- Robust leasing activity with 1.4 million sq. ft. of new and renewed leases with new leasing spread of 9.2% and blended leasing spread of 5.4%;
- Continued improvements in committed occupancy to 96.1% up 30 bps from Q1 2021;
- Net income of $145.3 million, an improvement over the same period last year;
- FFO/unit improved to $0.40 from $0.35 for Q2 2020 and from $0.36 for Q1 2021(i);
- Capital recycling program accelerates to $841.6 million in closed, firm and conditional deals for 2021.
TORONTO, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (“RioCan” or the “Trust”) announced today its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 (the “Second Quarter”).
“RioCan’s strong performance in the Second Quarter further exhibits the strength of our portfolio and team. We have weathered the pandemic and are poised to thrive as the economy reopens. We delivered strong operational and financial performance with growth in FFO/unit for the quarter despite the impact of the pandemic’s third wave,” said Jonathan Gitlin, President and CEO of RioCan. “Ongoing momentum in leasing activity drove positive trends in occupancy and further strengthened the quality of our income as tenants continue to be attracted to our exceptionally well-located properties. We remain focused on investing in the strength of our stable foundation, surfacing the value inherent in our portfolio and capitalizing on the numerous opportunities available to us to augment our income as we accelerate our growth trajectory and drive long-term value.”
| Three months ended June 30 | Six months ended June 30 | ||||||||||||
| (in millions except percentages, square feet and per unit values) | 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Financial Highlights | |||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 145.3 | $ | (350.8) | $ | 252.0 | $ | (247.9) | |||||
| Weighted average Units outstanding – diluted (in thousands) | 317,882 | 317,721 | 317,771 | 317,717 | |||||||||
| FFO (ii) | $ | 127.5 | $ | 109.9 | $ | 233.6 | $ | 254.5 | |||||
| FFO (excluding debenture prepayment costs) (ii) | $ | 127.5 | $ | 109.9 | $ | 240.6 | $ | 254.5 | |||||
| FFO per unit – diluted (ii) | $ | 0.40 | $ | 0.35 | $ | 0.73 | $ | 0.80 | |||||
| FFO per unit – diluted (excluding debenture prepayment costs) (ii) | $ | 0.40 | $ | 0.35 | $ | 0.76 | $ | 0.80 | |||||
| Operation Highlights (vi) | 7.8% | (10.8)% | 1.0% | (4.3)% | |||||||||
| Same property NOI growth (decline) – overall portfolio (ii) | |||||||||||||
| Six major markets – % of total annualized revenue (iii) | 91.1% | 90.1% | 91.1% | 90.1% | |||||||||
| Greater Toronto Area – % of total annualized revenue (iii) | 50.9% | 52.1% | 50.9% | 52.1% | |||||||||
| Occupancy – committed six major markets (iii) | 96.3% | 96.8% | 96.3% | 96.8% | |||||||||
| Occupancy – committed total portfolio (iii) | 96.1% | 96.4% | 96.1% | 96.4% | |||||||||
| Blended leasing spread | 5.4% | 5.8% | 6.5% | 5.7% | |||||||||
| New leasing spread | 9.2% | 19.8% | 11.8% | 9.2% | |||||||||
| Renewal leasing spread | 4.2% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 5.0% | |||||||||
| Development Highlights | |||||||||||||
| Development completions – sq. ft. in thousands | 30.0 | 4.0 | 60.0 | 137.0 | |||||||||
| Development expenditures (iv) | $ | 110.1 | $ | 114.6 | $ | 197.6 | $ | 217.5 | |||||
| Properties under development and residential inventory as a percentage of consolidated gross book value of assets (maximum permitted: 15%) (iii) (iv) | 10.9% | 10.7% | 10.9% | 10.7% | |||||||||
| As at | June 30, 2021 |
December 31, 2021 |
|||||||||||
| Balance Sheet Strength Highlights | |||||||||||||
| Debt to Adjusted EBITDA (ii) (v) | 9.87x | 9.47x | |||||||||||
| Ratio of total debt to total assets (ii) (iii) (v) | 44.7% | 45.0% | |||||||||||
| Unencumbered assets (ii) (iii) (v) | $ | 8,480 | $ | 8,727 | |||||||||
| Unencumbered assets to unsecured debt (ii) (iii) (v) | 224% | 215% | |||||||||||
| (i) | Excluding debenture prepayment costs. |
| (ii) | A Non-GAAP measurement. For definitions and the basis of presentation of RioCan’s Non-GAAP measures, refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section in RioCan’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021. |
| (iii) | Information presented as at respective periods then ended. |
| (iv) | Includes costs incurred for various properties under development and for residential inventory in respective reporting periods. |
| (v) | At RioCan’s proportionate share. |
| (vi) | Includes commercial portfolio only except for total annualized revenue statistics. |
FFO per Unit and Net Income
- FFO per unit for the Second Quarter was $0.40, an increase of $0.05 per unit or 14.3% when compared to the same period last year, mainly as a result of a significantly lower provision for rent abatements and bad debts (“pandemic-related provision”) of $5.0 million versus $19.1 million in Q2 2020. Higher residential inventory gains and interest cost savings, partially offset by lower other income from a fee received in 2020 for terminating a forward purchase agreement, also contributed to the year-over-year increase.
