TORONTO, Nov. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (“CREIT”) (TSX:REF.UN) today announced results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017.

For the three months ended September 30, 2017, CREIT reported Funds from Operations ("FFO") of $0.84 per Unit compared to $0.79 per Unit for the same period in 2016. The results include lease termination income of $0.3 million earned during the three months ended September 30, 2017 ($1.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016). Excluding the lease termination income in both quarters, FFO for the current quarter increased by 7.7% over the same period in 2016 ($0.84 per Unit in the third quarter of 2017, up from $0.78 per Unit in the third quarter of 2016).

For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, CREIT reported FFO of $2.52 per Unit. The results include lease termination income of $1.1 million earned during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and $7.9 million earned for the same period in 2016. Excluding the impact of lease termination income in both periods, FFO increased by 7.3% over the same period in the prior year ($2.50 per Unit in 2017 up from $2.33 per Unit in 2016).

Stephen Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased with our operational performance for the third quarter and year-to-date in 2017.” Mr. Johnson added, "Our diversified portfolio, strong balance sheet, low payout ratio and ongoing investment in value-add opportunities have provided stability and contributed to our steady FFO growth."

For the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, FFO was as follows:

	Three months ended September 30
						Change
($ thousands, except per-Unit amounts)		2017		2016		($)		(%)
FFO	$	61,690	$	58,091		$	3,599	6.2	%
FFO per Unit	$	0.84	$	0.79		$	0.05	6.3	%

For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, FFO was as follows:

	Nine months ended September 30
						Change
($ thousands, except per-Unit amounts)		2017		2016		($)		(%)
FFO	$	184,595	$	178,265		$	6,330	3.6	%
FFO per Unit	$	2.52	$	2.44		$	0.08	3.3	%

The charts below provide a summary of net income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. 

	Three months ended September 30
($ thousands, except per-Unit amounts)							Change
		2017			2016		($)
Net income excluding fair value gains (losses), property acquisition costs, and income taxes	$	60,876		$	57,146		$	3,730
Net income	$	43,509		$	18,858		$	24,651
Net income per Unit	$	0.59		$	0.26		$	0.33

	Nine months ended September 30
($ thousands, except per-Unit amounts)							Change
		2017			2016		($)
Net income excluding fair value gains (losses), property acquisition costs, and income taxes	$	182,014		$	175,396		$	6,618
Net income	$	159,643		$	115,890		$	43,753
Net income per Unit	$	2.18		$	1.58		$	0.60

Financial Measures and Additional Financial Information
FFO is a generally accepted supplemental measure of operating performance for real estate entities; however, it is not a measure defined by International Financial Reporting Standards.  Readers are directed to CREIT’s Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for a description of the measure and its reconciliation to net income.

CREIT’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 are posted on CREIT’s website at www.creit.ca.  Readers are directed to these documents for financial details and a fulsome discussion on CREIT’s results.

Conference Call
Interested parties are invited to discuss the financial results on a conference call with senior management. Conference call details are as follows:

Date: Friday, November 3, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. EDT

Dial-in number: (647) 427-2311 or (866) 521-4909

Conference call ID: 90193415

A taped replay of the call will be available until December 3, 2017.  To access the replay, please dial (416) 621-4642 or (800) 585-8367.

Webcast:

Alternatively, to access the simultaneous webcast, please click on the following link on CREIT’s website: www.creitwebcast20171103.com.   The webcast will be archived for one year.

About CREIT
CREIT is a real estate investment trust focused on accumulating and aggressively managing a portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and delivering the benefits of real estate ownership to Unitholders.  The primary benefit is a reliable and, over time, increasing monthly cash distribution.  CREIT owns a diversified portfolio of retail, industrial and office properties.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and the environment in which we operate, which are based on our expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict.  Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements.  Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.  Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made.  We undertake no obligation to publicly update any such statement, to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Contact
For further information, please contact:

Stephen Johnson Chief Executive Officer 416-628-7878 sjohnson@creit.ca

Rael Diamond Chief Operating Officer 416-628-7861 rdiamond@creit.ca

Mario Barrafato Chief Financial Officer 416-628-7872 mbarrafato@creit.ca