Brookfield Property Partners Reports Fourth Quarter & Full-Year 2018 Results, Announces $500 Million Substantial Issuer Bid

Brookfield Property Partners Reports Fourth Quarter & Full-Year 2018 Results, Announces $500 Million Substantial Issuer Bid

Feb 07, 2019

Net Income of $858 Million for the Quarter and $3.7 Billion for the Year;
Company FFO of $416 Million for the Quarter and $1.2 Billion for the Year; 
Quarterly Distribution Raised by 5% to $0.33 per Unit

All dollar references are in U.S. dollars, unless noted otherwise.

BROOKFIELD NEWS, Feb. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Property Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: BPY; NASDAQ: BPR; TSX: BPY.UN) (“BPY”) today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.  In addition, the Partnership announced its intention to launch a Substantial Issuer Bid (“SIB”) to repurchase up to an aggregate of $500 million of BPY units and Class A shares of Brookfield Property REIT Inc. at a price of at least $19.00 per unit but not more than $21.00 per unit.

“2018 was a transformational year for BPY as we grew our earnings, continued our capital recycling initiatives, completed the acquisition of GGP and launched BPR, our new U.S. REIT,” said Brian Kingston, chief executive officer. “With our fifth consecutive year of increased Company FFO per unit, we are pleased to announce that we are raising the quarterly distribution to unitholders by 5% and will also be allocating a significant amount of capital to repurchase our own units at a substantial discount to their underlying value.”
                   
Financial Results

  Three months ended
Dec. 31,
  Twelve months ended
Dec. 31,
(US$ Millions, except per unit amounts) 2018 2017   2018   2017
Net income(1) $   858 $ 958  $ 3,654 $ 2,468
Company FFO(2) $ 416 $ 286  $ 1,179 $ 1,017
Realized gains on LP Investments(3) $ 417 $ 422 $ 490 $ 477
                 
Net income per LP unit(4) $   0.51 $ 0.17 $ 2.28 $ 0.48
Company FFO per unit(5) $   0.43 $ 0.41 $  1.48 $ 1.44
Company FFO and realized gains per unit(5) $ 0.86 $ 1.01 $ 2.09 $ 2.12
  1. Consolidated basis – includes amounts attributable to non-controlling interests.
  2. See "Basis of Presentation" and “Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures” in this press release for the definition and components.
  3. “LP Investments” refer to BPY’s investments in Brookfield-sponsored private real estate funds.
  4. Represents basic net income attributable to holders of LP units. IFRS requires the inclusion of preferred shares that are mandatorily convertible into LP units at a price of $25.70 without an add-back to earnings of the associated carry on the preferred shares.
  5. Company FFO per unit and realized gains per unit are calculated based on 974.1 million (2017 – 703.5 million) and 796.8 million (2017 – 704.7 million) units outstanding for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, respectively. See reconciliation of basic net income in the "Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures" section in this press release.

Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 was $858 million ($0.51 per unit) versus $958 million ($0.17 per unit) for the same period in 2017. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $3.65 billion ($2.28 per unit) compared with $2.47 billion ($0.48 per unit) in 2017.

Company FFO was $416 million ($0.43 per unit) for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, compared with $286 million ($0.41 per unit) for the same period in 2017. Company FFO was $1.18 billion ($1.48 per unit) for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared with $1.02 billion ($1.44 per unit) in 2017. The increases in Company FFO for the quarter and year are primarily attributable to our increased investment in core retail and its seasonally strong performance in the fourth quarter, along with same-property income growth in the core office business.  This strong operating performance more than offset the impact of a higher interest rate environment and the negative impact of converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars.

Operating Highlights

Our core office operations generated Company FFO of $170 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 compared to $148 million in the same period in 2017 and $608 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $532 million on a comparable basis in 2017. The increases over the prior year reporting periods are primarily attributable to same-property growth, offset in part by the negative impact of converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars, and the reallocation of capital from asset sales to our other businesses.

Occupancy in our core office portfolio increased 60 basis points during the fourth quarter to 93.5% on 3.3 million square feet of total leasing. Leases signed in the fourth quarter were at average rents 8% higher than leases that expired in the period. Total leasing for the year was 7.8 million square feet and occupancy increased 90 basis points during the year.

Our core retail operations generated Company FFO of $270 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 compared to $158 million in the comparable period in 2017 and $651 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $515 million in 2017. The increases in Company FFO over the prior quarter and year periods are primarily attributable to the acquisition of GGP in August 2018.

