COPT Reports First Quarter 2021 Results; Raises Midpoint of Full Year Guidance by 3-Cents, Implying 4.7% Growth

Stronger Outlook for Same-Property Cash NOI and Interest Savings from Senior Notes Refinancing Boost 2021 Expectations

EPS of ($0.06) Exceeded High End of Guidance by 1-Cent;
FFO per Share, as Adjusted for Comparability, of $0.56 was at the High End of Guidance

Raising Same-Property Cash NOI Guidance for the Year by 100 Basis Points, to (1%)-1%
Same-Property Cash NOI Declined 2.7% in the Quarter, Consistent with Guidance

Core Portfolio 94.0% Occupied & 94.9% Leased

46,000 SF of 100% Leased Development Placed into Service

1.4 Million SF of Active Developments are 85% Leased

Solid Leasing Activity; Raising Tenant Retention Forecast

Total Leasing of 258,000 SF in the Quarter; Over 660,000 SF of New and Renewal Leasing Achieved in April
Total Leasing Through April Exceeds 920,000 SF

1Q Tenant Retention of 52% was In-Line with Internal Forecast
88% Retention Rate in April and Revised Forecast Drive Increased Full-Year Guidance of 70%-75%

1Q GAAP Rents on Renewals Increased 4.9%; Cash Rents Rolled Down 2.2% with Average Escalations of 2.6%

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corporate Office Properties Trust (“COPT” or the “Company”) (NYSE: OFC) announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

Management Comments

Stephen E. Budorick, COPT’s President & Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are off to a strong start in 2021. Due to our unique investment strategy of concentrating assets around U.S. defense installations executing priority missions in support of national security, and the extremely high credit quality of our tenants, our operations continue to be fundamentally unaffected by pandemic-related externalities. First quarter leasing results were in-line with our internal forecast, and we are off to a blistering start in the second quarter, completing over 660,000 square feet of new and renewal leasing, and achieving an 88% renewal rate. Based on leasing achieved in April and the transactions in negotiation, we are increasing our full-year tenant retention guidance from the prior range of 65%-75% to a new range of 70%-75%. With roughly 900,000 square feet of development transactions in advanced negotiations, we also remain on-track to meet or exceed previously established guidance of leasing 1 million square feet in developments this year.”

He continued, “The exceptional execution of our March bond offering and solid operations drove first quarter FFO per share, as adjusted for comparability, to the high-end of guidance and the interest savings will continue to benefit the remainder of the year. Additionally, our improved leasing outlook is driving higher expectations for same-property results. Accordingly, we are increasing the midpoint of our updated full-year guidance for FFO per share, as adjusted for comparability, from $2.19 to a new midpoint of $2.22, which would represent 4.7% growth over 2020 results.”

Financial Highlights

1^st Quarter Financial Results:

• Diluted (loss) earnings per share (“EPS”) was ($0.06) for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as compared to $0.21 for the first quarter of 2020.

• Diluted funds from operations per share (“FFOPS”), as calculated in accordance with Nareit’s definition, was $0.27 for the first quarter of 2021 as compared to $0.41 for first quarter 2020 results.

• FFOPS, as adjusted for comparability, was $0.56 for the first quarter of 2021 as compared to $0.51 for the first quarter of 2020.

Operating Performance Highlights

Operating Portfolio Summary:

• At March 31, 2021, the Company’s core portfolio of 180 operating office and data center shell properties was 94.0% occupied and 94.9% leased.

• During the quarter, the Company placed into service 46,000 square feet that were 100% leased.

Same-Property Performance:

• At March 31, 2021, COPT’s same-property portfolio of 161 buildings was 92.8% occupied and 93.8% leased.

• For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the Company’s same-property cash NOI decreased 2.7% over the prior year’s comparable period.

Leasing:

• Total Square Feet Leased: For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the Company leased 258,000 total square feet, including 154,000 square feet of renewals, 11,000 square feet in development projects, and 93,000 square feet of new leases on vacant space.

• Renewal Rates: During the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the Company renewed 51.8% of total expiring square feet.

• Rent Spreads & Average Escalations on Renewing Leases: For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, cash rents on renewed space decreased 2.2% and GAAP rents on renewed space increased 4.9%. For the same period, annual escalations on renewing leases averaged 2.6%.

• Lease Terms: In the first quarter of 2021, lease terms averaged 3.1 years on renewing leases, 5.5 years on development leasing, and 8.5 years on new leasing of vacant space.

