GREENWICH, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$UBA #earnnings—Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (NYSE: UBA and UBP), a real estate investment trust, today reported financial and operating results for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, and provided information regarding financial and operational activities.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER FISCAL 2022
We repurchased in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 in open market transactions 937,984 shares of our Class A Common stock at an average price per share of $16.62 and 17,844 shares of our Common stock at an average price per share of $16.92. The average price per share paid for repurchases during the fourth quarter represented an approximate 11% discount to the Class A Common and Common share prices as of October 31, 2022.
$6.9 million net income attributable to Common and Class A Common stockholders ($0.18 per diluted Class A Common share).
$14.7 million of funds from operations (“FFO”) ($0.39 per diluted Class A Common share).(1)
93.0% of our consolidated portfolio gross leasable area (“GLA”) was leased at October 31, 2022, an increase of 1.1% from the end of fiscal 2021.
2.0% average increase in base rental rates on 108,300 square feet of lease renewals signed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
19.3% average increase in base rental rates on 72,200 square feet of new leases signed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. The increase was predominantly related to a new lease with a national furniture company in 23,300 square feet of space at our Orange Meadows Shopping Center located in Orange, CT. This lease replaces five smaller local tenants, and the base rent on this lease is 68% above the average of the prior tenants’ most recent rents.
On October 14, 2022, the company paid a $0.2375 per share quarterly cash dividend on our Class A Common Stock and a $0.2145 per share quarterly cash dividend on our Common Stock.
$15.0 million of cash and cash equivalents currently on our balance sheet.
$94 million currently available on our unsecured revolving credit facility.
No mortgage debt maturing until 2024.
(1) A reconciliation of GAAP net income to FFO is provided at the end of this press release.
Dividend Declarations
On December 14, 2022, the company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per Class A Common share and $0.225 per Common share that will be paid on January 13, 2023 to holders of record on January 6, 2023. This increase represents an increase of $0.05 per share per annum on the Class A Common and $0.042 per share per annum on the Common Stock. The Board determined that this level of dividend is appropriate, after taking into account, among other things, the continued strength of the company’s liquidity and financial position. Also, as a REIT, the company is required to distribute at least 90% of the company’s taxable income to its stockholders. Based on the company’s estimates, this level of common stock dividend, when combined with the company’s preferred stock dividends, will satisfy that REIT requirement (excluding any gains on sales of property).
In addition, in December 2022, the Board declared the regular contractual quarterly dividend with respect to each of the company’s Series H and Series K cumulative redeemable preferred stock that will be paid on January 31, 2023 to shareholders of record on January 13, 2023.
Commenting on the operating results, Willing L. Biddle, President and CEO of Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc., said “With the Covid-19 pandemic becoming a problem of the past, we are encouraged to see a continued rebound in our tenants’ businesses and robust demand for vacant space at our properties. This quarter, we renewed 108,300 square feet of existing tenant leases and signed 72,200 square feet of new leases, and we are pleased that the leased rate in our portfolio climbed to 93.0% as of October 31, 2022. Additionally, renewal rents increased by 2.0%, our sixth consecutive quarterly increase on renewals. The average rental rates on new leases increased this quarter by 19.3%, due in significant part to a new lease for 22,300 square feet with Bob’s Discount Furniture at our Orange Meadows Shopping Center in Orange, CT. We believe the increasing demand for space coupled with decreasing supply will have a positive effect on our occupancy and rents going forward. Our leasing and management teams are very busy working to deliver space for our new tenants, and we have a strong pipeline of new leases that include 146,500 square feet in the lease negotiation phase and another 76,000 square feet subject to letters of intent. We are grateful for the tremendous efforts and perseverance of our team as well as that of our tenants, who have worked together to get through the challenges of the last two plus years.”
Mr. Biddle continued… “Our earnings and FFO have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but there is still room to grow the income of our existing portfolio as we fill our vacancies with new tenants. Our collection rate on rents billed has returned to pre-pandemic levels and most of our tenants are able to pay rent without assistance. Our strong balance sheet and liquidity are the underpinnings of our company’s success and well-located, grocery-anchored community and neighborhood shopping centers have proven to be solid investments in good times and bad. Due to our long-term strategy, 87% of our properties, measured by square footage, are anchored by grocery stores, wholesale clubs or pharmacies, and these businesses have remained solid throughout the pandemic. During our fourth quarter, we continued capitalizing on a significant dislocation between the current value of grocery-anchored shopping centers in the private market versus the price of our company’s stock. We repurchased 937,984 shares of our Class A Common stock at an average price per share of $16.62 and 17,844 shares of our Common stock at an average price per share of $16.92, which we believe was a good use of our cash and a way to add value to our stockholders.”
