/EINPresswire.com/ -- VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 09, 2017) - Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (the "Trust") (TSX: AAR.UN) is pleased to announce the release of its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.

Q2-2017 Financial Results

The Q2-2017 financial results, consisting of the Trust's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, and management's discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition ("MD&A") dated August 9, 2017, are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the Trust's website (www.piret.ca). Unless otherwise indicated, all amounts are in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Q2-2017 Highlights

(All metrics have been normalized for IFRIC 21 and assumes all property taxes have been pro-rated and accrued based on the number of days of ownership within the reporting year.)

• As at June 30, 2017, the Trust's portfolio under management consists of 165 income producing properties representing gross leasable area ("GLA") of 22.0 million square feet ("sf"), an increase from 19.6 million sf as at December 31, 2016. In addition, the Trust's portfolio consists of 42.4 acres of land held for future development and one property under development, which will add 330,540 sf of GLA to the Trust's portfolio, upon completion in Q4-2017.

• Investment properties fair value including properties classified as assets held for sale as at June 30, 2017 is $2,570,069 a $138,392 increase from December 31, 2016. The increase in investment properties is due primarily to the acquisition of three properties in the U.S., aggregate fair value gains across the portfolio and in particular in the Greater Toronto Area, offset by net disposition activities and a foreign exchange related decrease due to the U.S. exchange rate decreasing from 1.343 as at December 31, 2016 to 1.298 as at June 30, 2017. In Q2-2017, the Trust recognized an aggregate fair value gain of $30,519, driven mostly by cap rate compression in the Ontario market. Year to date fair value gains recognized on the Trust's portfolio total $92,627.

• Net asset value per unit increased to $5.82 per unit as at June 30, 2017 from $5.51 as at December 31, 2016, and $5.74 as at March 31, 2017, driven by fair value gains in the Trust's portfolio and the net positive effect of the Trust's portfolio upgrading initiatives.

• Debt to Gross Book Value, as defined in the MD&A, as at June 30, 2017 was 38.5%, a 380 basis point decrease from 42.3% as at December 31, 2016 and a 330 basis point decrease from 41.8% as at March 31, 2017. The improvement in the leverage metric was predominantly attributable to the temporarily undeployed cash on hand as at June 30, 2017, relating to the net proceeds received from the April 2017 equity offering.

• Revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2017 increased by 21.5% compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase is primarily related to acquisition activity in 2017 and Q4-2016, increasing GLA from 17.8 million sf as at June 30, 2016 to 22.0 million sf as at June 30, 2017, and same property revenue growth.

• Adjusted Net Operating Income ("NOI"), as defined in the MD&A, for the three months ended June 30, 2017 increased 22.6% to $39,525 from $32,249 for the same period in 2016, due to the full quarter impact of the acquisition of fourteen properties during Q4-2016, the acquisition of 201 Greenwood Court, a cross-dock distribution centre in McDonough, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia (the "Atlanta Acquisition") in January 2017, the Houston Acquisition (defined herein) in April 2017, the Dallas Acquisition (defined herein) in June 2017, and organic growth through an increase in same property occupancy.

• For the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Trust's same property NOI ("SPNOI"), as defined in the MD&A, increased by $859 or 3.2% compared to the same period in prior year, from 16.5 million sf representing 75.2% of the Trust's overall portfolio. The increase in SPNOI is primarily due to an average occupancy increase of 206,000 sf in Ontario and 43,000 sf in Alberta, positive impact from a stronger U.S. dollar (average USD:CAD FX rate of 1.3449 in Q2-2017 vs 1.2886 in Q2-2016), offset by 62,000 sf of average vacancy in the USA due to an expected move out of a tenant in North Carolina in Q1-2017. For the USA segment specifically, SPNOI increased 3.4% (1.0% decrease on a US dollar basis). Excluding the expansion activities completed during 2016 in Ontario, New Jersey and Texas, SPNOI increased by 2.4% in aggregate and for the USA segment specifically, SPNOI increased 1.4% (2.8% decrease on a US dollar basis).

• Funds from Operations ("FFO")¹, as defined in the MD&A, for the three months ended June 30, 2017 increased 28.9% over the same period in the prior year and also increased 5.0% when compared to Q1-2017. FFO in the second quarter of 2017 relative to the second quarter of 2016 was positively impacted by SPNOI increases and FFO from net new acquisitions.

• FFO per Unit ("FFOPU"), as defined in the MD&A, of $0.10 decreased by 7.5% for the three months ended June 30, 2017 over the same period in the prior year and was 4.8% lower when compared to Q1-2017. On a per unit basis, FFOPU was negatively impacted by the temporary dilutive effect of additional units issued from the April 2017 equity offering where the proceeds were not yet fully deployed in the quarter.

• Adjusted Funds from Operations ("AFFO")¹, as defined in the MD&A, for the three months ended June 30, 2017 increased 36.8% over the same period in the prior year and decreased by 2.1% when compared to Q1-2017. The net increase in AFFO, compared to the prior year, is primarily due to an increase in NOI from both existing and new acquisitions, and a result of successful development and accretive acquisition activities during fiscal 2016. The decrease in AFFO when compared to Q1-2017 is primarily due to higher capital expenditures related to leasing activity.

