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 Real Estate Investment Trust (DIR.UN-TSX) or (the “REIT” or “Trust” or “Dream Industrial REIT” or “DIR” or “we” or “us”) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2026. Management will host a conference call to discuss the financial results on May 6, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. (ET).
“Dream Industrial kicked off 2026 with strong performance, delivering 9% CP NOI growth driven by healthy leasing activity and continued execution of our asset management initiatives. Our strong organic growth drove solid year-over-year FFO per unit growth even as our balance sheet remained underutilized this quarter, providing us with meaningful dry powder to deploy into accretive opportunities,” said Alexander Sannikov, President & Chief Executive Officer of Dream Industrial REIT. “In line with our previous communications, we have returned nearly $100 million of capital to unitholders through the NCIB, and we have a strong pipeline of high-growth opportunities across our target markets. At the same time, we are focusing on scaling our private ventures with $390 million of acquisitions already completed to date or in exclusivity, while continuing to explore opportunities in new markets. With all of our growth drivers intact, we are confident in the ongoing resilience of our business.”
HIGHLIGHTS
- Diluted funds from operations (“FFO”) per Unit(1) was $0.26 in Q1 2026, a 2.0% increase when compared to Q1 2025.
- Completed $453 million of asset dispositions in the quarter, including the first tranche of assets sold to the Dream CPP Investments JV (the “DCI JV”)(5). The net proceeds were used to partially repay amounts outstanding on the unsecured revolving credit facility, reducing leverage by over 160 bps compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Closed on over $150 million of acquisitions across the Trust’s wholly-owned portfolio and private ventures since the beginning of 2026 ($37 million at the Trust’s share), adding over 1 million square feet of GLA to the Trust’s owned and managed portfolio.
- Comparative properties net operating income (“CP NOI”) (constant currency basis)(2) increased by 9.0% to $99.6 million in Q1 2026, when compared to $91.4 million in Q1 2025.
- In-place and committed occupancy for the Trust’s wholly-owned Canadian portfolio increased to 96.8% as at March 31, 2026 compared to 94.4% as at March 31, 2025.
- In-place and committed occupancy for the Trust’s wholly-owned European portfolio was 95.0% in Europe as at March 31, 2026, compared to 96.9% as at March 31, 2025. Occupancy this quarter reflects the acquisition of a vacant asset in the Netherlands, acquired as part of the Trust’s value-add strategy.
- Signed over 1.8 million square feet of new leases and renewals across the Trust’s wholly-owned portfolio at a weighted average rental spread of 26.4% since the beginning of 2026 through April 30, 2026, driven by 66% spread in Ontario, 12% spread in Québec and 11% spread in Western Canada.
- Repurchased and cancelled $97.2 million of REIT Units under the normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) program at a weighted average price of $12.95 per REIT Unit since the beginning of the year to May 1, 2026.
- Net rental income was $97.8 million in Q1 2026, a 6.6% increase when compared to $91.7 million in Q1 2025, driven by increases of 6.2% in Ontario, 18.4% in Québec, 26.0% in Western Canada and 11.7% in Europe, excluding disposed investment properties and assets held for sale.
- Net income was $62.8 million in Q1 2026, an increase of $15.3 million when compared to $47.5 million in Q1 2025. The net income in Q1 2026 was comprised of net rental income of $97.8 million, interest expense on debt of $23.5 million, negative fair value adjustments to investment properties of $10.3 million and other net expense of $1.2 million.
- Total assets were $8.1 billion as at March 31, 2026, a 4.7% decrease when compared to $8.4 billion as at December 31, 2025, driven by dispositions partially offset by an increase in investment property value due to acquisitions, investments in the Dream Summit JV (the “DSI JV”)(3), the U.S. Fund(4) and the DCI JV, development projects and foreign exchange translation adjustments.
- Diluted FFO per Unit is a non-GAAP ratio. 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.
- CP NOI (constant currency basis) is a non-GAAP financial measure. The tables included in the Appendices section of this press release reconcile this non-GAAP financial measure with its most directly comparable IFRS Accounting Standards financial measure. 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.
- A joint venture between GIC and the Trust in which the Trust has a 10% interest.
