Slate Office REIT Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results Demonstrating Strong Leasing Activity

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Slate Office REIT (TSX: SOT.UN) (the "REIT"), an owner and operator of North American office real estate, reported today financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021.

“Slate Office REIT's strong second quarter results demonstrate the continued strengthening of the real estate market and the demand for office space," said Steve Hodgson, Chief Executive Officer of Slate Office REIT. "The REIT completed over 347,000 square feet of leasing in the second quarter at positive rental rate spreads, which is more than triple the volume completed in the first quarter. Continued progress on vaccines will support further increases in touring activity, office utilization rates and real estate fundamentals."

For the CEO’s letter to unitholders for the quarter, please follow the link here.

Highlights

• Strong leasing activity at positive spreads: The REIT completed a total of 347,574 square feet of leasing at an overall rental rate spread of 16.9%, comprised of 285,833 square feet of renewals and 61,741 square feet of new deals.
• Occupancy growth: The REIT's occupancy finished the second quarter at 83.6%, an increase of 10 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2021. Management expects further occupancy gains as office real estate fundamentals in the REIT's markets continue to strengthen.
• Durable income: 60% of the REIT’s portfolio is comprised of government or credit rated tenants. The portfolio's strong credit tenancies have a weighted average remaining lease term of 5.4 years, which supports the REIT's attractive distribution yield of 7.5%.
• Same-property NOI growth: Same-property net operating income (“NOI”), excluding the REIT’s hotel asset, for the three months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the most recently completed quarter, increased by 4.3% to $22.3 million.
• Core-FFO and Core-FFO payout ratio: Core funds from operations (“Core-FFO”) was $11.2 million or $0.15 per unit for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $0.8 million or $0.01 per unit compared to the most recently completed quarter. The Core-FFO payout ratio was 65.0% for the second quarter.
• AFFO and AFFO payout ratio: Adjusted funds from operations (“AFFO”) was $10.1 million or $0.14 per unit for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $0.9 million or $0.01 per unit compared to the most recently completed quarter. The AFFO payout ratio was 72.5% for the second quarter.

Summary of Q2 2021 Results

	Three months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars, except per unit amounts)	2021		2020		Change %
Rental revenue	$	41,559	$	44,604	(6.8)%
Net operating income	$	22,378	$	23,411	(4.4)%
Net income	$	5,684	$	5,689	(0.1)%
Same-property NOI	$	22,357	$	23,212	(3.7)%
Weighted average diluted number of trust units (000s)	73,279		73,203		0.1%
Funds from operations ("FFO")	$	10,443	$	12,735	(18.0)%
FFO per unit	$	0.14	$	0.17	(17.6)%
FFO payout ratio	69.9%		57.3%		12.6%
Core-FFO	$	11,226	$	13,413	(16.3)%
Core-FFO per unit	$	0.15	$	0.18	(16.7)%
Core-FFO payout ratio	65.0%		54.4%		10.6%
AFFO	$	10,069	$	11,787	(14.6)%
AFFO per unit	$	0.14	$	0.16	(12.5)%
AFFO payout ratio	72.5%		61.9%		10.6%
	June 30, 2021		December 31, 2020		Change %
Total assets	$	1,680,405	$	1,679,207	0.1%
Total debt	$	976,239	$	972,604	0.4%
Portfolio occupancy	83.6%		84.2%		(0.6)%
Loan-to-value ratio	58.2%		58.0%		0.2%
Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ^1	11.6x		11.1x		0.5x
Interest coverage ratio ^1	2.1x		2.2x		(0.1)x
^1 EBITDA is calculated using trailing twelve month actuals, as calculated below.

Conference Call and Presentation Details
Senior management will host a live conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday, July 30, 2021 to discuss the results and ongoing business initiatives of the REIT.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing [phone] or 1 [phone]. Additionally, the conference call will be available via simultaneous audio found at www.snwebcastcenter.com/webcast/slate/2021/0730. A replay will be accessible until August 13, 2021 via the REIT's website or by dialing [phone] or 1 [phone] (access code 5149467) approximately two hours after the live event.

About Slate Office REIT (TSX: SOT.UN)
Slate Office REIT is an owner and operator of North American office real estate. The REIT owns interests in and operates a portfolio of 34 strategic and well-located real estate assets across Canada's major population centres and includes two assets in downtown Chicago, Illinois. 60% of the REIT’s portfolio is comprised of government or credit rated tenants. The REIT acquires quality assets at a discount to replacement cost and creates value for unitholders by applying hands-on asset management strategies to grow rental revenue, extend lease term and increase occupancy. Visit slateofficereit.com to learn more.

About Slate Asset Management
Slate Asset Management is a global alternative investment platform focused on real estate. We focus on fundamentals with the objective of creating long-term value for our investors and partners. Slate's platform has a range of investment strategies, including opportunistic, value add, core plus and debt investments. We are supported by exceptional people and flexible capital, which enable us to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.

