American Assets Trust, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

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Jul 25, 2023

Net income available to common stockholders of $12.0 million and $28.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, or $0.20 and $0.47 per diluted share, respectively.

Funds From Operations per diluted share increased 2% and 8% year-over-year for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, or $0.59 and $1.25 per diluted share, respectively.

Increased 2023 FFO per diluted share guidance to a range of $2.28 to $2.36 with a midpoint of $2.32, an approximate 2% increase over prior guidance.

SAN DIEGO, July 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Assets Trust, Inc. (: AAT) (the “company”) today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Second Quarter Highlights

  • Net income available to common stockholders of $12.0 million and $28.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, or $0.20 and $0.47 per diluted share, respectively.
  • Funds From Operations ("FFO") increased 2% and 8% year-over-year to $0.59 and $1.25 per diluted share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2022.
  • Same-store cash Net Operating Income ("NOI") increased 7.7% and 7.0% year-over-year for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2022.
  • Increased 2023 FFO per diluted share guidance to a range of $2.28 to $2.36 with a midpoint of $2.32, an approximate 2% increase over the prior 2023 guidance midpoint of $2.28.
  • Leased approximately 119,000 comparable office square feet at an average straight-line basis and cash-basis contractual rent increase of 5% and decrease of 4%, respectively, during the second quarter.
  • Leased approximately 97,000 comparable retail square feet at an average straight-line basis and cash-basis contractual rent increase of 2% and 3%, respectively, during the second quarter.

Financial Results

(Unaudited, amounts in thousands, except per share data)Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2023202220232022
Net income attributable to American Assets Trust, Inc. stockholders$11,983$10,582$28,119$21,105
Basic and diluted income attributable to common stockholders per share$0.20$0.18$0.47$0.35
FFO attributable to common stock and common units$45,034$44,522$95,414$88,295
FFO per diluted share and unit$0.59$0.58$1.25$1.16

The year-over-year increase in net income attributable to common stockholders is primarily due to (i) a $6.3 million net settlement payment received on January 3, 2023 related to certain building systems at our Hassalo on Eighth property, (ii) a $2.5 million net increase in our retail segment due to new tenant leases (iii) a $2.3 million net increase in our office segment due to higher annualized base rents and (iv) a $1.9 million net increase at Waikiki Beach Walk - Embassy Suites due to increased tourism into Hawaii. These increases were offset by higher interest expense of $3.0 million on the $225 million Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement and higher general and administrative expenses of $2.8 million due to an increase in stock-based compensation expense, general legal expenses and employee-related costs in 2023.

The quarter-over quarter increase in FFO was primarily due to an increase in our retail segment related to new tenant leases, an increase in revenue at our Waikiki Beach Walk - Embassy Suites, and an increase in revenue and average monthly base rents in our multifamily segment. These increases in FFO were offset by higher interest expense and general and administrative expenses as described above.

FFO is a non-GAAP supplemental earnings measure which the company considers meaningful in measuring its operating performance. A reconciliation of net income to FFO is attached to this press release.

Leasing

The portfolio leased status as of the end of the indicated quarter was as follows:

June 30, 2023March 31, 2023June 30, 2022
Total Portfolio
Office87.4%88.1%91.0%
Retail94.6%93.8%92.5%
Multifamily85.9%91.8%92.0%
Mixed-Use:
Retail94.6%95.0%94.9%
Hotel83.2%81.9%75.8%
Same-Store Portfolio
Office (1)90.3%91.0%93.4%
Retail94.6%93.8%92.5%
Multifamily85.9%91.8%92.0%
Mixed-Use:
Retail94.6%95.0%94.9%
Hotel83.2%81.9%75.8%

(1) Same-store office leased percentages include Bel-Spring 520 which was acquired on March 8, 2022. Same-store office leased percentages exclude (i) One Beach Street due to significant redevelopment activity; (ii) the 710 building at Lloyd District Portfolio which was placed into operations on November 1, 2022 approximately one year after completing renovations of the building and (iii) land held for development.

During the second quarter of 2023, the company signed 34 leases for approximately 242,400 square feet of office and retail space, as well as 350 multifamily apartment leases. Renewals accounted for 75% of the comparable office leases, 100% of the comparable retail leases, and 59% of the residential leases.

Office and Retail
On a comparable space basis (i.e. leases for which there was a former tenant) during the second quarter of 2023 and trailing four quarters ended June 30, 2023, our retail and office leasing spreads are shown below:

Number of Leases SignedComparable Leased Sq. Ft.Average Cash Basis % Change Over Prior Rent Average Cash Contractual Rent Per Sq. Ft.Prior Average Cash Contractual Rent Per Sq. Ft.Straight-Line Basis % Change Over Prior Rent
OfficeQ2 202312119,000(3.5)%$82.89$85.934.5%
Last 4 Quarters42296,0004.9%$65.44$62.3914.3%
RetailQ2 20232097,0002.9%$34.14$33.182.1%
Last 4 Quarters69302,0008.1%$34.31$31.7215.8%

Multifamily
The average monthly base rent per leased unit for our multifamily properties for the second quarter of 2023 was $2,587 compared to an average monthly base rent per leased unit of $2,297 for the second quarter of 2022, which is an increase of approximately 12.6%.