- A private U.S. industrial fund in which the Trust has a 30.5% ownership interest.
- A joint venture between CPP Investments and the Trust in which the Trust has a 10% interest.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
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SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
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(unaudited) |
Three months ended |
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|
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March 31, |
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March 31, |
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(in thousands of dollars except per Unit amounts) |
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2026 |
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2025 |
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Operating results |
|
|
|
|
|
Net rental income (“NOI”) |
$ |
97,777 |
$ |
91,710 |
|
Comparative properties net operating income (“CP NOI”) (constant currency basis)(1) |
$ |
99,553 |
$ |
91,355 |
|
Net income |
$ |
62,840 |
$ |
47,488 |
|
Funds from operations (“FFO”)(2) |
$ |
76,289 |
$ |
74,602 |
|
FFO – diluted per Unit(3)(4) |
$ |
0.26 |
$ |
0.26 |
|
Distribution rate per Unit |
$ |
0.17 |
$ |
0.17 |
|
FFO payout ratio(3) |
|
66.8% |
|
69.0% |
|
See footnotes at end. |
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|
|
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PORTFOLIO INFORMATION |
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As at |
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|
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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March 31, |
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(in thousands of dollars) |
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2026 |
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2025 |
|
2025 |
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Total portfolio |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of assets(5)(6) |
|
343 |
|
342 |
|
336 |
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Investment properties fair value |
$ |
6,649,195 |
$ |
6,633,177 |
$ |
7,134,982 |
|
Investment properties fair value (including assets held for sale) |
$ |
7,018,295 |
$ |
7,438,177 |
$ |
7,314,982 |
|
Gross leasable area (“GLA”) (in millions of sq. ft.)(6) |
|
74.1 |
|
73.6 |
|
72.6 |
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Occupancy – in-place and committed (period-end) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wholly-owned Canadian portfolio(7) |
|
96.8% |
|
96.2% |
|
94.4% |
|
Wholly-owned European portfolio |
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95.0% |
|
96.5% |
|
96.9% |
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Total portfolio(8) |
|
95.7% |
|
96.2% |
|
95.4% |
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Occupancy – in-place (period-end) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wholly-owned Canadian portfolio(7) |
|
96.1% |
|
95.8% |
|
93.2% |
|
Wholly-owned European portfolio |
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94.1% |
|
95.5% |
|
96.1% |
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Total portfolio(8) |
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94.9% |
|
95.5% |
|
94.5% |
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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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|
|
March 31, |
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December 31, |
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(in thousands of dollars except per Unit amounts) |
|
2026 |
|
2025 |
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FINANCING |
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|
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|
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Credit rating – DBRS |
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BBB (high) |
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BBB (high) |
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Net total debt-to-total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) ratio(9) |
|
36.8% |
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38.4% |
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Net total debt-to-normalized adjusted EBITDAFV ratio (years)(10) |
|
7.3 |
|
7.7 |
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Interest coverage ratio (times)(11) |
|
4.5 |
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4.7 |
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Weighted average face interest rate on debt (period-end)(12) |
|
3.19% |
|
3.19% |
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Unencumbered investment properties (period-end)(13) |
$ |
5,892,118 |
$ |
6,277,035 |
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Unencumbered investment properties as a percentage of total investment properties(13) |
|
84.0% |
|
84.4% |
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Total assets |
$ |
8,050,062 |
$ |
8,442,797 |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
35,872 |
$ |
41,431 |
|
Available liquidity(14) |
$ |
604,895 |
$ |
338,525 |
|
CAPITAL |
|
|
|
|
|
Total equity (per condensed consolidated financial statements) |
$ |
4,748,796 |
$ |
4,791,574 |
|
Total equity (including LP B Units)(15) |
$ |
4,840,996 |
$ |
4,885,339 |
|
Total number of Units (in thousands)(16) |
|
288,798 |
|
294,260 |
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Net asset value (“NAV”) per Unit(17) |
$ |
16.76 |
$ |
16.60 |
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Unit price |
$ |
12.37 |
$ |
12.58 |
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See footnotes at end. |
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ORGANIC GROWTH
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Continued strong leasing momentum at attractive rental spreads – From January 1, 2026 through to April 30, 2026, the Trust has transacted over 1.8 million square feet of leases across its wholly-owned portfolio at a weighted average rental rate spread of 26.4% over prior or expiring rents.