Net income applicable to Class A Common and Common stockholders for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 was $6,918,000 or $0.18 per diluted Class A Common share and $0.16 per diluted Common share, compared to net income of $6,158,000 or $0.16 per diluted Class A Common share and $0.14 per diluted Common share in last year’s fourth quarter. Net income attributable to Class A Common and Common stockholders for fiscal year ended October 31, 2022 was $26,054,000 or $0.68 per diluted Class A Common share and $0.61 per diluted Common share, compared to $33,633,000 or $0.88 per diluted Class A Common share and $0.79 per diluted Common share in fiscal 2021. Net income applicable to Class A Common and Common stockholders for the year ended October 31, 2022 and 2021 includes gains on property sales of $767,000 and $11.9 million, respectively, or $0.02 and $0.31 per Class A Common share, respectively.
FFO for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 was $14,738,000 or $0.39 per diluted Class A Common share and $0.35 per diluted Common share, compared with $14,144,000 or $0.37 per diluted Class A Common share and $0.33 per diluted Common share in last year’s fourth quarter. For the year ended October 31, 2022, FFO amounted to $56,545,000 or $1.47 per diluted Class A Common share and $1.33 per diluted Common share, compared to $52,251,000 or $1.36 per diluted Class A Common share and $1.22 per diluted Common share in the corresponding period of fiscal 2021.
Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust which owns or has equity interests in 77 properties containing approximately 5.3 million square feet of space. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1970, it provides investors with a means of participating in ownership of income-producing properties. It has paid 211 consecutive quarters of uninterrupted dividends to its shareholders since its inception.
Certain statements contained herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, risks associated with the timing of and costs associated with property improvements, financing commitments and general competitive factors.
(Table Follows)
Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (NYSE: UBA and UBP)
Year Ended October 31, 2022 and 2021 results
(in thousands, except per share data)
Year Ended
October 31,
Three Months Ended
October 31,
2022
2021
2022
2021
Unaudited
Unaudited
Unaudited
Revenues
Lease income
$137,660
$130,364
$35,024
$33,035
Lease termination
721
967
30
166
Other
4,722
4,250
1,010
847
Total Revenues
143,103
135,581
36,064
34,048
Expenses
Property operating
25,124
22,938
6,209
5,205
Property taxes
23,700
23,674
5,913
5,889
Depreciation and amortization
29,799
29,032
7,439
7,259
General and administrative
9,934
8,985
2,261
2,109
Directors’ fees and expenses
500
355
217
78
Total Operating Expenses
89,057
84,984
22,039
20,540
Operating Income
54,046
50,597
14,025
13,508
Non-Operating Income (Expense):
Interest expense
(13,175)
(13,087)
(3,425)
(3,025)
Equity in net income from unconsolidated joint ventures
1,397
1,323
583
298
Interest, dividends and other investment income
239
231
23
59
Gain (loss) on sale of property
767
11,864
(1)
(349)
Net Income
43,274
50,928
11,205
10,491
Noncontrolling interests:
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
(3,570)
(3,645)
(875)
(921)
Net income attributable to Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc.
39,704
47,283
10,330
9,570
Preferred stock dividends
(13,650)
(13,650)
(3,412)
(3,412)
Net Income (Loss) Applicable to Common and Class A Common Stockholders
$26,054
$33,633
$6,918
$6,158
Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share:
Per Common Share:
$0.61
$0.79
$0.16
$0.14
Per Class A Common Share:
$0.68
$0.88
$0.18
$0.16
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding (Diluted):
Common and Common Equivalent
9,781
9,608
9,825
9,741
Class A Common and Class A Common Equivalent
29,677
29,753
29,312
29,845
Results of Operations
The following information summarizes our results of operations for the year ended October 31, 2022 and 2021 (amounts in thousands):
Year Ended October 31,
Change Attributable to:
Revenues
2022
2021
Increase
(Decrease)
%
Change
Property
Acquisitions/Sales
Properties
Held in
Both
Periods
(Note 1)
Base rents
$
103,559
$
99,488
$
4,071
4.1%
$
1,592
$
2,479
Recoveries from tenants
34,067
35,090
(1,023)
(2.9)%
319
(1,342)
Less uncollectable amounts in lease income
13
1,529
1,516
99.1%
–
1,516
Less ASC Topic 842 cash basis lease income reversal
(47)
2,685
2,732
101.8%
–
2,732
Total lease income
137,660
130,364
Lease termination
721
967
(246)
(25.4)%
–
(246)
Other income
4,722
4,250
472
11.1%
6
466
Operating Expenses
Property operating
25,124
22,938
2,186
9.5%
196
1,990
Property taxes
23,700
23,674
26
0.1%
156
(130)
Depreciation and amortization
29,799
29,032
767
2.6%
749
18
General and administrative
9,934
8,985
949
10.6%
n/a
n/a
Non-Operating Income/Expense
Interest expense
13,175
13,087
88
0.7%
–
88
Interest, dividends, and other investment income
239
231
8
3.5%
n/a
n/a
Note 1 – Properties held in both periods includes only properties owned for the entire periods of 2022 and 2021 and for interest expense the amount also includes parent company interest expense. All other properties are included in the property acquisition/sales column. There are no properties excluded from the analysis.