- FFO per unit (excluding debenture prepayment costs) was $0.76 for the six months ended June 30, 2021, a decrease of $0.04 per unit over the prior year comparative period. Despite the comparative period including a pre-pandemic quarter, the pandemic-related provision fell by $7.7 million. This lower pandemic-related provision together with higher residential inventory gains and lower interest costs were offset by lower realized gains on the sale of marketable securities, higher general and administrative costs from accelerated expensing of certain unit-based compensation and a prior year mark-to-market adjustment for cash-settled unit-based trustee costs, and prior year other income from the forward purchase termination fee described above and the investment in e2.
- The FFO payout ratio (excluding debenture prepayment costs), calculated on a twelve-month rolling basis, was 79.8% which included only a partial benefit from the one-third reduction in distributions effective January 2021. Based on distributions declared during the quarter and quarterly FFO, instead of on a rolling twelve-month basis, the FFO payout ratio (excluding debenture prepayment costs) was 59.8%.
- The Trust reported net income of $145.3 million and $252.0 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, both significantly higher than the comparative prior year periods primarily due to a $451.7 million fair value loss on investment properties recognized in Q2 2020. The Trust estimated that no major pandemic-related adjustments were warranted for the IFRS value of its investment properties in the Second Quarter.
Same Property NOI – Commercial
- Same property NOI increased by 7.8% for the Second Quarter and by 1.0% on a year-to-date basis for the overall commercial portfolio when compared to the same respective periods in the prior year mainly due to lower pandemic-related provisions in 2021.
Operations – Commercial
- Leasing velocity was robust and resulted in the completion of 1.4 million and 2.5 million square feet (both at 100% ownership interest) of new and renewed leases during the quarter and year-to-date, respectively. The Trust achieved new leasing spreads of 9.2% for the overall portfolio and 9.7% for major market properties in the Second Quarter. The majority of these new leases were completed with tenants that are building and/or establishing their footprint as the economy rebounds and included personal services, grocery, and restaurants as well as specialty and value retailers.
- Retention ratio of 90.9% was strong and the renewal leasing spread was 4.2% for the overall portfolio for the Second Quarter. On a blended basis, the Trust achieved a leasing spread of 5.4% for the overall portfolio and 5.5% for major market properties.
- Despite enhanced restrictive measures due to the pandemic, committed occupancy at RioCan’s commercial properties increased by 30 basis points to 96.1% and in-place occupancy was stable at 95.1% when compared to the prior quarter. Retail committed occupancy increased by 30 basis points to 96.4% and retail in-place occupancy increased by 10 basis points to 95.5%, while office committed occupancy decreased by 20 basis points to 91.2% when compared to Q1 2021.
- RioCan continues to evolve its property and tenant mix as it anticipates, and adapts to, the ever changing retail landscape. As of the quarter end, RioCan generated 91.2% of its annualized rental revenue from Grocery Anchored, Mixed-Use / Urban and Open Air Centres. Enclosed Centres were 8.8% of annualized rental revenue, a decrease of 40 basis points from Q1 2021 and the same period last year. RioCan has also decreased its apparel exposure by 40 basis points since the beginning of 2021.
- The percentage of annualized rental revenue from the six major markets increased by 70 basis points to 91.1% when compared to Q1 2021 primarily due to strategic secondary market asset dispositions.