- In Canada, the Trust signed over 1.4 million square feet of leases, achieving a weighted average rental rate spread to expiry of 33.1% and an average annual contractual rent growth of 3.0%.
- In Europe, the Trust signed over 0.4 million square feet of leases, achieving a weighted average rental rate spread to expiry of 4.3%. All of the leases are fully indexed to local consumer price indices (“CPI”) or have contractual rent steps.
As at March 31, 2026, estimated average market rents across the Trust’s wholly-owned portfolio in Canada and Europe exceeded the average in-place and committed rents for remaining expiring 2026 leases by 29.7% and 24.9%, respectively.
Along with capturing substantial rental rate growth, the Trust embeds contractual annual rental rate escalators to drive consistent CP NOI (constant currency basis) growth, averaging approximately 3% in its wholly-owned Canadian portfolio, while approximately 85% of European leases are indexed to the local CPI, with the balance featuring contractual rent steps.
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Solid pace of CP NOI (constant currency basis)(1) growth – CP NOI (constant currency basis) for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $99.6 million, compared to $91.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, representing an increase of 9.0% compared to the prior year comparative quarter.
The Canadian portfolio posted year-over-year CP NOI (constant currency basis) growth of 12.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, driven by 6.8%, 31.1% and 8.5% CP NOI growth in Ontario, Québec and Western Canada, respectively. Overall, in-place base rents for the Canadian portfolio increased by 9.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2026.
In Europe, year-over-year CP NOI (constant currency basis) increased by 4.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2026. The increase was driven by higher rental rates on new and renewed leases, completed intensification projects, in addition to CPI indexation.
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Healthy occupancy levels – The Trust’s in-place occupancy for its Canadian portfolio was 96.1% as at March 31, 2026 compared to 95.8% as at December 31, 2025, primarily driven by the lease-up of several vacancies in Québec during the quarter and its recently completed 20-acre development in Alberta.
The Trust’s in-place occupancy for its European portfolio was 94.1% as at March 31, 2026 compared to 95.5% as at December 31, 2025, primarily driven by the acquisition of a 163,000 square foot vacant asset in the Netherlands as part of the Trust’s value-add strategy.
The Trust’s in-place occupancy across its wholly-owned and managed portfolio (at the Trust’s share) was 94.9% as at March 31, 2026, compared to 95.5% as at December 31, 2025.
The Trust’s in-place and committed occupancy across its wholly-owned and managed portfolio (at the Trust’s share) was 95.7% as at March 31, 2026, compared to 96.2% as at December 31, 2025. The Trust continues to be in active discussions with prospective tenants and it expects significant opportunities to capture strong income growth as spaces are leased.
- Continued growth in net rental income for the quarter – Net rental income for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $97.8 million representing an increase of $6.1 million or 6.6%, relative to the comparative prior year quarter. For the quarter, year-over-year net rental income increased by 6.2% in Ontario, 18.4% in Québec, 26.0% in Western Canada and 11.7% in Europe, excluding disposed investment properties and assets held for sale. The increase was mainly driven by strong CP NOI (constant currency basis) growth over the past year, completion and lease-up at the Trust’s development projects and growth in net property management income.
ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS UPDATE
During the quarter, the Trust acquired a 163,000 square foot asset located in the Netherlands for a purchase price of $23.3 million. The property is situated on a 5-acre site within a well-established business park, benefitting from strong surrounding infrastructure and modern industrial zoning. The location supports continued commercial growth and functions as a key logistics hub, offering excellent highway connectivity and access to multimodal transportation networks. The asset was acquired vacant as part of the Trust’s value-add strategy and is expected to deliver a NOI yield of approximately 8% on purchase price upon stabilization.
See Figure 1, [Den Bosch, the Netherlands]
The breadth and quality of the Trust’s pipeline of opportunities continue to grow. Currently, the Trust has over $500 million of acquisitions firm or under exclusivity across Canada and Europe, providing significant opportunity to high-grade its portfolio through disciplined capital deployment.
