Federal Realty Investment Trust Announces Second Quarter 2012 Operating Results

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) today reported operating results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2012.

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Financial Results

In the second quarter 2012, Federal Realty generated funds from operations available for common shareholders (FFO) of $66.8 million or $1.04 per diluted share.  This compares to FFO of $64.3 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, in second quarter 2011.  For the six months ended June 30, 2012, Federal Realty reported FFO of $133.4 million, or $2.08 per diluted share, compared to $125.5 million, or $2.01 per diluted share for the same six-month period in 2011.

Net income available for common shareholders was $32.5 million and earnings per diluted share was $0.51 for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 versus $34.6 million and $0.55, respectively, for second quarter 2011.  Year-to-date, Federal Realty reported net income available for common shareholders of $75.3 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.18.  This compares to net income available for common shareholders of $65.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.05 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

FFO is a non-GAAP supplemental earnings measure which the Trust considers meaningful in measuring its operating performance.  A reconciliation of FFO to net income is attached to this press release.

Portfolio Results

In second quarter 2012, same-center property operating income increased 3.5% over second quarter 2011.  When redevelopment and expansion properties are excluded from same-center results, property operating income for second quarter 2012 increased 2.7% compared to second quarter 2011.  

The overall portfolio was 94.2% leased as of June 30, 2012, compared to 93.8% on March 31, 2012 and 93.4% on June 30, 2011.  Federal Realty's same-center portfolio was 94.8% leased on June 30, 2012, compared to 94.3% on March 31, 2012 and 93.9% on June 30, 2011.

During the second quarter of 2012, Federal Realty signed 111 leases for 368,795 square feet of retail space. On a comparable space basis (i.e., spaces for which there was a former tenant), the Trust leased 355,527 square feet at an average cash-basis contractual rent increase per square foot (i.e., excluding the impact of straight-line rents) of 11%. The average contractual rent on this comparable space for the first year of the new leases is $36.08 per square foot, compared to the average contractual rent of $32.64 per square foot for the last year of the prior leases. The previous average contractual rent was calculated by including both the minimum rent and any percentage rent actually paid during the last year of the lease term for the re-leased space. On a GAAP basis (i.e., including the impact of straight-line rents), rent increases per square foot for comparable retail space averaged 21% for second quarter 2012. As of June 30, 2012, Federal Realty's average contractual, cash basis minimum rent for retail and commercial space in its portfolio was $23.74 per square foot.

Regular Quarterly Dividends

Federal Realty also announced today that its Board of Trustees increased the dividend rate on its common shares, declaring a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.73 per share, resulting in an indicated annual rate of $2.92 per share, an increase of 5.8%. The regular common dividend will be payable on October 15, 2012, to common shareholders of record as of September 21, 2012. This increase represents the 45th consecutive year that Federal Realty has increased its common dividend, the longest record of consecutive annual dividend increases in the REIT sector, and amongst the longest such records for publicly traded companies in the US.

Guidance

Federal Realty increased its guidance for 2012 FFO per diluted share to a range of $4.27 to $4.31, and provided 2012 earnings per diluted share guidance of $2.31 to $2.35.  

"Our portfolio continues to produce impressive operating results, including strong lease rollover, improving occupancy and solid same-center growth," said Don Wood, president and chief executive officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust.  "These key drivers allowed us to increase our dividend for the 45th consecutive year and increase our 2012 FFO per diluted share guidance for the third consecutive quarter."