Operations – Residential
- RioCan Living™, the Trust’s growing purpose-built residential portfolio currently includes 1,218 residential rental units (at 100%) across four buildings – eCentral™ and Pivot™ in Toronto, Frontier™ in Ottawa and Brio™ in Calgary. RioCan recently commenced pre-leasing at Litho™, the 210-unit project in Toronto, and Latitude™, the 209-unit project in Ottawa, and expects robust lease-up velocity at each site.
- In-person tours by prospective tenants have resumed and building amenities have re-opened as public health measures eased. When compared to the previous quarter report, notable leasing progress was made at Brio in Calgary, which was 93.8% leased and at Pivot in Toronto, which was 44.9% leased since its launch in December 2020, as of August 4, 2021.
- As of August 4, 2021, Frontier was 97.4% leased and eCentral was 88.4% leased. Well-located, amenity-rich accommodations with easy access to transit are in growing demand with an anticipated return to working in the office, resumption in immigration and the prospect of in-class post-secondary learning. RioCan Living’s well-located and professionally managed residential rental assets will benefit from these trends post the pandemic and will serve as a driver of income diversification and net asset value growth for the Trust. The rent increase freeze in Ontario expires at the end of 2021, providing further opportunity for income growth.
- Residential rent collection continues to be solid at 98.9% of the Second Quarter’s billed residential rents as of August 4, 2021.
Capital Recycling
- The Trust’s capital recycling program constitutes an extremely efficient and effective means to raise capital. This capital is used to fund value creation initiatives such as developments and to strengthen the Trust’s balance sheet. As of August 4, 2021, a total of $420.8 million of dispositions were closed at a weighted average capitalization rate of 4.26% based on in-place NOI for income producing properties and no in-place NOI for development properties. The Trust further entered into firm or conditional agreements to dispose 100% or partial interests in a number of properties for total sales proceeds of $420.8 million.
- As of August 4, 2021, closed, firm and conditional deals since the beginning of 2021 total $841.6 million at a weighted average capitalization rate of 3.76% based on in-place NOI determined on the same basis as described above.
- Certain of these transactions involve the sale of partial interests in development properties or future density, as well as closing of prearranged air rights sales and allow the Trust to realize excess density value attributed to potential redevelopment for highest and best use and recycle capital to fund its mixed-use development program. The volume of deals illustrates the robust transaction activity in the retail property market and the strong appeal of our value rich assets to a variety of buyers. The quality of RioCan’s assets is evident in the pricing achieved and in the well-respected and established partners attracted despite uncertainty during the challenging pandemic circumstances.
Update on Rent Collection
- RioCan is focused on serving its tenants through the important re-opening phase and associated pent-up consumer demand. The majority of RioCan’s commercial tenants are necessity-based and were operating during lockdowns. The gradual re-openings that accelerated starting mid-July 2021 have now also restored consumers’ access to long-awaited discretionary and experiential retailers such as eat-in restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues. As of August 4, 2021, essentially all of RioCan’s tenants were open.
- The resiliency of the Trust’s tenant base was solidly demonstrated in the Second Quarter. Despite lockdowns and capacity restrictions that were in effect for the majority of Second Quarter, as of August 4, 2021, the Trust collected 94.9% of its Second Quarter billed gross rents in cash.
- Rent collection trends have continued to improve with 94.7% of the billed July 2021 gross rents collected in cash as of August 4, 2021. For the month subsequent to each quarter-end, and as of the reporting date of the respective quarter, this collection rate is the highest achieved since the start of the pandemic.
- The Canadian government continues to provide support for businesses through the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) program and other programs. RioCan is confident that its tenants who benefit from CERS will transition well into a post-stimulus business environment. CERS is provided directly to tenants without a landlord rent abatement requirement and has been extended from June 5, 2021 to October 23, 2021 with amended qualification requirements and declining maximum subsidy rates, which vary depending on the extent of revenue reduction. The gradual reduction in the CERS subsidy is expected to intersect with increased consumer spending.