The Trust continues to actively pursue disposition opportunities as part of its ongoing capital recycling program. During the quarter, the Trust completed the previously announced first tranche portfolio sale comprising six industrial assets (22 buildings) totalling 1.9 million square feet across Ontario, Québec and Western Canada to the newly formed DCI JV for net proceeds of $375 million. The Trust expects to close the second tranche sale comprising the remaining five assets totalling 1.6 million square feet to the DCI JV in mid-2026.
Additionally, the Trust completed the previously announced sale of a non-strategic asset located in the GTA West, Ontario, for $17.5 million or approximately $374 per square foot during the quarter.
STRATEGIC PRIVATE VENTURES UPDATE
The Trust continues to actively deploy capital alongside its partners, adding high-quality industrial product within its private ventures while further scaling its property management and leasing platform. Since the beginning of 2025, the Trust’s private ventures have completed over $600 million of acquisitions. Net property management leasing margin for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $3.4 million, representing an increase of $0.4 million or 14.4% compared to the comparative prior year quarter.
During the quarter, the Trust’s private ventures acquired two assets totalling 283,000 square feet located in the Greater Toronto Area (“GTA”) and Calgary for a total purchase price of $52.6 million ($5.3 million at the Trust’s share), including the DCI JV’s first acquisition in addition to the initial portfolio.
Subsequent to the quarter, the DSI JV acquired a four-building industrial portfolio totalling 618,000 square feet located in the highly desirable Foothills industrial node in Calgary, Alberta for a purchase price of $81.3 million ($8.1 million at the Trust’s share).
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
During the quarter, the Trust completed its build-to-suit expansion and refurbishment project in the Netherlands, adding 125,000 square feet of high-quality distribution space. As part of the arrangement, the existing tenant extended its lease by an additional ten years and the project is now fully contributing to the Trust’s NOI, delivering an unlevered yield on cost of 7%.
See Figure 2, [Rendering of completed intensification project in Helmond, the Netherlands]
CAPITAL STRATEGY
As previously announced, in connection with the formation of the DCI JV and the Trust’s $805 million portfolio recapitalization, the Trust has deployed a portion of the proceeds towards unit buybacks. Since the beginning of the year and up to May 1, 2026, the Trust has purchased for cancellation 7.5 million REIT units under its NCIB program at a weighted average of $12.95 per REIT Unit for a gross amount of $97.2 million.
The Trust continues to maintain significant financial flexibility as it executes on its strategic initiatives. The Trust’s proportion of secured debt(18) was 5.5% of total assets and represents 14.9% of total debt(19). The Trust’s unencumbered asset pool(13) totalled $5.9 billion as at March 31, 2026, representing 84.0% of the Trust’s total investment properties value as at March 31, 2026.
The Trust ended Q1 2026 with available liquidity(14) of $604.9 million, including $35.9 million of cash and cash equivalents, and with an additional $250 million that could be exercised through the accordion on its unsecured revolving credit facility. The Trust’s net total debt-to-normalized adjusted EBITDAFV ratio was 7.3x and net total debt-to-total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) ratio was 36.8% as at March 31, 2026.
Subsequent to the quarter, the Trust repaid its $200 million Series E Green Bonds that matured on April 13, 2026 by temporarily utilizing its unsecured revolving credit facility. On April 21, 2026, the Trust closed on its issuance of $200 million of Series H unsecured debentures at an all-in interest rate of 4.150% per annum, maturing on April 22, 2031. Concurrently, the Trust entered into forward cross-currency interest rate swap arrangements to swap the proceeds to euros to lower the effective fixed interest rate to 4.003% per annum. The net proceeds were utilized to reduce the outstanding balance on its unsecured revolving credit facility, including indebtedness incurred in connection with the repayment of the Series E Green Bonds.
“With over $600 million of liquidity at the end of the first quarter plus the upcoming second tranche sale of assets to the DCI JV, we have ample financial flexibility,” said Lenis Quan, Chief Financial Officer of Dream Industrial REIT. “We have completed nearly $100 million of unit buybacks so far this year, and we continue to take a disciplined approach to allocate capital towards strategic initiatives that enhance the long-term growth profile of our business.”