Core same-property retail occupancy finished the year at 96.5% on 9.6 million square feet of total leasing, with average initial suite-to-suite rent spreads of 11% on an NOI-weighted basis. NOI-weighted tenant sales per square foot increased 6% in 2018 to $746.

Our LP investments generated Company FFO of $77 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, compared to $89 million in the comparable period in 2017 and $330 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $335 million in 2017. The decrease in Company FFO over the prior reporting periods was largely a result of the sale of stabilized investments in this segment, where proceeds were reinvested but are not yet yielding comparable income.  This was offset in part by strong same-property growth in existing investments.   

  Three months ended Dec. 31, Twelve months ended Dec. 31,
(US$ Millions)   2018   2017   2018   2017
Company FFO by segment      
Core Office $ 170   $ 148   $ 608   $   532  
Core Office gain   -     -     -      60  
Core Retail   270     158     651     515  
LP Investments    77       89       330     335  
Corporate     (101 )     (109 )     (410 )     (425 )
Company FFO(1) $   416   $ 286   $  1,179   $  1,017  

(1) See "Basis of Presentation" and "Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures" below in this press release for the definitions and components.

Strategic Initiatives

Dispositions

In total for 2018, we participated in approximately $8 billion of gross asset dispositions at our share, sold on average at prices approximately 5% higher than our carrying IFRS values.  These sales generated approximately $3.6 billion in net proceeds to BPY during the year. Dispositions completed in the fourth quarter include:

LP Investments

  • Sold U.S. logistics property business, IDI Logistics, for $3.5 billion, generating net proceeds of $482 million to BPY. 
  • Sold 21 multifamily properties in the U.S. for an aggregate of $1.2 billion, generating net proceeds of $207 million to BPY.
  • Sold the Pullman Melbourne Hotel for A$156 million, generating net proceeds of $34 million to BPY.
  • Sold the Highline Dallas hotel for $68 million, generating net proceeds of $5 million to BPY.

Core Assets

  • Sold the office buildings at 10 & 12 Shelley St. in Sydney for A$804 million, generating net proceeds of $311 million to BPY.
  • Sold a 48% interest in a portfolio of five high-quality assets in Sydney and Perth.  Net proceeds to BPY were $150 million.
  • Sold 49% of Fashion Place mall in Murray, UT for $594 million, generating net proceeds of $160 million to BPY.  
  • Sold a 49% interest in 2001 M. Street in Washington, DC for $250 million, generating net proceeds of $38 million to BPY.
  • Sold 1550 Wilson Blvd. and 1560 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, VA for $103 million, generating net proceeds of $38 million to BPY.

New Investments

The following new LP investments were made during the fourth quarter:

  • Completed the acquisition of Forest City Realty Trust Inc. for approximately $6.9 billion ($486 million at BPY’s share).
  • Acquired a 90% interest in a student housing and aparthotel operator and developer in France for €298 million ($330 million) ($22 million at BPY’s share).
  • Acquired the PGA National Hotel and Resort in Palm Beach, FL for $221 million ($15 million at BPY’s share).
  • Acquired 10 triple net lease properties for an aggregate of $118 million ($34 million at BPY’s share).
  • Acquired three extended-stay hotels in Tampa, FL for $42 million ($11 million at BPY’s share).
  • Acquired an aparthotel development in Lisbon, Portugal for €39 million ($45 million) ($3 million at BPY’s share).

BSREP III

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (“BAM”) recently closed its successor opportunistic property fund (“the Fund”) with total capital of $15 billion. BPY committed $1 billion to this Fund and BAM committed the balance of Brookfield’s total commitment of $3.75 billion. The commitment by BPY is a smaller percentage than its investment in the prior opportunistic property fund as its excess capital is expected to be utilized to repurchase its units.  

Balance Sheet Update

During the quarter, we executed on the following transactions to increase our balance sheet flexibility, increase liquidity and extend the maturity of our debt:

  • Refinanced Potsdamer Platz for €1.1 billion.
  • Refinanced the Wells Fargo Center South Tower in Los Angeles for $253 million.
  • Refinanced five core retail assets for an aggregate of $552 million.

Unit Repurchase Program

Utilizing BPY’s in-place NCIB, the Partnership purchased 3,927,910 of its Limited Partnership units in the fourth quarter of 2018 at an average price of $17.04 per unit. In 2018, the total units purchased under the NCIB were 4,661,145 units at an average price of $17.35 per unit.

Distribution Increase and Declaration

The Board of Directors approved an increase in the Partnership’s quarterly distribution from $0.315 to $0.33 per un

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