Mack-Cali Realty Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2019 Results

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mack-Cali Realty Corporation (NYSE: CLI) today reported its results for the third quarter 2019.

THIRD QUARTER 2019 HIGHLIGHTS

• Reported net income (loss) of $(0.65) per diluted share for the quarter and net income of $1.59 per diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2019;
• Achieved Core Funds from Operations per diluted share of $0.38 for the third quarter;
• Leased 69,650 sq. ft. of commercial space: 31,285 sq. ft. on the Waterfront, 34,714 sq. ft. class A suburban and suburban, and 3,651 sq. ft. non-core; growing Core portfolio office rental rates by 10.9% on a cash basis and 22.4% on a GAAP basis;
• Core office portfolio was 80.8% leased, with the class A suburban portfolio at 90.0%, Suburban 79.1% and Waterfront 77.9% leased at September 30, 2019;
• Roseland's 7,910-unit multifamily stabilized portfolio was 97.0% leased at September 30, 2019, with an average rent of $2,767 per unit;
• Roseland's same-store portfolio, which has grown to 5,673 units, experienced a 2.7% increase in NOI over third quarter 2018. Over the same period, revenues grew 1.1%, and expenses decreased by 1.4%;
• Acquired Liberty Towers Apartments, a 648-unit residential community located in Jersey City, NJ, for a purchase price of $409 million;
• In October, completed the sale of its Overlook Ridge properties located in Malden and Revere, MA for $411.5 million; and
• Declared $0.20 per share quarterly common stock dividend.

Michael J. DeMarco, Chief Executive Officer stated, "We continue to build on our position as the dominant residential and office owner in key New Jersey markets with a portfolio that provides fresh, state of the art, Live-Work-Play properties. While office leasing has been softer than anticipated on the waterfront, interest and traffic remain positive, with leasing in our multi-tenant properties continuing to build. With the recently completed sale of our Overlook Ridge properties and Liberty Towers acquisition, we continue to intensify our focus on our waterfront strategy in our ongoing efforts to add shareholder value."

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

* All per share amounts presented below are on a diluted basis.

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 amounted to $(55.9) million, or $(0.65) per share, as compared to $(1.5) million, or $(0.05) per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, net income available to common shareholders equaled $166.5 million, or $1.59 per share, as compared to $40.3 million, or $0.35 per share, for the same period last year.

Funds from operations (FFO) for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 amounted to $31.5 million, or $0.31 per share, as compared to $42.7 million, or $0.42 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, FFO equaled $103.9 million, or $1.03 per share, as compared to $121.4 million, or $1.21 per share, for the same period last year.

For the third quarter 2019, Core FFO was $38.2 million, or $0.38 per share, as compared to $43.3 million, or $0.43 per share for the same period last year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, Core FFO equaled $119.0 million, or $1.18 per share, as compared to $139.2 million, or $1.38 per share, for the same period last year.

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

Office
The Company's consolidated Core office properties were 80.8 percent leased at September 30, 2019, as compared to 79.8 percent leased at June 30, 2019 and 84.2 percent leased at September 30, 2018.

Third quarter 2019 same-store GAAP revenues for the office portfolio increased by 1.1 percent while same-store GAAP NOI increased by 1.0 percent from the same period in 2018. Third quarter 2019 same store cash revenues for the office portfolio declined by 2.2 percent while same store cash NOI fell by 4.4 percent from 2018. Same store cash revenues and same store cash NOI exclude straight-line rent and FAS 141 adjustments.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the Company executed 14 leases at its consolidated in-service commercial portfolio, totaling 69,650 square feet. Of these totals, six leases for 43,240 square feet (62.1 percent) were for new leases and eight leases for 26,410 square feet (37.9 percent) were lease renewals and other tenant retention transactions.

Rental rate roll-up for the Core portfolio for third quarter 2019 transactions was 10.9 percent on a cash basis and 22.4 percent on a GAAP basis. Rental rate roll-up in the third quarter 2019 for new transactions was 21.6 percent on a cash basis and 47.9 percent on a GAAP basis; and for renewals and other tenant retention transactions was 5.7 percent on a cash basis and 11.7 percent on a GAAP basis. 

Multifamily
Roseland's comparative stabilized operating portfolio was 97.0 percent leased at September 30, 2019, as compared to 97.7 percent at June 30, 2019. Same-store revenues, inclusive of the negative impacts from the Company's active renovation program at Marbella and Monaco, increased by 1.1 percent resulting in same-store net operating income growth of 2.7 percent for the third quarter 2019.  Additional residential transaction highlights summarized below.

TRANSACTION ACTIVITY

For the third quarter 2019, the Company completed a number of acquisitions, financings and asset sales including the following:

• In August, the Company secured a $150 million mortgage on its 111 River office asset in Hoboken, NJ, and used the proceeds primarily to pay down unsecured corporate debt;
• In late September, the Company acquired Liberty Towers Apartments, a 648-unit residential community in Jersey City, NJ, for a purchase price of $409 million; the acquisition was partially funded by a five-year $232 million financing;
• In late September, the Company closed a construction loan on 233 Canoe Brook, a 195-unit residential development in Short Hills, NJ;
• In October, the Company secured a $74 million bridge loan on the Marriott Hotels at Port Imperial with an additional $20 million of proceeds availability;
• In October, the Company completed the sale of its 1,386-unit residential community in Malden and Revere, MA for $411.5 million in closing out a 1031 Exchange with the Liberty Towers acquisition;
• In October, the Company sold 3600 Route 66, a 180,000-square-foot fully leased office building in Neptune, NJ for $26.05 million ($145 PSF);
• In October, the Company received its portion of proceeds from the sale of its URBY tax credit totaling approximately $2.6 million. This gain will be recognized in the fourth quarter.

