NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Releases Second Quarter Results

TORONTO, Aug. 14, 2013 /CNW/ - NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (the "REIT") (TSX: NWH.UN), Canada's largest non-government owner and operator of medical office buildings and healthcare real estate, today announced its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013.

Highlights of the Quarter:

• Same property net operating income for the quarter increased by 1.1% compared to the prior year quarter.
• AFFO per unit for the quarter was $0.21, consistent with the previous quarter and prior year quarter.
• FFO per unit for the quarter was $0.25, consistent with the previous quarter and prior year quarter.
• Occupancy was 91.6%, up slightly from the previous quarter at 91.3%.
• Effective May 16, 2013 the REIT acquired 741, 755, and 765 Portage Avenue a three building office portfolio located in downtown Winnipeg ("Portage Portfolio"). The Portage Portfolio was purchased for $13.2 million, with the REIT assuming the vendor's existing first mortgage, as well as securing a new vendor take-back second mortgage, for an aggregate principal amount of approximately $9.6 million, a weighted average interest rate of 4.56% and an average term to maturity of 14 years. Totaling 43,750 square feet, the Portage Portfolio is fully-leased to three tenants, of which the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority ("WRHA") is the most significant, occupying all of the recently developed, purpose-built government healthcare building located at 755 Portage Avenue (80% of the total portfolio rentable area), under a long-term lease (2029). The investment was the REIT's first asset in the Province of Manitoba
• During the quarter the REIT has refinanced approximately $100 million of mortgage debt, at a weighted average interest rate of approximately 3.63% (reflecting in certain instances a blended and extended rate on early refinancings) and a weighted average term to maturity of approximately 8 years excluding a short term extension on one of the mortgages. This resulted in net proceeds to the REIT of approximately $15.7 million.  As a result of the refinancing activity the weighted average interest rate of the REIT's mortgage debt decreased to 4.76% from 4.92% and the weighted average term increased to 5.0 years from 4.5 years while the distribution of mortgage maturities was improved.
• The REIT paid distributions of $0.06667 per unit on April 15, 2013, May 15, 2013 and June 14, 2013 consistent with its annualized target of $0.80 cents per unit.

Peter Riggin, CEO, commented that "Our results were in line with our expectations for this quarter, as we continue to focus on improving portfolio quality for the long term through operations, asset management and acquisitions, notably our entry into the Winnipeg market. We are also pleased to have concluded the refinancing of a significant number of mortgages in the first half of the year to take advantage of the favourable lending environment."

Selected Financial Information:
(unaudited)	Three Months Ended	Three Months Ended
($000's, except unit and per unit amounts)	June 30, 2013	June 30, 2012
Revenue	$36,882	$32,567
Net Operating Income	$20,206	$18,155
Funds from Operations ("FFO")	$11,538	$10,769
Adjusted Funds from Operations ("AFFO")	$9,680	$9,115
Debt to Gross Book Value	52%	52%
Per unit data
FFO	$0.25	$0.25
AFFO	$0.21	$0.21
Distributions	$0.20	$0.20
AFFO Payout ratio	96%	96%

Subsequent Events:

• Subsequent to the quarter, the REIT announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire a Winnipeg office portfolio comprising 70,247 square feet primarily located at 490-494, 496 & 500 Hargrave Street ("Hargrave Portfolio"). This transaction has closed conditionally, conditional only upon certification of title, with an effective closing date of July 31, 2013.  The Hargrave Portfolio was purchased for $21.0 million, with the REIT assuming and up-financing the vendor's existing first mortgage for a principal amount of approximately $15.8 million, a blended interest rate of approximately 4.76% and a 2023 maturity. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive. Located within the downtown Exchange District, the Hargrave Portfolio is comprised of one recently developed and two recently upgraded office buildings, the former of which is a leading example of contemporary design in the City of Winnipeg. The portfolio is fully-occupied, with the majority of the premises (84%) leased to the WRHA on a longer term basis, with the majority of the space leased to 2031. Primary use at the Hargrave Portfolio relates to the WRHA's home-care nursing program, while secondary uses relate to community health services, including a travel and tropical medicine clinic. Additional tenancies include a provincially funded post-secondary institution and a non-profit educational NGO. The investment is the REIT's second asset in the Province of Manitoba.
• The REIT declared distributions of $0.06667 per unit to Unitholders of record as at July 31, 2013 and August 30, 2013.
  
  

Some financial measures used in this press release, such as FFO and AFFO, are used by the real estate industry to measure and compare the operating performance of real estate companies, but they do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. As such, they are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other real estate companies.  These non-IFRS measures are more fully defined and discussed in the REIT's management discussion and analysis (the "MD&A") for the second quarter of 2013, which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.  Also on SEDAR are the interim financial statements of the REIT.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the REIT, its operations, strategy, financial performance and condition.  These statements generally can be identified by use of forward-looking words such as "may", "will", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intends", "believe", or "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations.  The REIT's actual results and performance discussed herein could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.  Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations, including that the transactions contemplated herein are completed.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, competition, changes in government regulations and the factors described under "Risks and Uncertainties" in the REIT's Annual Information Form and the risks and uncertainties set out in the MD&A which are available on www.sedar.com.  These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to the REIT and persons acting on its behalf.  Unless otherwise stated, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the REIT assumes no obligation to update such statements.

The REIT invites you to participate in its conference call with senior management to discuss our second quarter 2013 results on Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern). The conference call can be accessed by dialing [phone] or 1-800-820-0231. The conference ID is 1970152.

Audio replay is available until August 21, 2013 by dialing 647-436-0148 or 1-888-203-1112. The passcode is 1970152.

The webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the "Investor Relations" page of the REIT's web site at www.nwhp.ca, and will be archived for 30 days.

About NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario. The REIT holds a portfolio of 77 income-producing properties, with a focus on medical office buildings and healthcare real estate, comprising approximately 4.6 million square feet of gross leasable area located in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

 

 

SOURCE: NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust

Ernie Spraggs, CFO, [phone] or www.nwhp.ca