IRET Announces Fiscal Second Quarter 2018 Results

MINOT, N.D., Dec. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IRET (NYSE: IRET) announced today its fiscal second quarter 2018 financial and operating results.  Net income and Funds from Operations ("FFO") per share for the three and six months ended October 31, 2017, are detailed below.  Core FFO adjusts FFO for certain non-routine items, and both FFO and Core FFO are reconciled to net income in the tables accompanying this earnings release.

"We experienced strong revenue growth this quarter as we continued to increase occupancy across our portfolio," said Mark O. Decker, Jr., IRET's President and CEO.  "We also drove growth in our rental rates thanks to the efforts of our operations team. While expenses are significantly higher than last year, these increases were within our expectations and were offset by a decrease in capital expenditures and an increase in revenue growth. With the pending sale of our medical office portfolio and the announced sale of our other non-core assets, we are nearing the completion of our transformation to a focused multifamily REIT, which will enable us to devote management resources to our core business of developing and growing our multifamily properties."

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2018 Highlights

• Achieved same store multifamily revenue growth of 3.8% compared to the prior year (3.8% YTD).  Improved performance is due primarily to increases in occupancy in the multifamily portfolio and better-than-anticipated rent growth.
• Experienced elevated multifamily same-store expense increases year-over-year and sequentially.  The primary drivers of these increases were the previously disclosed change in our capitalization policies and additional costs related to increasing occupancy.  Additionally, we experienced higher labor costs and increased real estate taxes, primarily attributable to stabilizing developments and higher levy rates in select markets.
• Closed the previously-announced acquisition of Park Place Apartments, deepening our holdings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA, and, subsequent to quarter end, acquired Dylan Apartments in Denver, CO, our inaugural investment in another top-25 MSA.  Both Minneapolis-St. Paul and Denver have healthy and diverse economies and will be key markets in IRET's push to achieve portfolio growth and improve operating efficiency.
• Closed the acquisition of Park Place using capital from our unsecured line of credit in anticipation of pending non-core asset sales.  Accordingly, the quarter-end debt balances increased over the first quarter.  As dispositions occur during the remainder of the fiscal year, we expect to use a portion of the sales proceeds to pay down debt.
• Sold $105.4 million of commercial and non-core multifamily assets, including $63.4 million during the quarter and $42.0 million subsequent to quarter-end, and used the proceeds to deploy into targeted multifamily acquisitions.
• Announced on November 30, 2017, that we signed an agreement to sell 28 healthcare properties and one office property for $417.5 million. While the transaction is subject to standard contingencies, upon closing, IRET will have substantially completed the transformation first announced in fiscal year 2016 to become a focused multifamily REIT. The sale of these assets will be used to fund future multifamily acquisitions and reduce debt.
• Issued 4,118,460 shares of 6.625% Series C preferred shares for gross proceeds of $103.0 million and redeemed all 4,600,000 shares of 7.95% Series B preferred shares for an aggregate cost, including accrued dividends, of $115.8 million, which will result in a reduction of $2.3 million in annual preferred dividend payments.
• Increased the commitments to our line of credit by $50 million and, subsequent to quarter-end, entered into a $70 million unsecured term loan.

Acquisitions
We added one new property to our portfolio during the quarter:

Subsequent to quarter-end, we acquired Dylan Apartments, a 274-unit multifamily property in Denver, CO, for $90.6 million.  Located in the fast-growing River North Art District, Dylan marks IRET's entrance into the Denver MSA where, as previously announced, we expect to establish a sizeable presence over time and benefit from the strong growth and diverse drivers in this dynamic market.

Dispositions
During the quarter, we sold a parcel of unimproved land in Bismarck, ND, for $3.2 million, an industrial property in Eagan, MN, for $9.0 million, 13 multifamily properties in Minot, ND, for $12.3 million, a healthcare property in Eagan, MN, for $2.1 million, and two healthcare properties in Hermantown, MN, for $36.9 million.

Subsequent to quarter-end, we sold an industrial property in Urbandale, IA, for $16.7 million, an industrial property in Roseville, MN, for $18.7 million, and two multifamily properties in Rochester, MN, for $6.7 million.  In addition, we announced on November 30, 2017, that we signed an agreement to sell 28 healthcare properties and one office property for $417.5 million.

Balance Sheet
At the end of the second quarter, we had $95.0 million of total liquidity on our balance sheet, including $52.5 million available on our corporate revolver. 

During the quarter, we issued 4,118,460 shares of 6.625% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares for gross proceeds of $103.0 million and redeemed all 4,600,000 shares of our 7.95% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares for an aggregate cost of $115.8 million.  In addition, we repurchased and retired approximately 398,000 common shares and redeemed approximately 40,000 Units for an aggregate cost of approximately $2.6 million, representing an average price of approximately $5.86 per share.  Finally, we increased the commitments under our unsecured line of credit by $50 million and, subsequent to quarter-end, obtained a $70 million unsecured term loan that matures in 2023 and executed a swap agreement to synthetically fix the interest rate for the full duration of the loan.

Quarterly Distributions
On December 5, 2017, IRET's Board of Trustees declared a regular quarterly distribution of $0.07 per share/unit payable on January 16, 2018, to common shareholders and unitholders of record on January 2, 2018.  This distribution will be the 187th consecutive quarterly distribution paid by IRET since its inception in 1970.  It represents an annualized rate of $0.28 per share/unit with an annualized yield of 4.8% based on IRET's closing share price as of December 8, 2017.

The Board of Trustees also declared a distribution of $0.41866 per share on the 6.625% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares (NYSE: IRET PRC) payable on January 2, 2018, to holders of record on December 15, 2017.  Series C preferred share distributions are cumulative and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of $1.65625 per share.

Earnings Call

Supplemental Information
Supplemental Operating and Financial Data for the Quarter Ended October 31, 2017 ("Supplemental Information") is available in the Investors section on IRET's website at www.iretapartments.com or by calling Investor Relations at 701-837-7104.  Non-GAAP financial measures and other capitalized terms, as used in this earnings release, are defined and reconciled in the Supplemental Information, which accompanies this earnings release.

About IRET
IRET is a real estate company focused on the ownership, management, acquisition, redevelopment, and development of multifamily apartment communities.  As of October 31, 2017, IRET owned interests in 89 multifamily properties consisting of 13,576 apartment homes and 40 commercial properties, including 28 healthcare and 12 other commercial properties, with a total of 2.5 million square feet of leasable space.  IRET's common shares and Series C preferred shares are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE symbols: IRET and IRET PRC, respectively).

Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are based on our current expectations and assumptions, and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements do not discuss historical fact, but instead include statements related to expectations, projections, intentions or other items related to the future. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," and variations of those words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from projected results. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance our expectations will be achieved. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact should be deemed forward-looking statements. As a result, reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements as these statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors beyond our control and could differ materially from our actual results and performance.  Such risks and uncertainties those risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC, including the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017, in subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in other public reports.  We assume no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue due to subsequent events.

Contact Information
Matthew Volpano
Senior Vice President ? Capital Markets
Phone: 701-837-7104
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE IRET