Base rents increased by 4.1% to $103.6 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022 as compared with $99.5 million in the comparable period of 2021. The change in base rent and the changes in other income statement line items analyzed in the table above were attributable to:
Property Acquisitions and Properties Sold:
In Fiscal 2022, we acquired one property totaling 188,000 square feet and sold three properties totaling 14,300 square feet. In fiscal 2021 we sold two properties totaling 105,800 square feet. These properties accounted for all of the revenue and expense changes attributable to property acquisitions and sales in the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022 when compared with fiscal 2021.
Properties Held in Both Periods:
Revenues
Base Rent
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, base rent for properties held in both periods increased by $2.5 million when compared with the corresponding prior periods as a result of additional leasing in the portfolio in fiscal 2022 when compared to the corresponding prior period.
In fiscal 2022, we leased or renewed approximately 942,000 square feet (or approximately 20.6% of total consolidated GLA). At October 31, 2022, the Company’s consolidated properties were 93.0% leased (91.9% leased at October 31, 2021).
Tenant Recoveries
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, recoveries from tenants (which represent reimbursements from tenants for operating expenses and property taxes) decreased by a net $1.3 million when compared with the corresponding prior period.
The decrease in tenant recoveries was the result of an under-accrual adjustment in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. We completed the 2020 annual reconciliations for both common area maintenance and real estate taxes in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, and those reconciliations resulted in us billing our tenants more than we had anticipated and accrued for in the prior period. This increased tenant reimbursement income in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, and caused a negative variance in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. This net decrease was offset by an increase in property operating expenses in the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, when compared to the corresponding prior periods, predominantly related to insurance, environmental costs and roof repairs.
Uncollectable Amounts in Lease Income
In the year ended October 31, 2022, uncollectable amounts in lease income decreased by $1.5 million. In the second quarter of fiscal 2020, we significantly increased our uncollectable amounts in lease income based on our assessment of the collectability of existing non-credit small shop tenants’ receivables given the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. A number of non-credit small shop tenants’ businesses were deemed non-essential by the states in which they operate and forced to close for a portion of the second and third quarters of fiscal 2020. This placed stress on our small shop tenants and made it difficult for many of them to pay their rents when due. This stress continued through the first half of fiscal 2021. Our assessment was that any billed but unpaid rents would likely be uncollectable. During the year ended October 31, 2022, many of our tenants continued to experience business improvement as regulatory restrictions continued to ease and individuals continued to return to pre-pandemic activities. As a result, the uncollectable amounts in lease income declined during such period, when compared with the corresponding period of the prior year and in addition we were successful in collecting prior period unpaid rents that we had fully reserved for.
ASC Topic 842 Cash Basis Lease Income Reversals
We adopted ASC Topic 842 “Leases” at the beginning of fiscal 2020. ASC Topic 842 requires, among other things, that if the collectability of a specific tenant’s future lease payments as contracted are not probable of collection, revenue recognition for that tenant must be converted to cash-basis accounting and be limited to the lesser of the amount billed or collected from that tenant. In addition, any straight-line rental receivables would need to be reversed in the period that the collectability assessment changed to not probable. As a result of continuing to analyze our entire tenant base, we determined that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 89 tenants’ future lease payments were no longer probable of collection. All such tenants were converted to cash basis after our second quarter of fiscal 2020 and prior to our third quarter of fiscal 2021. As of October 31, 2022, 34 of these 89 tenants are no longer tenants in the Company’s properties. As a result of converting these tenants to cash-basis accounting in fiscal 2021, we reversed straight-line rent receivables in the net amount of $673,000 and reversed billed but unpaid rents related to cash-basis tenants of $2.0 million. There were no significant charges related to cash-basis tenants in the year ended October 31, 2022.
As of October 31, 2022, 32 tenants continue to be accounted for on a cash basis, or approximately 3.7% of our tenants. Many of our cash-basis tenants are now paying a larger portion of their billed rents, which results in an increase in revenue recognition for those tenants accounted for on a cash basis when compared with the corresponding period of the prior year.
Expenses
Property Operating
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, property operating expenses increased by $2.0 million when compared to the prior period as a result of having higher common area maintenance expenses related to insurance, environmental costs and roof repairs.
Property Taxes
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, property tax expense was relatively unchanged when compared with the corresponding prior period.
