This press release contains forward-looking information that is based upon assumptions and is subject to risks and uncertainties as indicated in the cautionary note contained within this press release. All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dream Industrial REIT (DIR.UN-TSX) (the “Trust” or “DIR” or the “REIT” or “we”) today announced its financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021. Management will host a conference call to discuss the financial results on February 16, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. (ET).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Net income was $190.0 million in Q4 2021, a 133% increase when compared to $81.5 million in Q4 2020. On a year-over-year basis, net income was $608.3 million in 2021, a 204% increase when compared to $200.1 million in 2020;
- Diluted funds from operations (“FFO”) per Unit(1) was $0.21 in Q4 2021, a 13.4% increase when compared to Q4 2020, where the FFO per Unit was $0.19. On a year-over-year basis, diluted FFO per Unit was $0.81 in 2021, a 15.4% increase when compared to $0.71 in 2020;
- Net rental income was $60.4 million in Q4 2021, a 35.8% increase when compared to $44.5 million in Q4 2020. On a year-over-year basis, net rental income was $217.9 million in 2021, a 29.0% increase when compared to $168.9 million in 2020;
- Comparative properties net operating income (“CP NOI”) (constant currency basis)(2) was $40.1 million in Q4 2021, a 7.6% increase when compared to $37.3 million in Q4 2020. The Canadian portfolio posted a year-over-year CP NOI growth of 8%, predominantly driven by 17% and 5.2% CP NOI increases in Ontario and Québec, respectively. For the full year, CP NOI was $138.0 million for the year 2021, a 5.4% increase when compared to $131.0 million in 2020;
- Total assets were $6.1 billion in Q4 2021, a 71.9% increase when compared to $3.5 billion in Q4 2020;
- Total equity (per consolidated financial statements) was $3.5 billion in Q4 2021, an 83.7% increase when compared to $1.9 billion in Q4 2020;
- Net asset value (“NAV”) per Unit(3) was $15.13 in Q4 2021, a 20.6% increase when compared to Q4 2020, where the NAV per Unit was $12.55; and
- Investment property values increased quarter-over-quarter due to $141.8 million in fair value gains recognized in Q4 2021, reflecting higher market rents, strong leasing activity, and compression in capitalization rates in Québec and Ontario;
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(1) Diluted FFO per Unit is a non-GAAP ratio. Diluted FFO per Unit is comprised of FFO (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by the weighted average number of Units. For further information on this non-GAAP ratio, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release. |
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(2) Comparative properties net operating income (“CP NOI”) (constant currency basis) is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most directly comparable financial measure to CP NOI (constant currency basis) is net rental income. The tables included in the Appendices section of this press release reconcile CP NOI (constant currency basis) for the three months and years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 to net rental income. For further information on this non-GAAP financial measure, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release. |
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(3) NAV per Unit is a non-GAAP ratio. NAV per Unit is comprised of total equity (including LP B Units) (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by the number of Units. For further information on this non-GAAP ratio, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release. |
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The Trust continues to make significant progress on strategic initiatives to maximize organic and external growth drivers while maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet.
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Organic growth: Leasing momentum continues to remain robust, which along with strong rental rate growth has allowed the Trust to significantly enhance the organic growth profile of its portfolio over the long term. Since the beginning of 2021, the Trust has signed approximately five million square feet of leases at an average spread of 19%.
Since the end of Q3 2021, the Trust has addressed approximately 1.9 million square feet of leases at an average rental spread of 20% over prior/expiring rents. In addition, there are 1.0 million square feet of leases commencing in 2022 at an average spread of 26%, committed prior to Q3 2021. The Trust’s leasing momentum has resulted in a 260 basis points increase in in-place and committed occupancy from 95.6% as at December 31, 2020, to 98.2% as at December 31, 2021.
Reflecting continued strength in demand for well-located logistics space, market rents across the Trust’s operating regions continue to increase. As at December 31, 2021, estimated market rents across the Trust’s portfolio exceeded the average in-place base rent by approximately 19%, compared to approximately 9% as of December 31, 2020.
