Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust Announces Release of Q1 2012 Financial Results and Cash Distribution for May 2012

VANCOUVER, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust ("PIRET" or the "REIT") (TSXV: AAR.UN) is pleased to announce the release of its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Q1 2012 Financial Results

The results, consisting of PIRET's unaudited interim condensed financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2012, and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") dated May 17^th, 2012, are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2012:

• As at March 31, 2012, PIRET's portfolio consists of 66 properties representing gross leasable area of over 4.5 million square feet, up from 62 properties and 4.0 million square feet at December 31, 2011. The acquisitions continue to strengthen the Trust's high quality national and regional tenant base within Canada.
• PIRET raised $69.4 million by issuing 15,983,100 Class A units from two bought deal public offerings.
• The occupancy is consistent at 99% for our portfolio as at March 31, 2012 with a weighted average lease term of 9.6 years.
• Investment properties increased to $475.8 million as at March 31, 2012 from $439.5 million at December 31, 2011 due to the acquisition of 4 properties.
• Loan to Gross Book Value as at March 31, 2012 was 48.7%, down from 55.7% at December 31, 2011.
• Revenue for the three months ended March 31^st increased 90% from $6.0 million in 2011 to $11.3 million in 2012.
• Earnings from property operations increased by 81% for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the same period at March 31, 2011 from $4.8 million to $8.7 million.
• Funds from operations ("FFO")⁽¹⁾ for the three months ended March 31, 2012 increased to $5.5 million compared to $2.9 million for the same period in 2011.  On a per unit basis, FFO for the three months ended March 31, 2012 increased to $0.09 from $0.08 for the same period in 2011. 
• Adjusted funds from operations ("AFFO" ) ⁽¹⁾ increased from $2.4 million to $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 respectively.  On a per unit basis, AFFO was $0.08 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $0.07 for the same period for 2011.

⁽¹⁾ FFO and AFFO are widely accepted supplemental measures of financial performance for real estate entities. However, these measures are not defined under IFRS. The MD&A provides more detail regarding this measure. 

Conference Call

As previously announced on May 10, 2012, management will host the conference call at 4:30pm (EST), 1:30 pm (PST), on Thursday, May 17, 2012, to review the financial results and corporate developments for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

To participate in this conference call, please dial one of the following numbers approximately 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the call, and ask to join the Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust Conference Call.

Conference Call Replay

If you cannot participate on May 17th, a replay of the conference call will be available by dialing one of the following replay numbers. You will be able to dial in and listen to the conference 120 minutes after the meeting end time, and the replay will be available until May 24, 2012.

Please enter the Replay ID# 78866739, followed by the # key.

Distributions

The REIT is also pleased to announce today that its Board of Trustees has approved a cash distribution of $0.025 per trust unit for the month of May 2012 (equivalent to $0.30 per trust unit on an annualized basis). This distribution will be paid on June 15, 2012 to unitholders of record at the close of business on May 31, 2012.

The policy of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust is to pay cash distributions on or about the 15th day of each month to the unitholders of record on the last business day of the preceding month.

The REIT currently has 66,407,003 units issued and outstanding.

About Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (PIRET)

PIRET is an unincorporated, open-ended investment trust established for the purposes of acquiring, owning and operating a diversified portfolio of income-producing industrial properties in primary markets across Canada.  PIRET focuses exclusively on investing in industrial properties and is the only publicly traded vehicle in Canada that offers investors exclusive exposure to Canada's industrial asset class.

Additional information about PIRET is available at www.piret.ca or www.sedar.com.

TSX Venture Exchange - AAR.UN

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (PIRET)