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TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/03/09 -- DUNDEE REIT (TSX: D.UN) today posted its financial results for the period ended September 30, 2009. Dundee REIT's management team will be holding a conference call to discuss the results on Wednesday, November 4th at 9:00 a.m. (ET). To access the conference call, please dial (416) 695-7848 in Toronto and overseas or 1-800-766-6630 elsewhere in Canada and the United States. A taped replay of the call will be available from November 4, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. (ET) to November 18, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. (ET). Please dial 416-695-5800 or 1-800-408-3053 and use passcode 6726500 to access the replay. The call will also be available via webcast at www.dundeereit.com.
HIGHLIGHTS
-- Q3 rental property revenues up 3% over Q3 2008 to $47.7 million
-- Comparative properties net operating income ("NOI") up 4% to $24.4 million
-- Q3 adjusted funds from operations ("AFFO") per unit up 8% to $0.54
-- Occupancy remains high at 94.9%
-- Quarter-end weighted average interest rate lowered to 5.75%
-- Strong interest coverage ratio of 2.3 times
-- Strong balance sheet with $110 million of cash and an undrawn operating line of $31 million
-- $140 million of acquisitions under agreement in Toronto and Ottawa
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Selected Financial Three Three Three Nine Nine
Information Months Months Months Months Months
(unaudited) ($000's Ended Ended Ended Ended Ended
except unit and per Sept. 30, June 30, Sept. 30, Sept. 30, Sept. 30,
unit amounts) 2009 2009 2008 2009 2008
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Rental property
revenues $ 47,741 $ 46,906 $46,341 $143,105 $133,119
Net operating income
("NOI")(1) 29,919 30,336 29,070 90,422 84,273
Funds from operations
("FFO")(2) 16,209 17,138 15,827 50,271 47,666
Adjusted funds from
operations ("AFFO")(3) 11,747 12,713 10,716 36,750 32,100
Book value of rental
properties 1,118,264 1,111,649 1,145,136
Debt 840,377 868,522 884,571
Cash 109,568 79,324 96,493
Per unit data (basic)
FFO 0.74 0.82 0.75 2.36 2.24
AFFO 0.54 0.61 0.50 1.73 1.51
Distributions 0.55 0.55 0.55 1.65 1.65
Units (period end)
REIT Units, Series A 21,204,815 17,301,556 17,068,948
REIT Units, Series B 16,316 16,316 476,316
LP Class B Units,
Series 1 3,454,188 3,454,188 3,454,189
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Total number of units 24,675,319 20,772,060 20,999,453
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Occupied and committed
space 94.9% 94.2% 95.8%
Office 95.9% 96.0% 97.6%
Industrial 92.0% 89.3% 90.9%
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"Our portfolio continues to perform very well in what has been a year of many challenges and uncertainties with respect to the economy. While some challenges remain, we are beginning to see some compelling investment opportunities and our outlook is becoming more optimistic," said Michael Cooper, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
-- Rental properties NOI up 3% to $29.9 million - rental properties NOI
increased by 3% over the prior year third quarter. Strong comparative
property growth and income generated by properties acquired in 2008 and
2009 were the primary drivers behind this increase. Properties in
Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, and Ontario contributed 13%
and 22%, respectively, to the Trust's NOI growth.
-- Comparative properties NOI up 4% to $24.4 million - comparative NOI
increased by 4% over the prior year third quarter, reflecting increases
in rental rates attained on renewals and contractual rent increases.
-- Funds from operations grew by 2% to $16.2 million - on a per unit basis,
FFO decreased slightly by 1% to $0.74 compared to the same period in
2008, mainly as a result of the dilutive effect of the Trust's equity
offering completed during the quarter.
-- Adjusted funds from operations increased by 10% to $11.7 million - on a
per unit basis, AFFO per unit increased by 8% to $0.54 from $0.50,
primarily due to strong property performance, offset by dilution due to
the equity offering
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
-- Portfolio occupancy strong at 94.9% - the average occupancy rate across
the Trust's office portfolio was 95.9%, significantly above the industry
average of 90.6%, and occupancy across its industrial portfolio rose to
92.0% from 90.9% in the same period in 2008. The average in-place net
rent increased by 5.5% to $15.72 per square foot compared to the same
quarter last year and by 2.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
"We continue to work closely with existing and prospective tenants, and are
pleased to see our efforts rewarded not only with an increase in occupancy
levels in the third quarter but also increases in rent," said Michael
Knowlton, President and Chief Operating Officer.