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Executing on development pipeline – Phase 1 of the Trust’s 226,000 square foot expansion at 401 Marie-Curie Boulevard in Montréal is substantially complete with the Trust signing a lease for the entire 130,000 square foot expansion, resulting in an unlevered yield on construction costs of 8.9%. The Trust has commenced construction or is in the final planning stages of commencing construction on over 700,000 square feet of projects in the next 60–90 days. In addition, the Trust expects its pipeline of projects under construction to accelerate in the coming quarters and is in planning stages to start construction on over one million square feet of projects in 2022 with additional projects slated to commence in 2023 and beyond.
At the same time, the Trust continues to expand its development pipeline. Since the end of Q3-2021, the Trust has acquired a 28-acre site in Cambridge for $26 million and a 50-acre site in the Balzac sub-market of Calgary for $14 million. In addition, it is under contract or in exclusivity on two sites in Calgary and the Great Toronto Area (“GTA”) totalling 30 acres. These sites should add an additional 1.6 million square feet to the Trust’s portfolio. Moreover, the Trust has added approximately 2.3 million square feet of incremental density potential with the acquisitions completed in 2021.
- Strong pace of external growth – During the quarter, the Trust completed $474 million of income-producing property acquisitions across Canada and Europe, adding nearly 2.5 million square feet of gross leasable area (“GLA”) to the portfolio, with a weighted average capitalization rate (“cap rate”) of 4.3%. These assets were acquired below replacement cost in significantly land-constrained markets in Canada and Europe and are above the average quality of the Trust’s portfolio.
- Strengthening the balance sheet – During the quarter, the Trust issued $250 million of Series D Unsecured Debentures at a fixed interest rate of 0.54%, after swapping to euros. Net proceeds from this issuance are expected to be utilized towards eligible green investments under the Trust’s Green Financing Framework. During the quarter, The Trust completed a $287.7 million equity offering and raised $56.4 million through its at-the-market program (“ATM Program”). Proceeds were utilized to fund the approximately $500 million of acquisitions during the quarter, development costs, and for general trust purposes.
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Organic growth: Leasing momentum continues to remain robust, which along with strong rental rate growth has allowed the Trust to significantly enhance the organic growth profile of its portfolio over the long term. Since the beginning of 2021, the Trust has signed approximately five million square feet of leases at an average spread of 19%.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
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SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
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(unaudited) |
Three months ended |
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Year ended |
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December 31, |
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December 31, |
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December 31, |
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December 31, |
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(in thousands of dollars except per Unit amounts |
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2021 |
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2020 |
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2021 |
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2020 |
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Operating results |
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Net rental income |
$ |
60,432 |
$ |
44,512 |
$ |
217,899 |
$ |
168,883 |
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Comparative properties net operating income (“NOI”) (constant currency basis)(1) |
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40,096 |
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37,252 |
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138,032 |
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131,010 |
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Net income |
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189,971 |
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81,513 |
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608,345 |
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200,136 |
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Funds from operations (“FFO”)(2) |
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52,033 |
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31,935 |
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176,616 |
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119,646 |
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Per Unit amounts |
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FFO – diluted(3)(4) |
$ |
0.21 |
$ |
0.19 |
$ |
0.81 |
$ |
0.71 |
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Distribution rate |
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0.17 |
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0.17 |
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0.70 |
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0.70 |
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See footnotes at end. |
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PORTFOLIO INFORMATION |
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(unaudited) |
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As at |
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December 31, |
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December 31, |
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(in thousands of dollars) |
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2021 |
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2020 |
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Total portfolio |
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Number of assets(5)(6) |
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239 |
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177 |
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Investment properties fair value |
$ |
5,696,607 |
$ |
3,241,601 |
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Gross leasable area (“GLA”) (in millions of sq. ft.)(6) |
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43.0 |
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27.3 |
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Occupancy rate – in-place and committed (period-end)(7) |
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98.2% |
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95.6% |
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Occupancy rate – in-place (period-end)(7) |
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97.7% |
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94.7% |