• Adjusted Funds from Operations per Unit ("AFFOPU"), as defined in the MD&A, of $0.08 for the three months ended June 30, 2017 decreased by 1.2% over the prior year comparative and decreased 10.9% from Q1-2017 largely due to the temporary dilutive effect of additional units issued from the April 2017 equity offering where the proceeds were not yet fully deployed in the quarter and higher capital expenditures.

• G&A expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2017 increased to $3,336 from $1,924 compared to the same period in the prior year, representing 6.1% and 4.2% of rental revenues, respectively. Included in G&A expense is the non-cash fair value adjustment relating to the re-measurement of the Trust's unit-based compensation liabilities, totaling $1,412, an increase of $805 relative to the three months ending June 30, 2016. The Trust's unit price increased 13% in Q2-2017 from March 31, 2017. G&A expenses, excluding the fair value re-measurement, represents 3.5% and 2.9% of rental revenues, respectively.

• The occupancy of the Trust's portfolio was 96.7% as at June 30, 2017, excluding properties classified as assets held for sale, an increase of 40 basis points from March 31, 2017 and an increase of 110 basis points from June 30, 2016. Including committed leasing, the occupancy is 97.5% as at June 30, 2017, an increase of 20 basis points from both March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2016. The weighted average remaining lease term decreased from 6.1 years as at March 31, 2017 and 6.7 years as at June 30, 2016 to 5.8 years at the end of Q2-2017.

• During the three months ended June 30, 2017, 0.4 million sf of space expired. The Trust completed 167,000 sf of lease renewals, comprising 43.0% of the 0.4 million sf of expiring space, at rents with an average increase of 3.1% relative to the expiring rents, and approximately 240,000 sf of new leases were signed. To date, the Trust has renewed 64% of all 2017 lease expiries.

¹Definitions for FFO and AFFO have been revised to conform to industry standards prescribed by REALpac effective January 1, 2017 as further described in Section II "Funds from Operations and Adjusted Funds from Operations" in the MD&A.

Acquisitions, Dispositions and Financing

• On April 4, 2017, the Trust completed the acquisition of the Cedar Port Distribution Centre, consisting of two newly-constructed buildings comprising a total of 996,482 sf in Houston, Texas (the "Houston Acquisition") for $85,249 (US$63,500) plus standard closing costs and adjustments of $160 (US$120), and representing a going-in capitalization rate of approximately 6.8%. The Houston Acquisition was funded with existing cash on hand and the Trust's operating line. Subsequently, on April 7, 2017, the Trust entered into a new mortgage secured by the assets in the amount of $42,200 (US$31,500) with a 10-year term and a fixed interest rate of 3.88% per annum.

• On April 5, 2017, the Trust completed an equity offering for 23,977,500 Class A units priced at $6.00 per unit, which includes the full over-allotment option for 3,127,500 Class A units, for total gross proceeds of $143,865.

• On April 12, 2017, the Trust entered into an unsecured $150,000 revolving operating loan facility (the "Unsecured Credit Facility"). The Unsecured Credit Facility has a three-year term and matures on April 12, 2020. The Trust has the option to increase the Unsecured Credit Facility up to an additional $100,000 for a total facility limit of $250,000.

• On June 13, 2017, the Trust acquired the remaining interest in PIRET NC Property Limited Partnership ("NCLP") for a purchase price of $20,121 (US$15,200) comprising mainly of the portfolio's income producing properties of $39,884 (US$29,498) less a mortgage of $19,280 (US$14,259). The expected stabilized capitalization rate of the underlying three properties is approximately 7.0%.

• On June 14, 2017, the Trust completed the acquisition of the Dalport Trade Centre, a 758,922 sf distribution centre located in the Dallas suburb of Wilmer, Texas (the "Dallas Acquisition") for a purchase price of $55,478 (US$42,000) plus standard closing costs and adjustments of $197 (US$148) and representing a going-in capitalization rate of approximately 5.9%. The Dallas Acquisition was financed with existing cash on hand. Subsequent to the quarter, on July 26, 2017 the Trust entered into a commitment for an additional mortgage of $14,756 (US$11,800) where the Dalport Trade Centre will be added to security of one of the Trust's existing US mortgages and two other properties previously acquired in November 2016 will be discharged from the mortgage. The additional mortgage is expected to be funded in August 2017.

• During the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Trust completed the disposition of nine investment properties which were all classified as assets held for sale as at December 31, 2016, for gross proceeds of $69,660, before closing costs, and $20,780 higher than the aggregate of acquisition prices. A mortgage relating to one of the disposed properties of $10,197 was assumed by the purchaser. The remaining eight disposed assets in the second quarter were unencumbered at the time of sale.

Subsequent Events

• On July 12, 2017, the Trust announced that it had entered into a lease agreement with IKEA Distribution Services CA Inc ("IKEA") to occupy 100% of the Richmond Development site on a 7 year lease term. The development is expected to be substantially complete in Q4-2017 with rent scheduled to commence on December 1, 2017, adding approximately $2,958 in NOI annually.

