CAPREIT Reports Continued Strong Growth in First Quarter 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – May 8, 2015) – Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (“CAPREIT”) (TSX:CAR.UN) announced today strong operating and financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

• Operating revenues up 1.9% from last year due to increased occupancy and average monthly rents (“AMR”), and contributions from acquisitions
• AMR up 2.4% for residential suites.
• Portfolio occupancy increases to 98.6% at March 31, 2015
• NOI up 4.8% compared to first quarter last year
• NOI margin rises to 58.0% for the first quarter of 2015 compared to 56.4% last year
• Same property NOI for the first quarter of 2015 up a very strong 5.6% compared to last year
• NFFO up 1.9% due to strong operating performance and organic growth
• NFFO payout ratio remains conservative at 77.8%
• Successfully completed the $154.7 million bought-deal equity financing on March 25, 2015.
• Closed or committed mortgage refinancings of $94.5 million, including $26.7 million for renewals of existing mortgages and $67.8 million for additional top up financing with a weighted average term to maturity of 10.1 years, and a reduced weighted average interest rate of 2.44%.

“Our proven and highly successful asset and property management programs continue to drive strong, sustainable and growing cash flows and significant benefits to our Unitholders,” commented Thomas Schwartz, President and CEO. “Following another record year in 2014, progress continued in the first quarter of 2015 with very strong organic growth and solid contributions from our recent acquisitions, all while maintaining one of the strongest balance sheets in our business. We look for this record performance to continue through the balance of 2015.”

PORTFOLIO OPERATING RESULTS

Operating Revenues

For the three months ended March 31, 2015, total operating revenues increased by 1.9% compared to the same period last year due primarily to the contribution from acquisitions and increased occupancies and average monthly rents. Ancillary revenues, such as parking, laundry and antenna income, increased 0.2% for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the same period last year due to Management’s continued focus on maximizing the revenue potential of its property portfolio.

CAPREIT’s annualized net rental revenue run-rate, based on the average monthly rents in place and CAPREIT’s share of residential suites and sites as at March 31, 2015, increased to $492.7 million, up 2.9% from $479.1 million as of March 31, 2014 largely due to acquisitions and organic NOI growth. Net rental revenue net of dispositions for the twelve months ended March 31, 2015 was $478.2 million (2014 – $459.7 million).

Portfolio Average Monthly Rents (“AMR”)

Average monthly rents for residential suites increased by 2.4% to $1,088 and occupancy increased to 98.5% as at March 31, 2015 due to ongoing successful sales and marketing strategies and continued strength in the residential rental sector in the majority of CAPREIT’s regional markets. For the Manufactured Housing Community (“MHC”) land lease portfolio, average monthly rents increased to $359 as at March 31, 2015, compared to $349 as at March 31, 2014. Occupancy for the MHC portfolio rose to 99.3% at March 31, 2015 from 97.7% at the same time last year.

Average monthly rents for residential suites owned prior to March 31, 2014 also increased as at March 31, 2015 to $1,090 from $1,059 as at March 31, 2014, an increase of 2.9% from the same period last year with occupancies remaining strong at 98.6%.

Suite Turnovers and Lease Renewals

The rate of growth in average monthly rents on lease renewals during the period is higher primarily due to the increased guideline increases for 2015 (Ontario – 1.6%, British Columbia – 2.5%), which compare more favourably to the permitted guideline increases in 2014 (Ontario – 0.8%, British Columbia – 2.2%) and by above guideline increases (“AGI”) applied. Increased portfolio diversification helped mitigate geographical risk in particular areas of Canada. Management continues to pursue applications for AGIs where it believes increases are supported by market conditions above the annual guideline to raise average monthly rents on lease renewals.

Operating Expenses

Overall operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenues decreased to 42.0% in the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to 43.6% in the same period last year as a result of lower utilities, repairs and maintenance (“R&M”), and wages costs.

Net Operating Income

Overall NOI improved $3.4 million or 4.8% in the first quarter of 2015 and the NOI margin increased to 58.0% from 56.4% for the same period last year due to higher operating revenues and lower operating expenses.