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See footnotes at end. |
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FINANCING AND CAPITAL INFORMATION |
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(unaudited) |
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As at |
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December 31, |
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December 31, |
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(in thousands of dollars except per Unit amounts) |
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2021 |
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2020 |
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FINANCING |
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Credit rating – DBRS |
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BBB (mid) |
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BBB (mid) |
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Net total debt-to-total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) ratio(8) |
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31.4% |
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31.3% |
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Net total debt-to-normalized adjusted EBITDAFV ratio (years)(9) |
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8.0 |
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6.2 |
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Interest coverage ratio (times)(10) |
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8.0 |
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4.4 |
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Weighted average face interest rate on debt |
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0.83% |
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2.57% |
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Weighted average remaining term to maturity on debt (years) |
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3.8 |
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4.8 |
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Unencumbered investment properties(11) |
$ |
4,154,925 |
$ |
1,441,589 |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
164,015 |
$ |
254,935 |
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Available liquidity (period-end)(12) |
$ |
511,612 |
$ |
573,235 |
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CAPITAL |
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Total equity (per consolidated financial statements) |
$ |
3,499,423 |
$ |
1,904,876 |
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Total equity (including LP B Units)(13) |
$ |
3,818,886 |
$ |
2,148,833 |
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Total number of Units (in thousands)(14) |
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252,417 |
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171,231 |
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Net asset value (“NAV”) per Unit(15) |
$ |
15.13 |
$ |
12.55 |
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Unit price |
$ |
17.22 |
$ |
13.15 |
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See footnotes at end. |
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“Dream Industrial achieved significant milestones during 2021 and is well-positioned to outperform in 2022 and beyond,” said Brian Pauls, Chief Executive Officer of Dream Industrial REIT. “With a $6 billion global industrial portfolio located in some of the tightest industrial markets, we are well-positioned to drive significant rental rate and NAV per Unit growth. At the same time, our deep development pipeline and excess density across our operating markets will allow us to continue to high-grade our portfolio and provides a strong complement to our acquisition strategy. Our global presence allows us to access capital in the most optimal geography and positions us to maintain our strong growth trajectory. While our accomplishments have led DIR to become a significantly larger and more valuable business, we look to future opportunities and continue to focus on creating significant long-term value for our unitholders.”
ORGANIC GROWTH
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Robust leasing momentum at attractive rental spreads and solid contractual rent growth – Since the beginning of 2021, the Trust has signed approximately 3.6 million square feet of new leases and renewals in Canada at an average spread of 21.2%. In Europe, the Trust has signed 1.2 million square feet at a 10.5% spread over prior/expiring rents. Since the end of Q3 2021, the Trust has already addressed approximately 1.9 million square feet of 2022 expiries.
- In Canada, the Trust signed approximately 600,000 square feet of leases expected to commence in 2022 at an average spread of 30%; and
- In Europe, the Trust signed 1.3 million square feet of leases expected to commence in 2022 at an average spread of 12%.
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Furthermore, one million square feet of new leases and renewals commencing in 2022 were committed prior to Q3 2021, at an average spread of 26% and an additional 1.4 million square feet of new lease and renewals commenced in the second half of 2021 at an average spread of 15%.
Along with generating significant rental rate growth, the Trust is programmatically adding contractual annual rental rate escalators to its leases that allow for consistently rising net operating income over time. Currently, the average contractual rent growth embedded in the Trust’s Canadian portfolio equates to 2.4%. In the Trust’s European portfolio, approximately 90% of the leases are indexed to the consumer price index and an additional 8% have an average contractual rent growth of 2%.
Historically low availability rates and rising replacement costs have resulted in a strong outlook for rental rates across the Trust’s operating markets. As at December 31, 2021, market rents exceed the average in-place base rent across the Trust’s portfolio by approximately 19%, compared to approximately 9% as of December 31, 2020.
Since the end of Q3 2021, the Trust continued to successfully execute on its asset management strategy to increase cash flow growth from its portfolio.
- In January 2022, the Trust signed a lease for the entire 130,000 square foot Phase 1 expansion at its Marie-Curie property in Québec, which resulted in an unlevered yield on construction cost of approximately 9%. The lease will commence in April 2022; and
- At the Trust’s 60 Steckle property in Ontario, the Trust is completing a value-add refurbishment. The Trust acquired the 100,000 square foot property vacant in Q2 2021 for a total purchase price of $12 million. The Trust expects to spend approximately $2 million in value-add capital improvements and expects to generate an unlevered yield on cost of approximately 7.5%, with stabilization expected in May 2022.
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Solid pace of CP NOI (constant currency basis)(1) growth – CP NOI (constant currency basis) for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021 increased by 7.6% and 5.4%, respectively, when compared to the prior year comparative periods.