CONFERENCE CALL
Senior management will host a conference call to discuss the financial results on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. (ET). To access the conference call, please dial 1-800-715-9871 in Canada or 647-932-3411 elsewhere. To access the conference call via webcast, please go to Dream Industrial REIT’s website at www.dreamindustrialreit.ca and click on the link for News, then click on Events. A taped replay of the conference call and the webcast will be available for ninety (90) days following the call.
ANNUAL AND SPECIAL MEETING OF UNITHOLDERS
Dream Industrial REIT welcomes investors to its annual and special meeting of unitholders at the TMX Market Centre, 120 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5H 1T1 on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The audio webcast and digital replay can be accessed by going to www.dreamindustrialreit.ca, clicking on news and selecting events.
Other information
Information appearing in this press release is a select summary of financial results. The condensed consolidated financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the Trust will be available at www.dreamindustrialreit.ca and on www.sedarplus.ca.
Dream Industrial REIT is an owner, manager and operator of a global portfolio of well-located, diversified industrial properties. As at March 31, 2026, the REIT has an interest in and manages a portfolio which comprises 343 industrial assets (558 buildings) totalling approximately 74.1 million square feet of gross leasable area in key markets across Canada, Europe, and the U.S. The REIT’s objective is to deliver strong total returns to its unitholders through secure distributions as well as growth in net asset value and cash flow per unit underpinned by its high-quality portfolio and an investment grade balance sheet. Dream Industrial REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust. For more information, please visit www.dreamindustrialreit.ca.
FOOTNOTES
- 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 table included in the Appendices section of this press release reconciles CP NOI (constant currency basis) for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and March 31, 2025 to net rental income. For further information on this non-GAAP measure, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release.
- FFO is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most directly comparable financial measure to FFO is net income. The table included in the Appendices section of this press release reconcile FFO for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and March 31, 2025 to net income. For further information on this non-GAAP measure, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release.
- Diluted FFO per Unit and FFO payout ratio are non-GAAP ratios. Diluted FFO per Unit is comprised of FFO (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by the weighted average number of Units. FFO payout ratio is calculated as total distributions divided by FFO (both non-GAAP financial measures) for the period. For further information on non-GAAP ratios, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release.
- A description of the determination of diluted amounts per Unit can be found in the Trust’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and March 31, 2025, in the section “Supplementary financial measures and ratios and other disclosures”, under the heading “Weighted average number of Units”.
- “Number of assets” comprise a building, or a cluster of buildings in close proximity to one another attracting similar tenants.
- Includes the Trust’s owned and managed properties and assets held for sale as at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025.
- Excludes the Trust’s share of equity accounted investments and assets held for sale as at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025.
- Includes the Trust’s share of equity accounted investments in the U.S. Fund, DSI JV, DCI JV and Development JV and excludes assets held for sale as at March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, with the exception of 10% of the assets held for sale relating to the second tranche of the portfolio that will be sold to the DCI JV in mid-2026 that is included as at March 31, 2026.
- Net total debt-to-total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) ratio is a non-GAAP ratio. Net total debt-to-total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) ratio is comprised of net total debt (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) (a non-GAAP financial measure). The most directly comparable IFRS Accounting Standards financial measure to net total debt is non-current debt, and the most directly comparable IFRS Accounting Standards financial measure to total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) is total assets. The tables included in the Appendices section of this press release reconciles net total debt to non-current debt and total assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) to total assets as at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025. For further information on this non-GAAP ratio and these non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the statements under the heading “Non-GAAP financial measures, ratios and supplementary financial measures” in this press release.
- Net total debt-to-normalized adjusted EBITDAFV is a non-GAAP ratio. Net total debt-to-normalized adjusted EBITDAFV is comprised of net total debt (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by normalized adjusted EBITDAFV (a non-GAAP financial measure).
Contacts
For further information, please contact:
Dream Industrial REIT
Alexander Sannikov
President & Chief Executive Officer
(416) 365-4106
asannikov@dream.ca
Lenis Quan
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 365-2353
lquan@dream.ca