Interest
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, interest expense was relatively unchanged, when compared with the corresponding prior period.
Depreciation and Amortization
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, depreciation and amortization was relatively unchanged, when compared with the corresponding prior period.
General and Administrative Expenses
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, general and administrative expenses increased by $949,000 when compared with the corresponding prior period, predominantly related to an increase in employee compensation, state tax expense related to a capital gain for a property we sold that was located in New Hampshire and professional fees.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
Funds from Operations (“FFO”)
We consider FFO to be an additional measure of our operating performance. We report FFO in addition to net income applicable to common stockholders and net cash provided by operating activities. Management has adopted the definition suggested by The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) and defines FFO to mean net income (computed in accordance with GAAP) excluding gains or losses from sales of property, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization and after adjustments for unconsolidated joint ventures.
Management considers FFO to be a meaningful, additional measure of operating performance because it primarily excludes the assumption that the value of the company’s real estate assets diminishes predictably over time and industry analysts have accepted it as a performance measure. FFO is presented to assist investors in analyzing the performance of the company. It is helpful as it excludes various items included in net income that are not indicative of our operating performance, such as gains (or losses) from sales of property and depreciation and amortization. However, FFO:
does not represent cash flows from operating activities in accordance with GAAP (which, unlike FFO, generally reflects all cash effects of transactions and other events in the determination of net income); and
should not be considered an alternative to net income as an indication of our performance.
FFO as defined by us may not be comparable to similarly titled items reported by other real estate investment trusts due to possible differences in the application of the NAREIT definition used by such REITs. The table below provides a reconciliation of net income applicable to Common and Class A Common stockholders in accordance with GAAP to FFO for three month and fiscal years ended October 31, 2022 and 2021. (Amounts in thousands).
(Table Follows)
Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (NYSE: UBA and UBP)
Fiscal Year and fourth quarter ended 2022 results
(in thousands, except per share data)
Reconciliation of Net Income Available to Common and Class A Common Stockholders to Funds From Operations:
Fiscal Year ended
Three Months Ended
October 31,
October 31,
2022
2021
2022
2021
Net Income Applicable to Common and Class A Common Stockholders
$26,054
$33,633
$6,918
$6,158
Real property depreciation
23,403
22,936
5,902
5,738
Amortization of tenant improvements and allowances
4,211
4,429
1,057
1,117
Amortization of deferred leasing costs
2,114
1,599
462
390
Depreciation and amortization on unconsolidated joint ventures
1,530
1,518
398
392
(Gain)/loss on sale of property
(767)
(11,864)
1
349
Funds from Operations Applicable to Common and Class A Common Stockholders
$56,545
$52,251
$14,738
$14,144
Funds from Operations (Diluted) Per Share:
Common
$1.33
$1.22
$0.35
$0.33
Class A Common
$1.47
$1.36
$0.39
$0.37
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding (Diluted):
Common and Common Equivalent
9,781
9,608
9,825
9,741
Class A Common and Class A Common Equivalent
29,677
29,753
29,312
29,845
FFO amounted to $56.5 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $52.3 million in fiscal 2021.
The net increase in FFO in fiscal 2022 when compared with fiscal 2021 was predominantly attributable, among other things, to:
Increases:
An increase in base rent for new leasing in the portfolio after the first quarter of fiscal 2021.
A $1.5 million net increase in operating income related to our Shelton Square shopping center acquisition in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 compared with the loss of operating income for properties sold in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022.
A decrease in uncollectable amounts in lease income of $1.5 million in the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, when compared with the corresponding prior period. We significantly increased our uncollectable amounts in lease income based on our assessment of the collectability of existing non-credit small shop tenants’ receivables given the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. A number of non-credit small shop tenants’ businesses were deemed non-essential by the states in which they operate and forced to close for a portion of the second and third quarters of fiscal 2020. This placed stress on our small shop tenants and made it difficult for many of them to pay their rents when due. This stress continued through our first half of fiscal 2021. Our assessment was that any billed but unpaid rents would likely be uncollectable. During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022, many of our tenants continued to see signs of business improvement as regulatory restrictions continued to ease and individuals continued to return to pre-pandemic activities. As a result, the uncollectable amounts in lease income declined in fiscal 2022, when compared with the prior year. In addition, we collected prior period unpaid rents for tenants that we had fully reserved for.
We adopted ASC Topic 842 “Leases” at the beginning of fiscal 2020. ASC Topic 842 requires, among other things, that if the collectability of a specific tenant’s future lease payments as contracted are not probable of collection, revenue recognition for that tenant must be converted to cash-basis accounting and be limited to the lesser of the amount billed or collected from that tenant.
Contacts
Willing L. Biddle, CEO or
John T. Hayes, CFO
Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc.
(203) 863-8200