• On July 13, 2017, the Trust completed the acquisition of a 150,000 sf warehouse in Scarborough, Ontario, for a purchase price of approximately $16,100 (the "GTA Development"). Upon closing, the Trust entered into a development agreement to redevelop the site, with a new state-of-the-art +/- 300,000 sf distribution centre for a total estimated cost of $35,100, including the land and existing warehouse.

• On July 25, 2017, the Trust announced that it had entered into agreements to acquire a total of $365 million of income producing properties located within primary Canadian markets (the "Acquisitions"). The Acquisitions represent three separate transactions, comprising eight distribution and logistics facilities, as follows: four assets located in the Greater Toronto Area ("GTA"), two assets located in Montreal and two assets located in Edmonton, representing an aggregate of approximately 1.9 million sf of GLA. The properties, upon closing, will be 100% occupied and leased to high quality multinational tenants under long-term lease agreements.

• On August 1, the Trust completed the disposition of an 81,180 sf asset in Moncton, New Brunswick for gross proceeds of $5,650, and $576 higher than the original acquisition price. The asset had been classified as an asset held for sale since December 31, 2016 and was unencumbered at the time of sale.

• On August 3, 2017, the Trust completed an equity offering and issued 35,937,500 Class A units, inclusive of 4,687,500 units issued pursuant to the exercise in full of the over-allotment option, on a bought deal basis, at a price of $6.40 per unit for total gross proceeds of $230,000.

Selected Financial Information

Conference Call

As previously announced on June 29, 2017, management will host the conference call at 1:00 pm (EDT) on Thursday, August 10, 2017, to review the financial results and operational developments for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

To participate in this conference call, please dial one of the following numbers approximately 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the call, and ask to join the Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust Conference Call.

Dial in numbers:

Conference Call Replay

If you cannot participate on August 10, 2017, a replay of the conference call will be available by dialing one of the following replay numbers. You will be able to dial in and listen to the conference 120 minutes after the meeting end time, and the replay will be available until Thursday, August 17, 2017.

Please enter the Replay ID# 891473, followed by the # key.

About Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust is an unincorporated, open-ended investment trust that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of income-producing industrial properties in leading markets across Canada and key distribution and logistics markets in the United States. The Trust is an internally managed REIT and is one of the largest publicly-traded REITs in Canada that offers investors exposure to industrial real estate assets in Canada and the United States. Additional information about the Trust is available at www.piret.ca and www.sedar.com.

Non-GAAP Measures:

The Trust prepares and releases condensed consolidated interim financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS (GAAP). In this release, the Trust discloses and discusses certain non-GAAP financial measures, including FFO, FFO per Unit, AFFO, AFFO per Unit, adjusted net operating income (Adjusted NOI), Net Asset Value per Unit, occupancy, Loan to Gross Book Value, and capitalization rate. The non-GAAP measures are further defined and discussed in the MD&A dated August 9, 2017 and filed on SEDAR, which should be read in conjunction with this release. Since FFO, FFO per Unit, AFFO, AFFO per Unit, adjusted net operating income (Adjusted NOI), Net Asset Value per Unit, occupancy, Loan to Gross Book Value, and capitalization rate are not determined by IFRS, such measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other issuers. The Trust has presented such non-GAAP measures as management believes the measures are a relevant measure of the ability of the Trust to earn and distribute cash returns to Unitholders and to evaluate the Trust's performance. These non-GAAP measures should not be construed as alternatives to net income (loss) or cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Trust's performance. Please refer to "Additional IFRS Measures and Non-IFRS Measures" in the Trust's MD&A.

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as such as "outlook", "believe", "expect", "may", "anticipate", "should", "intend", "estimates" and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Trust, including: (i)the accretive acquisition of properties and the anticipated extent of the accretion of any acquisitions, which could be impacted by demand for properties and the effect that demand has on acquisition capitalization rates and changes in the cost of capital; (ii) the maintaining of occupancy levels and rental revenue, which could be impacted by changes in demand for the Trust's properties, tenant bankruptcies, the effects of general economic conditions and supply of competitive locations in proximity to the Trust's locations; (iii) the overall indebtedness levels and the Trust's ability to refinance expiring debt, which could be impacted by the level of acquisition activity and the state of debt markets in general; (iv) The Trust's REIT status, which can be impacted by regulatory changes enacted by governmental authorities; (v) The Trust's cost estimates and expected yields pertaining to development activity which could be impacted by construction cost overruns or delays; (vi) the anticipated distributions and payout ratios, which could be impacted by capital expenditures, results of operations and capital resource allocation decisions; and (vii) the anticipated replacement of expiring tenancies, which could be impacted by the effects of general economic conditions and the supply of competitive locations.

Although the Trust believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Trust can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or satisfy the conditions to closing the property acquisitions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Trust operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Trust.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent the Trust's expectations as of the date hereof, and are subject to change after such date. The Trust disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed nor approved the contents of this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.