TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/15/13 -- Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust ("CREIT") (TSX: REF.UN) today announced results for the fourth quarter and for the year ended December 31, 2012.
For the three months ended December 31, 2012, CREIT reported Funds from Operations (FFO) of $0.67 per Unit compared to $0.62 per Unit for the same period in 2011, an increase of 8%. For the year ended December 31, 2012, CREIT reported FFO of $2.63 per Unit compared to $2.36 per Unit in 2011, representing an increase of 11%.
Stephen Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "CREIT's financial performance for the year was very solid. There were three significant performance drivers in 2012.
"First, our existing real estate portfolio performed well and continued again to provide reliable and strong financial results.
"Second, we added $357.2 million of high-quality income producing real estate to our portfolio, through selective property acquisitions and the successful completion of several development projects.
"And third, we reduced our weighted average cost of debt by 41 basis points."
Mr. Johnson added, "I am also pleased to announce that, based upon the very solid performance of our business, we will again increase the distribution paid to our Unitholders. The distribution will increase to $1.55 per Unit per annum (from $1.49 currently) effective for the March 2013 distribution (payable in April). This is the 12th consecutive year that CREIT has increased its distributions."
For the three months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, FFO was as follows:
Three months ended December 31 ------------------------------------- Change ---------------($ thousands, except per Unit amounts) 2012 2011 ($) (%)----------------------------------------------------------------------------FFO $ 45,786 $ 41,628 $ 4,158 10%FFO per Unit $ 0.67 $ 0.62 $ 0.05 8%--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FFO for the three months ended December 31, 2012 increased over the same period in 2011 for the same reasons outlined above for the full year.
For the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, FFO was as follows:
Year ended December 31 ------------------------------------- Change ---------------($ thousands, except per Unit amounts) 2012 2011 ($) (%)----------------------------------------------------------------------------FFO $ 178,351 $ 158,226 $20,125 13%FFO per Unit $ 2.63 $ 2.36 $ 0.27 11%--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