Supplemental Information
All interested parties can access Slate Office REIT's Supplemental Information online at slateofficereit.com in the Investors section. These materials are also available on SEDAR or upon request at [e-mail] or [phone].

Forward Looking Statements
Certain information herein constitutes “forward-looking information” as defined under Canadian securities laws which reflect management’s expectations regarding objectives, plans, goals, strategies, future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities of the REIT. The words “plans”, “expects”, “does not expect”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “does not anticipate”, “projects”, “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements to the effect that certain actions, events or results “may”, “will”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “occur”, “be achieved”, or “continue” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Some of the specific forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management as of the date hereof, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, the REIT cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not the times at or by which such performance or results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Additional information about risks and uncertainties is contained in the filings of the REIT with securities regulators

Non-IFRS Measures
We disclose a number of financial measures in this news release that are not measures used under IFRS, including NOI, same-property NOI, FFO, FFO payout ratio, Core-FFO, Core-FFO payout ratio, AFFO, AFFO payout ratio, IFRS net asset value, adjusted EBITDA, net debt to adjusted EBITDA and the interest coverage ratio, in addition to certain measures on a per unit basis.

• NOI is defined as rental revenue less operating property expenses, prior to straight-line rent and other changes. Same-property NOI includes those properties owned by the REIT for each of the current period and the relevant comparative period.
• FFO is defined as net income and comprehensive income adjusted for certain items including leasing costs amortized to revenue, change in fair value of properties, change in fair value of financial instruments, transaction costs, depreciation of hotel asset, change in fair value of Class B LP units, distributions to Class B LP unitholders and subscription receipts equivalent amount.
• Core-FFO is defined as FFO adjusted for the REIT's share of lease payments received for its Data Centre asset, which for IFRS purposes is accounted for as a finance lease and removes the impact of mortgage discharge fees (if any).
• AFFO is defined as FFO adjusted for certain items including guaranteed income supplements, amortization of deferred transaction costs, de-recognition and amortization of mark-to-market adjustments on mortgages refinanced or discharged, adjustments for interest rate subsidies received, recognition of the REIT's share of lease payments received for its Data Centre asset, which for IFRS purposes is accounted for as a finance lease, amortization of straight-line rent and normalized direct leasing and capital costs.
• FFO payout ratio, Core-FFO payout ratio and AFFO payout ratio are defined as distributions declared divided by FFO, Core-FFO and AFFO, respectively.
• FFO per unit, Core-FFO per unit and AFFO per unit are defined as FFO, Core-FFO and AFFO divided by the weighted average diluted number of units outstanding, respectively.
• IFRS net asset value is defined as the aggregate of the carrying value of the REIT’s equity, Class B LP units and deferred units.
• Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, fair value gains (losses) from both financial instruments and investment properties, while also excluding non-recurring items such as transaction costs from dispositions, acquisitions or other events and adjusting income received from the Data Centre to cash received as opposed to finance income recorded for accounting purposes.
• Net debt to adjusted EBITDA is calculated by dividing the aggregate amount of debt outstanding, less cash on hand, by annualized adjusted EBITDA.
• Interest coverage ratio is defined as adjusted EBITDA divided by cash interest paid.

We utilize these measures for a variety of reasons, including measuring performance, managing the business, capital allocation and the assessment of risk. Descriptions of why these non-IFRS measures are useful to investors and how management uses each measure are included in Management’s Discussion and Analysis, which readers should read when evaluating the measures included herein. We believe that providing these performance measures on a supplemental basis to our IFRS results is helpful to investors in assessing the overall performance of our businesses in a manner similar to management. These financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for similar financial measures calculated in accordance with IFRS. We caution readers that these non-IFRS financial measures may differ from the calculations disclosed by other businesses, and as a result, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by others.

SOT-FR 

Calculation and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
The tables below summarize a calculation of non-IFRS measures based on IFRS financial information.
The calculation of NOI is as follows:

	Three months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars, except per unit amounts)	2021		2020
Revenue	$	41,559	$	44,604
Property operating expenses	(18,828)		(20,365)
IFRIC 21 property tax adjustment ^1	(2,567)		(2,576)
Straight-line rents and other changes	2,214		1,748
Net operating income	$	22,378	$	23,411
The reconciliation of net income to FFO, Core-FFO and AFFO is as follows:
	Three months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars, except per unit amounts)	2021		2020
Net income	$	5,684	$	5,689
Add (deduct):
Leasing costs amortized to revenue	2,211		1,892
Change in fair value of properties	464		1,777
IFRIC 21 property tax adjustment ^1	(2,567)		(2,576)
Change in fair value of financial instruments	(1,854)		4,070
Transaction costs	—		1,146
Depreciation of hotel asset	254		262
Deferred income tax expense	702		—
Change in fair value of Class B LP units	5,021		(53)
Distributions to Class B unitholders	528		528
FFO ^2	$	10,443	$	12,735
Finance income on finance lease receivable	(822)		(869)
Finance lease payments received	1,605		1,547
Core-FFO ^2	$	11,226	$	13,413
Amortization of deferred transaction costs	788		634
Amortization of debt mark-to-market adjustments	(40)		(58)
Amortization of straight-line rent	3		(144)
Interest rate subsidy	108		108
Guaranteed income supplements	—		—
Normalized direct leasing and capital costs	(2,016)		(2,166)
AFFO ^2	$	10,069	$	11,787
Weighted average number of diluted units outstanding(000s)	73,279		73,203
FFO per unit ^2	$	0.14	$	0.17
Core-FFO per unit ^2	0.15		0.18
AFFO per unit ^2	0.14		0.16
FFO payout ratio ^2	69.9%		57.3%
Core-FFO payout ratio ^2	65.0%		54.4%
AFFO payout ratio ^2	72.5%		61.9%
^1In accordance with IFRIC 21, the REIT recognizes property tax liability and expense on its existing U.S. properties as at January 1 of each year, rather than progressively, i.e. ratably throughout the year. The recognition of property taxes as a result of IFRIC 21 has no impact on NOI, FFO or AFFO.
^2 Refer to "Non-IFRS measures" section above.