The growth in CP NOI (constant currency basis) was led by a 17% and 12.3% year-over-year increase in CP NOI in Ontario for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021, respectively. This was driven primarily by increasing rental spreads on new and renewed leases in Ontario where the average in-place base rent increased by 10% and 9.4%, respectively, along with a 360 and 150 basis points increase in average occupancy, respectively for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021. In Québec, a 3% increase in in-place base rent drove year-over-year CP NOI growth of 5.2%. CP NOI for Europe increased by 3.9% year-over-year, driven primarily by a 4.2% increase in in-place base rent.
Net rental income for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $15.9 million, or 35.8%, and $49.0 million, or 29.0%, respectively, over the prior year comparative periods. The increase was mainly driven by the impact of acquired investment properties in 2021 and 2020, as well as comparative properties NOI (constant currency basis) growth in 2021, partially offset by the impact of disposed investment properties during 2021.
- Solar update – In line with the Trust’s sustainability initiatives, it is evaluating the addition of over 30,000 solar panels in Canada and Europe, encompassing over four million square feet of GLA. The Trust expects to commit approximately $15 million of capital towards this project over the near-to-medium term and achieve an unlevered yield on cost of over 8%. The Trust expects income from these projects to be realized in phases commencing in the latter half of 2022.
DEVELOPMENT
The Trust has initiated a structured development program that allows it to add high-quality assets to its portfolio in markets with steep barriers to entry.
- During the quarter, the Trust acquired a 28-acre land parcel in Cambridge for $26 million, which should support the development of approximately 420,000 square feet in the next 24 months. The site is well-located and is in close proximity to Highway 401 and allows the Trust to expand its footprint in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge sub-market which is attracting significant demand for logistics space. The Trust expects to achieve an unlevered yield on cost of approximately 5.3%; and
- In addition, the Trust acquired a 50-acre site in Calgary for $14 million and is under contract on another 20-acre site in Calgary for an expected purchase price of $12 million. These sites can support the development of approximately 800,000 square feet of modern urban logistics product. The purchase price for the two sites is expected to total approximately $27 million. The sites are located in the Balzac sub-market which is close to the airport and has excellent connectivity to major highways and downtown Calgary. The Trust expects unlevered yield on cost of approximately 6% on stabilization.
The Trust continues to make significant progress on its current pipeline of projects. Below is a summary of the key updates on the Trust’s development pipeline:
- 401 Marie-Curie Boulevard, Montréal: The first phase of the expansion at 401 Marie-Curie in the Greater Montréal Area is substantially complete and the Trust signed a lease for the 130,000 square foot expansion commencing April 2022, resulting in an unlevered yield on cost of approximately 8.9%. As part of the second phase, the Trust will add 96,000 square feet of warehouse space expected to be completed by the end of 2022. Overall, the Trust expects to add 226,000 square feet of additional GLA at the property, and achieve an unlevered yield of over 7% on the two-phase project;
- 100 East Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill: The Trust is currently underway on its 43,000 square foot expansion. The Trust expects completion in Q4 2022 with an expected unlevered yield on cost of over 9%;
- Dresden, Germany: The Trust has signed a contract to commence construction of a 241,000 square foot expansion at its existing property in Dresden, Germany. Completion is expected by the end of 2022 with an unlevered yield on cost of approximately 6.5%;
- Abbotside, Caledon: The Trust received the site plan approval for the construction of approximately 150,000 square feet of modern last mile logistics space on its recently acquired site located on Abbotside Drive in the GTA. The Trust commenced construction in January 2022, with completion expected in early 2023. The Trust expects to achieve an unlevered yield on cost of over 5.5%;
- Mississauga redevelopment: The Trust intends to build a 209,000 square foot building in one of the most sought-after sub-markets in the GTA West region. Construction is expected to commence in Q3 2022 with completion expected in 2023. The Trust is forecasting an unlevered yield on cost of over 5%; and
- Montréal expansion: The Trust is currently advancing a 120,000 square foot intensification project at an existing property in Montreal. The Trust has the opportunity to refurbish the existing building and significantly increase the GLA at the existing 200,000 square foot building. The Trust expects to commence construction on this expansion in Q2 2022 and is forecasting an unlevered yield on cost of over 6.5%.
ACQUISITIONS
Of the approximately $630 million of acquisitions that were firm, under contract, or in exclusive negotiations as of the date of the Trust’s press release (link) dated October 13, 2021, the Trust has closed on acquisitions totalling approximately $499 million in Q4 2021, representing a weighted average cap rate of 4.3% on income-producing properties acquired. These acquisitions have added 2.5 million square feet of high quality, well-located and functional logistics space to the Trust’s portfolio.