Summary of Other Quarterly Activities and Recent Developments

• July, 2012 – Federal Realty received an approximately $6M lease termination fee from Safeway in connection with Safeway's sale of a number of its Genuardi's locations to Giant of Carlisle.  Federal was able to negotiate the fee as part of the global resolution of all three Genuardi's locations in Federal's portfolio which resulted in the assignment of two of those locations to Giant and the termination of the lease at the third location.
• July, 2012 – Federal Realty announced the pricing of a public offering of $250 million aggregate principal amount of 3.00% senior unsecured notes due August 1, 2022.  The notes were offered at 98.743% of the principal amount with a yield to maturity of 3.147%.  Interest on the notes will be payable on February 1 and August 1 of each year, beginning February 1, 2013. 
• July, 2012 – Federal Realty broke ground on Pike & Rose, a 3.4 million square-foot transit oriented, mixed-use development.  Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, County Executive Isiah Leggett, County Council President Roger Berliner, The Montgomery County Council and Don Wood, Don Briggs, and Evan Goldman of Federal Realty officially celebrated the start of construction at Pike & Rose and the creation of an estimated 688 jobs from phase one of the project.
• July, 2012 – Federal Realty announced that Mr. James M. Taylor will succeed Mr. Andrew Blocher as chief financial officer on August 15, 2012.  The move further enhances the Trust's ability to source and evaluate corporate business development and strategic opportunities through Mr. Taylor's extensive experience and real estate relationships over the past two decades. 
• June, 2012 – Federal Realty rang The Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to commemorate the Trust's 50th Anniversary.

Conference Call Information

Federal Realty's management team will present an in-depth discussion of the Trust's operating performance on its second quarter 2012 earnings conference call, which is scheduled for August 2, 2012, at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  To participate, please call (866) 362-4831 five to ten minutes prior to the call start time and use the passcode FRT EARNINGS (required).  Federal Realty will also provide an online webcast on the Company's website, www.federalrealty.com, which will remain available for 30 days following the call.  A telephone recording of the call will also be available through September 2, 2012, by dialing (888) 286-8010 and using the passcode 72503331.

About Federal Realty

In 2012, Federal Realty celebrates 50 years of being a proven leader in the ownership, operation, and redevelopment of high quality retail real estate in the country's best markets.   Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 19.2 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 94.2% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of June 30, 2012, with no single tenant accounting for more than 2.5% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 45 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.  For more information, please visit www.federalrealty.com.

Safe Harbor Language

Certain matters discussed within this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although Federal Realty believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. These factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 16, 2012, and include the following:

• risks that our tenants will not pay rent, may vacate early or may file for bankruptcy or that we may be unable to renew leases or re-let space at favorable rents as leases expire;
• risks that we may not be able to proceed with or obtain necessary approvals for any redevelopment or renovation project, and that completion of anticipated or ongoing property redevelopments or renovations may cost more, take more time to complete, or fail to perform as expected;
• risks that we are investing a significant amount in ground-up development projects that may be dependent on third parties to deliver critical aspects of certain projects, requires spending a substantial amount upfront in infrastructure, and assumes receipt of public funding which has been committed but not entirely funded;
• risks normally associated with the real estate industry, including risks that occupancy levels at our properties and the amount of rent that we receive from our properties may be lower than expected, that new acquisitions may fail to perform as expected, that competition for acquisitions could result in increased prices for acquisitions, that environmental issues may develop at our properties and result in unanticipated costs, and, because real estate is illiquid, that we may not be able to sell properties when appropriate;
• risks that our growth will be limited if we cannot obtain additional capital;
• risks associated with general economic conditions, including local economic conditions in our geographic markets;
• risks of financing, such as our ability to consummate additional financings or obtain replacement financing on terms which are acceptable to us, our ability to meet existing financial covenants and the limitations imposed on our operations by those covenants, and the possibility of increases in interest rates that would result in increased interest expense; and
• risks related to our status as a real estate investment trust, commonly referred to as a REIT, for federal income tax purposes, such as the existence of complex tax regulations relating to our status as a REIT, the effect of future changes in REIT requirements as a result of new legislation, and the adverse consequences of the failure to qualify as a REIT.

Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements that we make, including those in this press release. Except as may be required by law, we make no promise to update any of the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should carefully review the risks and risk factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 16, 2012.

SOURCE Federal Realty Investment Trust