Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust Announces Release of Fiscal 2013 Financial Results

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES./

VANCOUVER, March 12, 2014 /CNW/ - Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust ("PIRET" or the "Trust") (TSX: AAR.UN) is pleased to announce the release of its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013.

2013 Financial Results

The 2013 financial results, consisting of PIRET's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013, and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") dated March 12, 2013, are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or the Trust's website (www.piret.ca).

Highlights for the year ended December 31, 2013:

• As at December 31, 2013, PIRET's portfolio consists of 156 properties representing gross leasable area ("GLA") of approximately 12.6 million square feet, an increase from 87 properties and 6.9 million square feet of GLA at December 31, 2012.

• The occupancy continues to be consistently strong at 97.4% for our portfolio as at December 31, 2013, with a weighted average lease term of 6.9 years.
  
  
• Investment properties increased to $1.3 billion as at December 31, 2013 from $743.9 million at December 31, 2012 due primarily to the acquisition of 77 properties with 6.0 million square feet of GLA.  Of these 77 acquisitions, 59 were purchased as part of an industrial portfolio located in Ontario for $360 million.  With these acquisitions, PIRET continues to execute its accretive growth strategy and build critical mass in its target markets.  The acquisitions have strengthened PIRET's high quality national and regional tenant base within Canada.
  
  
• During the year, PIRET announced its intention to purchase, by way of a Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB"), for cancellation purposes, up to 3,000,000 Class A units in total, representing approximately 2.21% of the PIRET's then outstanding Class A units.  For the year ended December 31, 2013, PIRET purchased and cancelled 1,520,621 Class A units under its NCIB program at an average cost of $4.37 per unit for a total cost of $6.6 million.  No Class A units were purchased in the same period in 2012.
  
  
• Loan to Gross Book Value as at December 31, 2013 was 54.1%, up from 51.9% at December 31, 2012.
  
  
• Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased 108% from $52.3 million in 2012 to $108.8 million in 2013.  For the 3 months ended December 31, revenue increased 101% from $15.5 million to $31.2 million in 2012.
  
  
• Earnings from property operations increased by 99% for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the year ended December 31, 2012 from $39.6 million to $78.9 million. 
  
  
• Funds from operations ("FFO")¹ for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased to $49.4 million compared to $24.8 million for the same period in 2012.  On a per unit basis, FFO for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased to $0.40 when compared to $0.35 for the same period in 2012.  On a quarterly basis, PIRET's FFO per unit increased 6.8% from just below $0.09 in Q4-2012 to $0.094 in Q4-2013.  The FFO payout ratio for the year ended December 31, 2013 trended downward to 78.7% from 86.6% in the same period in 2012.
  
  
• On an Adjusted funds from operations ("AFFO")¹ basis, there was an increase from $22.0 million to $44.5 million for the year ended December, 2012 and 2013 respectively.  On a per unit basis, AFFO was $0.36 for the year ended December 31, 2013 and $0.31 for the year ended December 31, 2012, an increase of 13%.  For the quarter, the AFFO per unit increased 19% to $0.09 compared to $0.07 for the same quarter in 2012.  The AFFO payout ratio for the year ended December 31 continues to trend downwards from 97.5% in 2012 to 87.4% in 2013.

Selected Financial Information
($000s, except per unit basis)	For the year ended December 31				For the three months ended December 31
		2013		2012		2013		2012
Revenue	$	108,762	$	52,340	$	31,187	$	15,493
Net operating income		78,940		39,579		21,973		11,510
Distributions declared per unit		0.31		0.31		0.08		0.08
FFO ^(1)per unit (diluted)		0.40		0.35		0.09		0.09
Payout ratio		78.7%		86.6%		82.9%		88.7%
AFFO ^(1)per unit (diluted)		0.36		0.31		0.09		0.07
Payout ratio		87.4%		97.5%		88.9%		107.0%

^{__________________________________
1} FFO and AFFO are widely accepted supplemental measures of financial performance for real estate entities.  However, these measures are not defined under IFRS.  PIRET's MD&A, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, provides more detail regarding this measure. 

Conference Call

As previously announced on February 18, 2014, management will host the conference call at 4:30 pm (EST), 1:30 pm (PST), on Wednesday, March 12, 2014, to review the financial results and corporate developments for the three months and one year period ended December 31, 2013.

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.

Dial in numbers:

				Toll free dial in number (from Canada and USA)					1-888-390-0605
				International or Local Toronto					1-416-764-8609

Conference Call Replay

If you cannot participate on March 12, 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 March 19, 2014.

Please enter the Replay ID# 412223, followed by the # key.
					Replay toll free dial in number (from Canada and USA)					1-888-390-0541
					Replay international or local Toronto					1-416-764-8677

About Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust

PIRET is an unincorporated, open-ended investment trust that acquires, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of income-producing industrial properties in primary markets across Canada. PIRET focuses exclusively on investing in industrial properties and is the largest internally managed publicly traded REIT 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.

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions.  These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by PIRET.

Although PIRET believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because PIRET can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.  Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks.  These include, but are not limited to, the failure to satisfy the conditions to complete the acquisition, the inability to obtain mortgage financing on expected terms, competitive factors in the industries in which PIRET operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of PIRET.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent PIRET's expectations as of the date hereof, and are subject to change after such date. PIRET disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed nor approved the contents of this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE: Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (PIRET)

Francis Tam
Chief Financial Officer
Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust
Suite 910, 925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC  V6C 3L2
Phone: [phone] or [phone]
E-mail: [email protected] 

Andrew Greig
Director of Investor Relations
Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust
Suite 910, 925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC  V6C 3L2
Phone: [phone] or [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]