BALANCE SHEET/CAPITAL MARKETS

As of September 30, 2019, the Company had a debt-to-undepreciated assets ratio of 47.6 percent compared to 42.7 percent at June 30, 2019 and 45.8 percent at September 30, 2018. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 was 11.4x (10.0x after closing of Boston multifamily asset sales) compared to 9.3x for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.  The Company's interest coverage ratio was 2.9x for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to 3.1x for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.

DIVIDEND

In September 2019, the Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per common share (indicating an annual rate of $0.80 per common share) for the third quarter 2019, which was paid on October 11, 2019 to shareholders of record as of October 4, 2019.

GUIDANCE AND OUTLOOK

The Company is narrowing its Core FFO guidance to $1.59 - $1.64 per diluted share for full year 2019 from its previous Core FFO guidance of $1.58 - $1.66 per diluted share as follows:

This guidance reflects management's view of current market conditions and certain assumptions with regard to rental rates, occupancy levels and other assumptions/projections. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

CONFERENCE CALL/SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

An earnings conference call with management is scheduled for October 31, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, which will be broadcast live via the Internet at:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ax4wdip2

The live conference call is also accessible by calling (323) 994-2082 and requesting the Mack-Cali conference call.

The conference call will be rebroadcast on Mack-Cali's website at http://investors.mack-cali.com/corporate-profile beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on October 31, 2019.

A replay of the call will also be accessible October 31, 2019 through November 7, 2019 by calling (719) 457-0820 and using the pass code, 5375853.

Copies of Mack-Cali's third quarter 2019 Form 10-Q and Supplemental Operating and Financial Data are available on Mack-Cali's website, as follows:

Third Quarter 2019 Form 10-Q:
http://investors.mack-cali.com/sec-filings

Third Quarter 2019 Supplemental Operating and Financial Data:
http://investors.mack-cali.com/quarterly-supplementals

In addition, these items are available upon request from:
Mack-Cali Investor Relations Department - Deidre Crockett
Harborside 3, 210 Hudson St., Ste. 400, Jersey City, New Jersey 07311
(732) 590-1025

INFORMATION ABOUT FFO

Funds from operations ("FFO") is defined as net income (loss) before noncontrolling interests in Operating Partnership, computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), excluding gains or losses from depreciable rental property transactions (including both acquisitions and dispositions), and impairments related to depreciable rental property, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization. The Company believes that FFO per share is helpful to investors as one of several measures of the performance of an equity REIT. The Company further believes that as FFO per share excludes the effect of depreciation, gains (or losses) from property transactions and impairments related to depreciable rental property (all of which are based on historical costs which may be of limited relevance in evaluating current performance), FFO per share can facilitate comparison of operating performance between equity REITs.

FFO per share should not be considered as an alternative to net income available to common shareholders per share as an indication of the Company's performance or to cash flows as a measure of liquidity.  FFO per share presented herein is not necessarily comparable to FFO per share presented by other real estate companies due to the fact that not all real estate companies use the same definition. However, the Company's FFO per share is comparable to the FFO per share of real estate companies that use the current definition of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT"). A reconciliation of net income per share to FFO per share is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

Core FFO is defined as FFO, as adjusted for certain items to facilitate comparative measurement of the Company's performance over time.  Core FFO is presented solely as supplemental disclosure that the Company's management believes provides useful information to investors and analysts of its results, after adjusting for certain items to facilitate comparability of its performance from period to period. Core FFO is a non-GAAP financial measure that is not intended to represent cash flow and is not indicative of cash flows provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with GAAP.  As there is not a generally accepted definition established for Core FFO, the Company's measures of Core FFO may not be comparable to the Core FFO reported by other REITs.  A reconciliation of net income per share to Core FFO in dollars and per share is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

One of the country's leading real estate investment trusts (REITs), Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is an owner, manager and developer of premier office and multifamily properties in select waterfront and transit-oriented markets throughout the Northeast. Mack-Cali is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the visionary behind the city's flourishing waterfront, where the company is leading development, improvement and place-making initiatives for Harborside, a master-planned destination comprised of class A office, luxury apartments, diverse retail and restaurants, and public spaces.

A fully-integrated and self-managed company, Mack-Cali has provided world-class management, leasing, and development services throughout New Jersey and the surrounding region for two decades. By regularly investing in its properties and innovative lifestyle amenity packages, Mack-Cali creates environments that empower tenants and residents to reimagine the way they work and live.

For more information on Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and its properties, visit www.mack-cali.com.

The information in this press release must be read in conjunction with, and is modified in its entirety by, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the "10-Q") filed by the Company for the same period with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and all of the Company's other public filings with the SEC (the "Public Filings"). In particular, the financial information contained herein is subject to and qualified by reference to the financial statements contained in the 10-Q, the footnotes thereto and the limitations set forth therein. Investors may not rely on the press release without reference to the 10-Q and the Public Filings.

We consider portions of this report, including the documents incorporated by reference, to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of such act.  Such forward-looking statements relate to, without limitation, our future economic performance, plans and objectives for future operations and projections of revenue and other financial items.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "plan," "potential," "projected," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "target," "continue" or comparable terminology.  Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which we cannot predict with accuracy and some of which we might not even anticipate.  Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions at the time made, we can give no assurance that such expectations will be achieved.  Future events and actual results, financial and otherwise, may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Mack-Cali Realty Corporation