Same-Store Cash Net Operating Income

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, same-store cash NOI increased 7.7% and 7.0%, respectively, compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. The same-store cash NOI by segment was as follows (in thousands):

Three Months Ended (1)Six Months Ended (2)
June 30,June 30,
20232022Change20232022Change
Cash Basis:
Office$35,825$32,9588.7%$68,408$64,6325.8%
Retail18,10816,8277.635,80633,5216.8
Multifamily8,4387,9755.817,49315,9969.4
Mixed-Use5,8705,6004.811,36510,20211.4
Same-store Cash NOI$68,241$63,3607.7%$133,072$124,3517.0%

(1) Same-store portfolio includes Bel-Spring 520 which was acquired on March 8, 2022. Same-store portfolio excludes (i) One Beach Street due to significant redevelopment activity; (ii) the 710 building at Lloyd District Portfolio which was placed into operations on November 1, 2022, approximately one year after completing renovations of the building and (iii) land held for development.

(2) Same-store portfolio excludes (i) One Beach Street, due to significant redevelopment activity; (ii) Bel-Spring 520 which was acquired on March 8, 2022; (iii) the 710 building at Lloyd District Portfolio which was placed into operations on November 1, 2022, approximately one year after completing renovations of the building and (iv) land held for development.

Same-store cash NOI is a non-GAAP supplemental earnings measure which the company considers meaningful in measuring its operating performance. A reconciliation of same-store cash NOI to net income is attached to this press release.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

At June 30, 2023, the company had gross real estate assets of $3.7 billion and liquidity of $484.7 million, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $84.7 million and $400.0 million of availability on its line of credit. At June 30, 2023, the company had only 1 out of 31 assets encumbered by a mortgage.

Dividends

The company declared dividends on its shares of common stock of $0.33 per share for the second quarter of 2023. The dividends were paid on June 22, 2023.

In addition, the company has declared a dividend on its common stock of $0.33 per share for the third quarter of 2023. The dividend will be paid in cash on September 21, 2023 to stockholders of record on September 7, 2023.

Guidance

The company increased its 2023 FFO per diluted share guidance to a range of $2.28 to $2.36 per share, an increase of approximately 2% at midpoint from the prior 2023 FFO per diluted share guidance range of $2.23 to $2.33 per share.

The company's guidance excludes any impact from future acquisitions, dispositions, equity issuances or repurchases, debt financings or repayments. Management will discuss the company's guidance in more detail on tomorrow's earnings call. The foregoing estimates are forward-looking and reflect management's view of current and future market conditions, including certain assumptions with respect to leasing activity, rental rates, occupancy levels, interest rates, credit spreads and the amount and timing of acquisition and development activities. The company's actual results may differ materially from these estimates.

Conference Call

The company will hold a conference call to discuss the results for the second quarter of 2023 on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (“PT”). To participate in the event by telephone, please dial 1-800-715-9871 and use conference number 7784863. A live on-demand audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the company's website at www.americanassetstrust.com. A replay of the call will also be available on the company's website.

Supplemental Information

Supplemental financial information regarding the company's second quarter 2023 results may be found on the "Financial Reporting" tab of the “Investors” page of the company's website at www.americanassetstrust.com. This supplemental information provides additional detail on items such as property occupancy, financial performance by property and debt maturity schedules.

Financial Information
American Assets Trust, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In Thousands, Except Share Data)

June 30, 2023December 31, 2022
Assets(unaudited)
Real estate, at cost
Operating real estate$3,489,314$3,468,537
Construction in progress220,906202,385
Held for development547547
3,710,7673,671,469
Accumulated depreciation(988,560)(936,913)
Real estate, net2,722,2072,734,556
Cash and cash equivalents84,70949,571
Accounts receivable, net7,3487,848
Deferred rent receivables, net89,04287,192
Other assets, net109,154108,714
Total assets$3,012,460$2,987,881
Liabilities and equity
Liabilities:
Secured notes payable, net$74,623$74,578
Unsecured notes payable, net1,613,6631,539,453
Unsecured line of credit, net—34,057
Accounts payable and accrued expenses62,96165,992
Security deposits payable8,6808,699
Other liabilities and deferred credits, net76,41779,577
Total liabilities1,836,3441,802,356
Commitments and contingencies
Equity:
American Assets Trust, Inc. stockholders' equity
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 490,000,000 shares authorized, 60,724