- The Trust’s collections of billed gross rents as of August 4, 2021 for the latest four quarters are summarized below. It is important to note that cash collections improve over time with continued collection efforts and due to the latent effect of CERS as tenants receive funding in arrears for prior months.
| Q2 2021 | Q1 2021 | Q4 2020 | Q3 2020 | |||||
| Total cash collected (i) | 94.9 | % | 95.1 | % | 95.7 | % | 94.5 | % |
| Deferred rents with definitive payment schedule | 0.1 | % | 0.7 | % | 0.5 | % | 0.2 | % |
| Provision for rent abatements and bad debts | 1.8 | % | 2.4 | % | 3.4 | % | 5.3 | % |
| Remaining rent to be collected | 3.2 | % | 1.8 | % | 0.4 | % | — | % |
| Total | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % |
| (i) | Includes $2.9 million of security deposits applied in Q3 2020 representing approximately 1.1% of billed gross rents for that quarter. Total cash collected includes CECRA funding received in Q3 2020. The CECRA program ended in September 2020 and was replaced by the CERS program. |
- The vast majority of tenants with deferred rents have been paying based on definitive payment schedules with 91.5% of deferred rents billed to date collected in cash as of August 4, 2021. RioCan is confident in the collectability of its deferred rents and remaining rents to be collected post its pandemic-related provision. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, the Trust accrued a pandemic-related provision for $5.0 million and $11.4 million, respectively.
- Based on annualized net rent as of June 30, 2021, approximately 79.1% of the Trust’s commercial tenants are classified as “strong” or “stable” and 98.1% of total gross rents billed to these tenants in the Second Quarter have been collected in cash. Cash rent collection from the remaining “potentially vulnerable” tenants was 82.5% as they are more impacted by the pandemic.
| Tenant Composition | % of Annualized Net Rent |
Q2 2021 Cash Rent Collection % |
||
| Strong (i) | 61.3 | % | 99.5 | % |
| Stable (ii) | 17.8 | % | 93.8 | % |
| Subtotal | 79.1 | % | 98.1 | % |
| Potentially Vulnerable (iii) | 20.9 | % | 82.5 | % |
| Total | 100.0 | % | 94.9 | % |
| (i) | Strong is represented by, or includes, national office tenants and essential / necessity / value / and specialty retail tenants that have strong rent paying ability in the current pandemic impacted environment and also includes residential tenants. |
| (ii) | Stable is represented by, or includes, tenants with reasonably strong uses and good rent paying ability or tenants with medium uses in the current environment but strong rent paying ability. |
| (iii) | Potentially Vulnerable, particularly under COVID-19, includes tenants with uses that are significantly impacted by the pandemic (such as movie theatres, gyms, sit-down restaurants) as well as uses that were of concern prior to the pandemic (such as apparel) or tenants whom the Trust has concerns over tenant rent paying ability under the COVID-19 circumstances. |
Development Highlights
- RioCan announced a new strategic approach for the development of its mixed-use residential condominium projects whereby the Trust plans to sell a majority of its interests in mixed-use residential condominium projects while retaining project oversight as general partner and sole development manager. This partnership structure enables RioCan to leverage its robust pipeline of prime locations and established development platform to efficiently raise capital. It also allows the Trust to mitigate development risk, earn management fees along with a promote for its expertise in managing the entire development process from zoning through to unit sales and participate in condominium sales profits to augment its income streams.
- Verge™, a mixed-use residential condominium project located along The Queensway in Toronto, marks the first such independent condominium launch under the RioCan Living banner, adding to the Trust’s portfolio of condominium and housing ownership developments that generate inventory profits. For this development, RioCan entered into a partnership with four investors, resulting in sales proceeds of approximately $30.4 million including reimbursement of its share of development costs incurred to date and an inventory gain of $2.0 million. The condominium pre-sales launch in July 2021 generated a tremendous amount of interest. Pre-sales are scheduled to commence in August 2021 with a construction start expected in the second half of 2022.
- RioCan Living purpose built residential rental condominium and townhouse projects, remain a cornerstone of RioCan’s development program. Residential development represents 82.7% or 33.6 million square feet of the Trust’s current estimated development pipeline of 40.6 million square feet.
- The 36-storey office tower at The Well™ is fast becoming a notable feature of the Toronto skyline. Construction remains on track for initial tenant possession in 2021. Approximately 86% of the office space and approximately one third of the retail space has been leased. Interest in the remaining available retail space has regained momentum with the recent resumption of tours and as travel restrictions are eased, prospective tenants from abroad will be able to experience the dynamic nature of the site in-person. Steady construction progress on the 592-unit residential rental building at FourFifty The Well™ continues and the air rights transaction for this building was completed on April 7, 2021. As a result, Woodbourne Canada Partners and RioCan each own 50% of the development property. Air rights sales for four of the six residential buildings are now complete with conveyance of the air rights of the two remaining buildings on track to be completed in 2021.