The reconciliation of cash flow from operating activities to FFO, Core-FFO and AFFO is as follows:

	Three months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars)	2021		2020
Cash flow from operating activities	$	7,612	$	11,794
Add (deduct):
Leasing costs amortized to revenue	2,211		1,892
Transaction costs	—		1,146
Working capital items	3,054		(301)
Straight-line rent and other changes	(2,214)		(1,748)
Interest and other finance costs	(10,814)		(9,961)
Interest paid	10,066		9,385
Distributions paid to Class B unitholders	528		528
FFO^1	$	10,443	$	12,735
Finance income on finance lease receivable	(822)		(869)
Finance lease payments received	1,605		1,547
Core-FFO ^1	$	11,226	$	13,413
Amortization of deferred transaction costs	788		634
Amortization of debt mark-to-market adjustments	(40)		(58)
Amortization of straight-line rent	3		(144)
Interest rate subsidy	108		108
Guaranteed income supplements	—		—
Normalized direct leasing and capital costs	(2,016)		(2,166)
AFFO ^1	$	10,069	$	11,787
^1Refer to "Non-IFRS measures" section above.

The calculation of trailing twelve month adjusted EBITDA is as follows:

	Trailing twelve months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars)	2021		2020
Net income	$	47,187	$	37,791
Straight-line rent and other changes	7,013		4,072
Interest income	(522)		(593)
Interest and finance costs	43,755		42,661
Change in fair value of properties	(7,297)		(19,263)
IFRIC 21 property tax adjustment ^1	159		(292)
Change in fair value of financial instruments	(19,595)		29,507
Distributions to Class B shareholders	2,112		2,112
Transaction costs	414		5,497
Depreciation of hotel asset	1,042		1,038
Change in fair value of Class B LP units	8,879		(11,681)
Deferred income tax expense	954		988
Adjusted EBITDA^2	$	84,101	$	91,837
^1In accordance with IFRIC 21, the REIT recognizes property tax liability and expense on its existing U.S. properties as at January 1 of each year, rather than progressively, i.e. ratably throughout the year. The recognition of property taxes as a result of IFRIC 21 has no impact on NOI, FFO or AFFO.
^2Adjusted EBITDA is based on actuals for the twelve months preceding the balance sheet date.

The calculation of net debt is as follows:

(thousands of dollars)	June 30, 2021		June 30, 2020
Debt, non-current	$	810,880	$	407,414
Debt, current	165,359		580,047
Debt	$	976,239	$	987,461
Less: cash on hand	3,997		11,354
Net debt	$	972,242	$	976,107

The calculation of net debt to adjusted EBITDA is as follows:

	Trailing twelve months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars)	2021		2020
Debt	$	976,239	$	987,461
Less: cash on hand	3,997		11,354
Net debt	$	972,242	$	976,107
Adjusted EBITDA ^1, 2	84,101		91,837
Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ^2	11.6x		10.6x
^1 Adjusted EBITDA is based on actuals for the twelve months preceding the balance sheet date.
^2 Refer to "Non-IFRS measures" section above.

The interest coverage ratio is calculated as follows:

	Trailing twelve months ended June 30,
(thousands of dollars)	2021		2020
Adjusted EBITDA^1	$	84,101	$	91,837
Interest expense	40,433		40,240
Interest coverage ratio ^1	2.1x		2.3x
^1Refer to "Non-IFRS measures" section above.

The following is the calculation of IFRS net asset value on a total and per unit basis at June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020:

(thousands of dollars, except per unit amounts)	June 30, 2021		December 31, 2020
Equity	$	612,342	$	604,743
Class B LP units	28,222		21,880
Deferred unit liability	1,285		881
Deferred tax liability	948		—
IFRS net asset value	$	642,797	$	627,504
Diluted number of units outstanding (000s) ^1	73,291		73,263
IFRS net asset value per unit	$	8.77	$	8.57
^1Represents the fully diluted number of units outstanding and includes outstanding REIT units, DUP units and Class B LP units.