Investment Activity Highlights

• Development Pipeline: At March 31, 2021, the Company’s development pipeline consisted of 10 properties totaling 1.4 million square feet that were 85% leased. These projects have a total estimated cost of $595.2 million, of which $340.2 million has been incurred.

Balance Sheet and Capital Transaction Highlights

• In March, the Company issued $600 million of 2.75% senior unsecured notes due 2031. This issuance enabled the Company to complete tender offers for, and subsequent redemptions of, its $350 million of 3.6% senior unsecured notes due 2023 and $250 million of 5.25% senior unsecured notes due 2024. The tender offers were completed effective March 11, 2021, and the redemptions of the remaining notes were completed on April 12, 2021.

• At March 31, 2021, the Company’s net debt to adjusted book ratio was 40.8% and its net debt to in-place adjusted EBITDA ratio was 6.6x. As of the same date, net debt adjusted for fully-leased development plus preferred equity to in-place adjusted EBITDA ratio was 6.3x. For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the Company’s adjusted EBITDA fixed charge coverage ratio was 4.3x.

• At March 31, 2021, and including the effect of interest rate swaps, the Company’s weighted average effective interest rate on its consolidated debt portfolio was 3.25% with a weighted average maturity of 4.8 years; additionally, 89.4% of the Company’s debt was subject to fixed interest rates.

Associated Supplemental Presentation

Prior to the call, the Company will post a slide presentation to accompany management’s prepared remarks for its first quarter 2021 conference call, the details of which are provided below. The accompanying slide presentation can be viewed on and downloaded from the ‘Latest Updates’ section of COPT’s Investors website: https://investors.copt.com/

2021 Guidance

Management is increasing its full-year guidance for EPS and FFOPS, per Nareit and as adjusted for comparability from the prior range of $0.25-$0.31, $1.65-$1.71, and $2.16-$2.22, respectively, to new ranges of $0.28-$0.34, $1.68-$1.74, and $2.19-$2.25, respectively. Management is establishing second quarter guidance for EPS and FFOPS per Nareit, and FFOPS, as adjusted for comparability at ($0.02)-$0.00, $0.33-$0.35, and $0.55-$0.57, respectively. Reconciliations of projected EPS to projected FFOPS, in accordance with Nareit and as adjusted for comparability are as follows:

Conference Call Information

Management will discuss first quarter 2021 results on its conference call tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, details of which are listed below:

The conference call will also be available via live webcast in the ‘Latest Updates’ section of COPT’s Investors website: https://investors.copt.com/

Replay Information

A replay of the conference call will be immediately available via webcast on the Investors website. Additionally, a telephonic replay of this call will be available beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, April 30, through 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 14. To access the replay within the United States, please call 855-859-2056; to access it from outside the United States, please call 404-537-3406. In either case, use passcode 8353839.

Definitions

For definitions of certain terms used in this press release, please refer to the information furnished in the Company’s Supplemental Information Package furnished on a Form 8-K which can be found on its website (www.copt.com). Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the attached tables.

About COPT

COPT is a REIT that owns, manages, leases, develops and selectively acquires office and data center properties. The majority of its portfolio is in locations that support the United States Government and its contractors, most of whom are engaged in national security, defense and information technology (“IT”) related activities servicing what it believes are growing, durable, priority missions (“Defense/IT Locations”). The Company also owns a portfolio of office properties located in select urban/urban-like submarkets in the Greater Washington, DC/Baltimore region with durable Class-A office fundamentals and characteristics (“Regional Office Properties”). As of March 31, 2021, the Company derived 88% of its core portfolio annualized rental revenue from Defense/IT Locations and 12% from its Regional Office Properties. As of the same date and including 17 properties owned through unconsolidated joint ventures, COPT’s core portfolio of 180 office and data center shell properties encompassed 20.8 million square feet and was 94.9% leased; the Company also owned one wholesale data center with a critical load of 19.25 megawatts that was 86.7% leased.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate. Although the Company believes that the expectations, estimates and projections reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time made, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements.

The areas of risk that may affect these expectations, estimates and projections include, but are not limited to, those risks described in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Category: Quarterly Results

Source: Corporate Office Properties Trust

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210429006032/en/

IR Contacts:
Stephanie Krewson-Kelly
443-285-5453
stephanie.kelly@copt.com

Michelle Layne
443-285-5452
michelle.layne@copt.com

Source: Corporate Office Properties Trust

Released April 29, 2021