For the three months ended March 31, 2015, operating revenues for stabilized suites and sites increased 1.7% while operating costs decreased by 3.1% compared to the same period last year. As a result, stabilized NOI increased by 5.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

Per Unit amounts in the first quarter of 2015 were impacted by the 2% increase in the weighted number of Units outstanding in the period resulting from the successful $154.7 million bought-deal equity offering completed on March 25, 2015.

LIQUIDITY AND LEVERAGE

Financial Strength

Management believes CAPREIT’s strong balance sheet and liquidity position will enable it to continue to take advantage of acquisition and property capital investment opportunities over the long term.

CAPREIT is achieving its financing goals as demonstrated by the following key indicators:

• Maintained a conservative ratio of total debt to gross book value of 44.32% as at March 31, 2015;
• Debt service and interest coverage ratios for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 improved to 1.59 times and 2.82 times, respectively, compared to 1.58 times and 2.69 times last year;
• As at March 31, 2015, 95.8% (March 31, 2014 – 96.5%) of CAPREIT’s mortgage portfolio was insured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”), excluding the mortgages on CAPREIT’s MHC land lease sites, resulting in improved spreads on mortgages and overall lower interest costs than conventional mortgages.
• The effective portfolio weighted average interest rate on mortgages has steadily declined to 3.60% as at March 31, 2015 from 3.77% as at March 31, 2014, resulting in significant potential interest rate savings in future years;
• Management expects to raise between $300 million and $350 million in total mortgage renewals and refinancings in 2015;
• The weighted average term to maturity of the mortgage portfolio decreased slightly to 6.2 years as at March 31, 2015 from 6.3 years at March 31, 2014;
• As at March 31, 2015, CAPREIT has investment properties with a fair value of $251 million not encumbered by mortgages and secure only the Acquisition and Operating Facility. CAPREIT intends to maintain unencumbered investment properties with an aggregate fair value in the range of $150 and $180 million over the long term.

Property Capital Investments

During the three months ended March 31, 2015, CAPREIT made property capital investments (excluding disposed properties, head office assets, tenant improvements and signage) of $24.9 million as compared to $23.6 million in the same period last year. For the full 2015 year, CAPREIT expects to complete property capital investments of approximately $145 million to $155 million, including approximately $48 million targeted at acquisitions completed since January 1, 2011, and approximately $15 million in high-efficiency boilers and other energy-saving initiatives.

Property capital investments include suite improvements, common areas and equipment, which generally tend to increase NOI more quickly. CAPREIT also continues to invest in energy-saving initiatives, including boilers, energy-efficient lighting systems, and water-saving programs, which permit CAPREIT to mitigate potentially higher increases in utility and R&M costs and significantly improve overall portfolio NOI.

Subsequent Event

On May 8, 2015, CAPREIT announced that its Board of Trustees approved a 3.4% increase in annualized cash distributions to $1.22 per Unit ($0.1017 per Unit monthly) effective with the May 2015 distribution payable on June 15, 2015 to Unitholders of Record as at May 29, 2015.

Additional Information

More detailed information and analysis is included in CAPREIT’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2015, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be viewed at www.sedar.com under CAPREIT’s profile or on CAPREIT’s website on the investor relations page at www.capreit.net.

Conference Call

A conference call hosted by Thomas Schwartz, President and CEO and the CAPREIT Management Team, will be held Monday, May 11, 2015 at 10:00 am EST. The telephone numbers for the conference call are: Local/International: (416) 340-2216, North American Toll Free: (866) 225-0198.

A slide presentation to accompany Management’s comments during the conference call will be available one hour and a half prior to the conference call. To view the slides, access the CAPREIT website at www.capreit.net, click on “Investor Relations” and follow the link at the top of the page. Please log on at least 15 minutes before the call commences.

The telephone numbers to listen to the call after it is completed (Instant Replay) are local/international (905) 694-9451 or North American toll free (800) 408-3053. The Passcode for the Instant Replay is 6825497#. The Instant Replay will be available until midnight, May 18, 2015. The call and accompanying slides will also be archived on the CAPREIT website at www.capreit.net. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please refer to our website at www.capreit.net.