- The majority of RioCan’s development projects continued to progress during the Second Quarter. As of June 30, 2021, properties under development and residential inventory accounted for 10.9% of the Trust’s consolidated gross book value of assets, well under the 15% limit permitted under its unsecured operating line of credit and other credit facilities agreements. The Trust’s long-term goal is to keep this ratio at 10% or lower. The Trust’s development spend target for 2021 is estimated to be in the $425 million to $475 million range. Given the completion of a significant portion of The Well in 2021, staggered development starts, and sharing of development costs and risks with existing and future strategic partners, the Trust expects future annual development spend to be lower than that of 2021.
Ample Liquidity and Balance Sheet Strength
- RioCan continues to maintain ample liquidity. As of June 30, 2021, the Trust had $1.2 billion of liquidity in the form of cash and cash equivalents and undrawn lines of credit on a proportionate share basis. RioCan had a large unencumbered asset pool of $8.5 billion as of the quarter end on a proportionate share basis, which generated 57.2% of RioCan’s annualized NOI and provided 2.24x coverage over its unsecured debt.
- Of the Trust’s $380.0 million mortgage maturities in 2021, only $41.9 million have yet to be refinanced or do not have refinancing commitments in place as of August 4, 2021. These mortgages are expected to be refinanced in due course.
- Debt to Adjusted EBITDA was 9.87x and debt to total assets was 44.7%, both on a proportionate share basis, as of June 30, 2021, improved when compared to Q1 2021. The improvement in Debt to Adjusted EBITDA from 10.02x in Q1 2021 was primarily from lower pandemic-related provisions. The improvement in debt to total assets from 45.3% in Q1 2021 was mainly from the Trust’s operations and valuations.
- The Trust’s goal remains to lower the two above metrics to its long-term target ranges of below 8.0x and 38%-42%, respectively. Disposition sale proceeds and continuous operations improvements are expected to reduce these ratios in the near to medium term.
- On April 23, 2021, the Trust successfully extended the maturity of its revolving unsecured operating line of credit by two years to May 31, 2026. All other material terms and conditions remained the same.
- RioCan redeemed, in full, its $300.0 million, 2.194% Series Z unsecured debentures upon maturity on April, 9, 2021.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Progress
- The Trust gained recognition for ongoing achievements and continued to make progress towards its commitment to leading the way in ESG best practices with a number of ongoing initiatives.
- The Trust progressed its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) focus by publishing its inaugural DEI policy and launching a DEI scholarship program with an opportunity for a paid RioCan internship for students who identify with historically disadvantaged groups. In addition, the Trust celebrated Pride Month with series of internal initiatives to drive awareness and in support for the LGBTQ2+ community.
- RioCan achieved an ESG rating upgrade by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) for the third consecutive year, driven by an improvement in employee management programs and green building certifications.
- RioCan was recognized as one of the top ranked real estate firms on the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada by Corporate Knights for the second consecutive year.
- The Trust earned the 2021 Green Lease Leader (Silver Level) designation. Presented by the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Building Alliance, the Green Lease Leaders silver designation is applied to organizations that exhibit a strong commitment to high performance and sustainability in buildings, and best practice leasing.
- The Trust became a member of Canada Green Building Council which provides access to sustainability reports and educational materials. This membership will help RioCan further develop the knowledge and expertise required to seize new opportunities in the green building sector.
Chief Financial Officer Appointment
- On July 22, 2021 RioCan announced the appointment of Mr. Dennis Blasutti as Chief Financial Officer of the Trust effective September 7, 2021. Mr. Blasutti joins RioCan from Brookfield Asset Management where he most recently served as Managing Director, Infrastructure, and Chief Financial Officer for Enwave Energy, Brookfield’s district energy business. Over the course of his career, Mr. Blasutti has led various finance functions, at both the corporate and operations levels, with experience including corporate finance and treasury; public company financial reporting; investor relations; financial and strategic planning; valuations; supply chain management; and information technology. Mr. Blasutti’s breadth of financial knowledge and relevant experience as well as his background in sustainable technologies will serve RioCan well as the Trust continues to drive growth and long-term value creation.
Conference Call and Webcast
Interested parties are invited to participate in a conference call with management on Thursday, August 5, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). Participants will be required to identify themselves and the organization on whose behalf they are participating.
In order to participate, please dial 647-427-3230 or 1-877-486-4304. For those unable to participate in the live mode, a replay will be available at 1-855-859-2056, passcode 5959605#.
