|
|
Rental
revenue
|
23,532
|
23,868
|
(1.4)
|
Net operating income
(1)
|
12,414
|
12,766
|
(2.8)
|
Net income (loss) and
comprehensive income (loss)
|
2,510
|
(5,587)
|
144.9
|
Net property income
from the same-property portfolio (1)
|
7,530
|
7,549
|
(0.3)
|
Cash flows from
operating activities (IFRS)
|
13,149
|
10,674
|
23.2
|
Distributions
|
4,828
|
6,618
|
(27.0)
|
Recurring funds from
operations (FFO) (1)
|
5,730
|
6,277
|
(8.7)
|
Recurring adjusted
funds from operations (AFFO) (1)
|
5,506
|
5,517
|
(0.2)
|
Total
assets
|
923,854
|
943,283
|
(2,1)
|
Mortgage debt
ratio
|
52,5%
|
52,8%
|
(0,6)
|
Weighted average
interest rate on mortgage debt
|
3,56%
|
3,71%
|
(4,0)
|
Market
capitalization
|
272,807
|
197,491
|
38.1
|
Financial
information per unit
|
|
|
|
Net income and
comprehensive income
|
3.9¢
|
(8.9)¢
|
143.8
|
Distributions
|
7.5¢
|
10.5¢
|
(28.6)
|
Recurring
FFO(1)
|
8.9¢
|
10.0¢
|
(11)
|
Recurring
AFFO(1)
|
8.6¢
|
8.8¢
|
(2.3)
|
|
|
(1)
|
Non IFRS financial
measures
|
|
|
Quarters ended March
31,
(in thousands of dollars, except per unit data)
|
Quarter
|
2021
|
2020
|
|
$
|
$
|
Cash flows from
operating activities (IFRS)
|
13,149
|
10,674
|
Leasing payroll
expenses
|
219
|
157
|
Transaction costs on
purchase and disposition of investment properties and early
repayment fees
|
—
|
(859)
|
Adjustments for
changes in other working capital items
|
(1,263)
|
1,352
|
Interest
expenses
|
134
|
113
|
Financial
income
|
(5,791)
|
(5,927)
|
Provision for
non-recoverable capital expenditures
|
(471)
|
(477)
|
Provision for
non-recovered rental fees
|
(375)
|
(345)
|
Other items
|
(96)
|
(79)
|
AFFO(1)
|
5,506
|
4,609
|
Non-recurring
item
|
|
|
Transaction costs on
purchase and disposition of investment properties, early repayment
fees and prepayment penalties
|
—
|
908
|
Recurring
AFFO(1)
|
5,506
|
5,517
|
|
|
(1)
|
Non IFRS financial
measures
|
NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES
Net operating income, net operating income of the same-property
portfolio, funds from operations and adjusted funds from operations
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
QUARTERLY CALL INFORMATION
Management will hold a conference call on Tuesday, May 11th, 2021 at
10 am, Eastern Standard Time, to
present BTB's financial results and performance for the first
quarter of 2021.
DATE :
|
Tuesday, May
11th, 2021
|
|
|
TIME :
|
10 am,
EST
|
|
|
DIAL :
|
Toronto and
over-seas: 1-416-764-8688
|
North America (toll
free): 1-888-390-0546
|
|
|
WEB :
|
https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1453485&tp_key=22eaff9898
|
|
|
VISUAL
:
|
A presentation will
be uploaded on BTB's website prior to the call
https://www.btbreit.com/investor-relations-2/annual-meeting-presentations/
|
The media and all interested parties may attend the call-in
listening mode only.
Conference call operators will coordinate the question and
answer period (from analysts only) and will instruct
participants regarding the procedures during the call.
The audio recording of the conference call will be available by
via playback until May
18th, 2021 by dialing: 1-416-764-8677
(local) or, 1-888-390-0541 (toll-free) and by entering
the following access code: 861340 #.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain forward-looking statements with
respect to BTB. These statements generally can be identified by use
of forward-looking words such as "may", "will", "expect",
"estimate", "anticipate", "intends", "believe" or "continue" or the
negative thereof or similar variations. The actual results and
performance of BTB 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 from time to
time in the documents filed by BTB with the securities regulators
in Canada. The
cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements
attributable to BTB and persons acting on their behalf. Unless
otherwise stated or required by applicable law, all forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release.
ABOUT BTB
BTB is a real estate investment trust listed on the Toronto
Stock Exchange. BTB is an important owner of properties in eastern
Canada. As at May 10th, 2021, BTB owns 64 retail,
office and industrial properties for a total leasable area of
approximately 5.3 million sq.ft. and an approximate total asset
value as of March 31st,
2021 of approximately of $924
million.
BTB'S OBJECTIVES
(1) Generate stable monthly cash distributions that are reliable
and fiscally beneficial to unitholders.
(2) Grow the REIT's assets through internal growth and accretive
acquisitions in order to increase distributable income and
therefore fund distributions.
(3) Optimize the value of its assets through the dynamic
management of its properties in order to maximize the long-term
value of its properties and therefore, its units.
BTB offers a distribution reinvestment plan to unitholders
whereby the participants may elect to have their monthly cash
distribution reinvested in additional units of BTB at a price based
on the weighted average price for BTB's units on the Toronto Stock
Exchange for the five trading days immediately preceding the
distribution date, discounted by 3%.
For more detailed information, visit BTB's website at
www.btbreit.com.
SOURCE BTB Real Estate Investment Trust