PREIT Portfolio Sales Eclipse $400 Per Square Foot Threshold

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Mar 02, 2015, 07:00 ET

PHILADELPHIA, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PREIT (NYSE: PEI) today announced that comparable sales per square foot exceeded $400, to $402 for the same store mall portfolio, for the twelve months ended January 31, 2015. This was a key goal outlined by the Company in November 2012, when it conveyed its strategic objective to improve overall portfolio quality, among other objectives. In its mission to do so, the Company has sold six of its lower-performing malls to date since the plan was announced and has focused on property-level strategic remerchandising programs designed to maximize sales and Net Operating Income.

"We are pleased to have surpassed this important industry benchmark and distinguish ourselves among our peers," said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "Our multi-faceted effort to improve portfolio quality is taking effect and is expected to continue to drive positive results."

About Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust

PREIT is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership and management of differentiated retail shopping malls designed to fit the dynamic communities they serve. Founded in 1960 as Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, the Company owns and operates 29 million square feet of space in properties in 12 states in the eastern half of the United States with concentration in the Mid-Atlantic region and Greater Philadelphia. PREIT is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol PEI. Information about the Company can be found at www.preit.com or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events, achievements or results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, our business might be materially and adversely affected by uncertainties affecting real estate businesses generally as well as the following, among other factors: our substantial debt, stated value of preferred shares and our high leverage ratio; constraining leverage, unencumbered debt yield, interest and tangible net worth covenants under our 2013 Revolving Facility, our 2014 Term Loans and Letter of Credit; potential losses on impairment of certain long-lived assets, such as real estate, or of intangible assets, such as goodwill, including such losses that we might be required to record in connection with any dispositions of assets; changes to our corporate management team and any resulting modifications to our business strategies; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness when it matures, on favorable terms or at all; our ability to raise capital, including through the issuance of equity or equity-related securities if market conditions are favorable, through joint ventures or other partnerships, through sales of properties or interests in properties, or through other actions; our ability to identify and execute on suitable acquisition opportunities and to integrate acquired properties into our portfolio; our partnerships and joint ventures with third parties to acquire or develop properties; our short- and long-term liquidity position; current economic conditions and their effect on employment, consumer confidence and spending and the corresponding effects on tenant business performance, prospects, solvency and leasing decisions and on our cash flows, and the value and potential impairment of our properties; general economic, financial and political conditions, including credit market conditions, changes in interest rates or unemployment; changes in the retail industry, including consolidation and store closings, particularly among anchor tenants; the effects of online shopping and other uses of technology on our retail tenants; our ability to sell properties that we seek to dispose of or our ability to obtain estimated sale prices; our ability to maintain and increase property occupancy, sales and rental rates, in light of the relatively high number of leases that have expired or are expiring in the next two years; acts of violence at malls, including our properties, or at other similar spaces, and the potential effect on traffic and sales; increases in operating costs that cannot be passed on to tenants; risks relating to development and redevelopment activities; concentration of our properties in the Mid-Atlantic region; changes in local market conditions, such as the supply of or demand for retail space, or other competitive factors; and potential dilution from any capital raising transactions. Additional factors that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include those discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in the section entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors." We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

** Quarterly supplemental financial and operating **
** information will be available on www.preit.com **

CONTACT: AT THE COMPANY
Robert McCadden
EVP & CFO
(215) 875-0735

Heather Crowell
VP, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
(215) 454-1241

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SOURCE PREIT