For a copy of the slides to be used for the conference call or, to access the simultaneous webcast, visit RioCan’s website at http://investor.riocan.com/investor-relations/events-and-presentations/ and click on the link for the webcast.
About RioCan
RioCan is one of Canada’s largest real estate investment trusts. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. As at June 30, 2021, our portfolio is comprised of 214 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 37.2 million square feet (at RioCan’s interest) including office, residential rental and 15 development properties. To learn more about us, please visit www.riocan.com.
Basis of Presentation and Non-GAAP Measures
All figures included in this News Release are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. RioCan’s unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements (“Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements”) are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Financial information included within this News Release does not contain all disclosures required by IFRS, and accordingly should be read in conjunction with the Trust’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, which is available on RioCan’s website at www.riocan.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Consistent with RioCan’s management framework, management uses certain financial measures to assess RioCan’s financial performance, which are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) under IFRS. Funds From Operations (“FFO”) and FFO (excluding debenture prepayment costs), Same Property NOI, Debt to Adjusted EBITDA, Ratio of Total Debt to Total Assets, RioCan’s Proportionate Share and Unencumbered Assets to Unsecured Debt, as well as other measures that may be discussed elsewhere in this News Release, do not have a standardized definition prescribed by IFRS and are, therefore, unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other reporting issuers. RioCan supplements its IFRS measures with these Non-GAAP measures to aid in assessing the Trust’s underlying performance and reports these additional measures so that investors may do the same. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered as alternatives to net earnings or comparable metrics determined in accordance with IFRS as indicators of RioCan’s performance, liquidity, cash flow, and profitability. For full definitions of these measures, please refer to the “Non-GAAP Measures” section in RioCan’s MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021.
Forward-Looking Information
This News Release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. This information reflects RioCan’s objectives, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to management’s beliefs, estimates and intentions concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook”, “objective”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “should”, “plan”, “continue”, or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking information reflects management’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. All forward-looking information in this News Release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future events or performance and, by its nature, is based on RioCan’s current estimates and assumptions, which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in the “Risks and Uncertainties” section in RioCan’s MD&A for three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and in our most recent Annual Information Form, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this News Release. General economic conditions, including interest rate fluctuations, may also have an effect on RioCan’s results of operations. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to: a gradual recovery and growth of the retail environment and the general economy over 2021; relatively historically low interest costs; a continuing trend toward land use intensification at reasonable costs and development yields, including residential development in urban markets; access to equity and debt capital markets to fund, at acceptable costs, future capital requirements and to enable our refinancing of debts as they mature; the availability of investment opportunities for growth in Canada; the timing and ability for RioCan to sell certain properties; the valuations to be realized on property sales relative to current IFRS values; and the Trust’s ability to utilize the capital gain refund mechanism. Although the forward-looking information contained in this News Release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with this forward-looking information.
Given the current level of uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be no assurance regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the business, operations, and financial performance of RioCan and its tenants, as well as on consumer behaviors and the economy in general. General risks and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic also include, but are not limited to, the length, spread and severity of the pandemic; the timing of the roll out and efficacy of the vaccines, the nature and length of the restrictive measures implemented or to be implemented, including any loosening of the restrictive measures, by various levels of government in Canada; RioCan’s tenants’ ability to pay rents as required under their leases; the availability of various support programs that are or may be offered by the various levels of government in Canada; the introduction or extension of temporary or permanent rent control or other forms of regulation or legislation that may limit the Trust’s ability or the extent to which it can raise rents based on market conditions upon lease renewals or restrict existing landlord rights or a landlord’s ability to reinforce such rights; domestic and global supply chains; timelines and costs related to the Trust’s development projects; the pace of property lease-up and rents and yields achieved upon development completion; potential changes in leasing activities, market rents and property valuations; the capitalization rates that arm’s length buyers and sellers are willing to transact on properties; the availability and extent of rent deferrals offered or to be offered by the Trust; domestic and global credit and capital markets, and the Trust’s ability to access capital on favourable terms or at all and its ability to maintain its credit ratings; the total return and dividend yield of RioCan’s Units; and the health and safety of our employees, tenants and people in the communities that our properties serve.
The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof, and should not be relied upon as representing RioCan’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this News Release. Management undertakes no obligation, except as required by applicable law, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Contact Information RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Franca Smith Vice President, Finance and Interim Chief Financial Officer 416-866-3033 | www.riocan.com