Average In-place Net Rent (per
Occupancy sq. ft.)
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Sept. 30, Dec. 31, Sept.30, Sept. 30, Dec. 31, Sept.30,
2009 2008 2008 2009 2008 2008
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Office 95.9% 96.6% 97.6% $18.20 $ 17.94 $ 17.53
Industrial 92.0% 87.0% 90.9% 7.78 7.35 7.29
Total 94.9% 94.0% 95.8% 15.72 15.30 14.90
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ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION HIGHLIGHTS
On August 31, 2009, Dundee REIT sold two industrial properties in Edmonton, Alberta, for net proceeds of $14.9 million.
On September 1, 2009, the Trust purchased its partner's 50% interest in 720 Bay Street in Toronto for $25.9 million inclusive of transaction costs.
Acquisitions under agreement
The Trust has entered into exclusive letter agreements, subject to due diligence and finalizing purchase and sale agreements, to acquire $140 million of predominantly office properties in Toronto and Ottawa totaling 1.2 million square feet at an overall cap rate of approximately 9.3%.
CAPITAL INITIATIVES
-- New equity issue - On September 9, 2009, the Trust completed a public
offering of 3,350,000 REIT Units, Series A at a price of $18.35 per unit
for gross proceeds of $61.5 million. On September 29, 2009, the Trust
issued an additional 502,500 REIT Units, Series A pursuant to the
exercise of an over-allotment option for gross proceeds of approximately
$9.2 million, increasing the total gross proceeds of the offering to
approximately $70.7 million.
-- Debt - During the third quarter, the Trust made $3.9 million of
scheduled repayments on mortgages and term debt and repaid an additional
$24.3 million upon the maturity of mortgages related to two properties.
The Trust now owns four unencumbered properties which may be leveraged
to provide additional financing. As a result of various financing
activities, the overall weighted average interest rate was further
reduced to 5.75% from 5.83% at December 31, 2008 (September 30, 2008 -
5.85%). The year-to-date interest coverage ratio remains strong at 2.3
times (December 31, 2008 - 2.3 times; September 30, 2008 - 2.3 times).
The Trust maintained a conservative level of debt-to-gross book value of
58.4% as at September 30, 2009. Excluding the impact of surplus cash,
the debt-to-gross book value would further decline to 55.0%.
-- Normal course issuer bid - On September 23, 2009, the Trust received TSX
approval to renew its normal course issuer bid and has the ability to
purchase for cancellation up to a maximum of 1,648,026 REIT A Units
through the facilities of the TSX. To date, no units have been purchased
for cancellation under the current bid.
Information appearing in this news release is a select summary of results. The financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the Trust, as well as its Supplementary Information Package are available at www.dundeereit.com and on www.sedar.com.
Dundee REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust and provides high quality, affordable business premises. It is focused on owning, acquiring, leasing and managing mid-sized urban and suburban office and industrial properties in Canada. Dundee REIT's portfolio currently consists of approximately 6.8 million square feet of gross leasable area, located primarily in Western Canada. Dundee REIT's portfolio is well diversified by geographic location and tenant mix. For more information, please visit www.dundeereit.com.
FOOTNOTES
(1) NOI - rental property operating revenue less rental property operating expenses excluding discontinued operations.
(2) FFO - net income, adjusted for future income tax, depreciation and amortization, provision for impairment in value of discontinued assets, loss on sale, and other amortization from continuing and discontinued operations.
(3) AFFO - distributable income (as defined in Dundee REIT's Declaration of Trust) adjusted for the Trust's estimates of normalized leasing costs and normalized non-recoverable recurring capital expenditures.
NOI, FFO and AFFO are key measures of performance used by real estate operating companies; however, they are not defined by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), do not have standard meanings and may not be comparable with other industries or income trusts.
This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Dundee REIT's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general and local economic and business conditions; the financial condition of tenants; our ability to refinance maturing debt; leasing risks, including those associated with the ability to lease vacant space; and interest and currency rate functions. Our objectives and forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, including that the general economy remains stable, interest rates remain stable, conditions within the real estate market remain consistent, competition for acquisitions remains consistent with the current climate and that the capital markets continue to provide ready access to equity and/or debt. All forward-looking information in this press release speaks as of the date of this press release. Dundee REIT does not undertake to update any such forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional information about these assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained in Dundee REIT's filings with securities regulators, including its latest annual information form and MD&A. These filings are also available at Dundee REIT's website at www.dundeereit.com.



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