- The Trust closed on the previously announced 600,000 square foot urban logistics and high-tech industrial campus in The Hague, Netherlands (“Tech Park”) for a purchase price of €90 million ($129 million), equating to a going in cap rate of 4.6%. The Trust is currently underway on two pre-leased expansions for 65,000 square feet that are expected to be complete in early 2022. The cost of the expansion is forecasted to be €10 million with an estimated unlevered yield on cost of 6.2%. In addition, there is an additional 39,000 square feet of intensification potential. These expansion projects are expected to be finalized in 2022;
- The Trust acquired a portfolio of 11 logistics and light industrial assets totalling 1.0 million square feet located in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region in Ontario (“GGH Portfolio”) for a total purchase price of $160 million. The GGH Portfolio is 100% occupied by strong tenants primarily in the logistics, automotive, and consumer goods sectors, with a weighted average lease term of approximately 5.3 years. The average in-place rent is over 25% below market, allowing for growing cash flows over time. In addition, the portfolio also includes nearly 300,000 square feet of excess density that the Trust intends to develop over time;
- The Trust acquired a 250,000 square foot single-tenant building located in Hamburg, one of the most important logistics hubs in Germany and home to the third largest port in Europe. Built in 1999 with additional expansions completed in 2006 and 2011, the property is 100% occupied by a logistics user with a weighted average lease term of seven years. The building is situated on a 11.5-acre site, and there is potential to intensify the site by approximately 50,000 square feet; and
- Furthermore, the Trust completed the previously announced acquisitions of five income-producing assets in Germany and the Greater Toronto Area (“GTA”) totalling 0.7 million square feet for a total purchase price of $118 million. These sites contain over 300,000 square feet of excess density that the Trust intends to develop over time.
See Figure 1, Hamburg Asset
See Figure 2, GGH Portfolio
For the full year 2021, the Trust completed over $2.4 billion of acquisitions across North America and Europe, which resulted in 15 million square feet of assets being added to its portfolio. The pipeline for future acquisitions remains robust and the Trust is under contract or in varying stages of due diligence on approximately $400 million of assets in Canada and Europe.
“We continue to focus on maximizing performance in every aspect of our business supported by strengthening fundamentals for industrial real estate in our markets,” said Alexander Sannikov, Chief Operating Officer of Dream Industrial REIT. “We are seeing robust organic growth drivers in our portfolio including marking rents to market, executing on value-add strategies, built-in rent steps and indexation. We expect that our development program will be an increasingly meaningful contributor to our overall results. Our new acquisitions enhance our organic growth outlook through additional density and mark-to-market potential while improving the overall quality of our portfolio.”
CAPITAL STRATEGY
The Trust continues to maintain significant financial flexibility as it executes on its strategy to grow and upgrade portfolio quality. During the quarter, the Trust issued $250 million of Series D Unsecured Debentures with net proceeds expected to be allocated towards funding eligible green projects under the Trust’s Green Financing Framework. Over the past 24 months, the Trust has successfully transitioned its debt stack to be largely unsecured, with the proportion of secured debt(16) dropping to 9.3% of total assets and approximately 28% of total debt (non-GAAP financial measure), compared to 64.7% one year ago. On a year-over-year basis, average cost of debt decreased 174 basis points from 2.57% in Q4 2020 to 0.83% in Q4 2021.
During the quarter, the Trust completed a $287.7 million equity offering during the quarter at an issue price of $16.50. Since Q3 2021, the Trust has utilized its ATM Program to raise approximately $56.4 million, at an average unit price of $16.64. Subsequent to quarter-end, the Trust raised a further $43.2 million through the ATM Program at an average unit price of $16.27. The net proceeds from the equity offering as well as the ATM Program were utilized to fund over $500 million of acquisitions completed since the end of Q3 2021, over $20 million in development costs, and general trust purposes.
Contacts
Dream Industrial REIT
Brian Pauls
Chief Executive Officer
(416) 365-2365
bpauls@dream.ca
Lenis Quan
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 365-2353
lquan@dream.ca
Alexander Sannikov
Chief Operating Officer
(416) 365-4106
asannikov@dream.ca