About CAPREIT

CAPREIT owns interests in multi-unit residential rental properties, including apartments, townhomes and manufactured home communities primarily located in and near major urban centres across Canada. As at March 31, 2015, CAPREIT had owning interests in 41,837 residential units, comprised of 35,552 residential suites and 30 manufactured home communities (“MHC”) comprising 6,285 land lease sites. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please refer to our website at www.capreit.net and our public disclosure which can be found under our profile at www.sedar.com.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

CAPREIT prepares and releases unaudited quarterly and audited consolidated annual financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. In this and other earnings releases and investor conference calls, as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS, CAPREIT also discloses and discusses certain non-IFRS financial measures, including Net Rental Revenue Run-Rate, NOI, FFO, NFFO and applicable per Unit amounts and payout ratios. These non-IFRS measures are further defined and discussed in the MD&A released on May 8, 2015, which should be read in conjunction with this press release. Since Net Rental Revenue Run-Rate, NOI, FFO and NFFO are not determined by IFRS, they may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other issuers. CAPREIT has presented such non-IFRS measures as Management believes these non-IFRS measures are relevant measures of the ability of CAPREIT to earn and distribute cash returns to Unitholders and to evaluate CAPREIT’s performance. A reconciliation of Net Income and such non-IFRS measures including Adjusted Funds From Operations (“AFFO”) is included in this press release. These non-IFRS measures should not be construed as alternatives to net income (loss) or cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of CAPREIT’s performance.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained, or contained in documents incorporated by reference, in this press release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to CAPREIT’s future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial position, business strategy, budgets, litigation, projected costs, capital investments, financial results, taxes, plans and objectives of or involving CAPREIT. Particularly, statements regarding CAPREIT’s future results, performance, achievements, prospects, costs, opportunities and financial outlook, including those relating to acquisition and capital investment strategy and the real estate industry generally, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or the negative thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding expected growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. In addition, certain specific assumptions were made in preparing forward-looking information, including: that the Canadian and Irish economies will generally experience growth, however, may be adversely impacted by the global economy; that inflation will remain low; that interest rates will remain low in the medium term; that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”) mortgage insurance will continue to be available and that a sufficient number of lenders will participate in the CMHC-insured mortgage program to ensure competitive rates; that the Canadian capital markets will continue to provide CAPREIT with access to equity and/or debt at reasonable rates; that vacancy rates for CAPREIT properties will be consistent with historical norms; that rental rates will grow at levels similar to the rate of inflation on renewal; that rental rates on turnovers will remain stable; that CAPREIT will effectively manage price pressures relating to its energy usage; and, with respect to CAPREIT’s financial outlook regarding capital investments, assumptions respecting projected costs of construction and materials, availability of trades, the cost and availability of financing, CAPREIT’s investment priorities, the properties in which investments will be made, the composition of the property portfolio and the projected return on investment in respect of specific capital investments.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions, Management believes they are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements; they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond CAPREIT’s control, that may cause CAPREIT or the industry’s actual results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities in future periods to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to: reporting investment properties at fair value, real property ownership, leasehold interests, co-ownerships, investment restrictions, operating risk, energy costs and hedging, environmental matters, insurance, capital investments, indebtedness, interest rate hedging, foreign operation and currency risks, taxation, harmonization of federal goods and services tax and provincial sales tax, government regulations, controls over financial accounting, legal and regulatory concerns, the nature of units of CAPREIT (“Trust Units”) and of CAPREIT’s subsidiary, CAPREIT Limited Partnership (“Exchangeable Units”) (collectively, the “Units”), unitholder liability, liquidity and price fluctuation of Units, dilution, distributions, participation in CAPREIT’s distribution reinvestment plan, potential conflicts of interest, dependence on key personnel, general economic conditions, competition for residents, competition for real property investments, continued growth and risks related to acquisitions. There can be no assurance the expectations of CAPREIT’s Management will prove to be correct. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in regulatory filings, including CAPREIT’s Annual Information Form, which can be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, under CAPREIT’s profile, as well as under Risks and Uncertainties section of the MD&A released on May 8, 2015. The information in this press release is based on information available to Management as of May 8, 2015. Subject to applicable law, CAPREIT does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.

SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Condensed Balance Sheets

Condensed Statements of Cash Flows

Reconciliation of Net Income to FFO and to NFFO

Reconciliation of NFFO to AFFO