TORONTO, May 8, 2014 /CNW/ - NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (the "REIT") (TSX: NWH.UN), Canada's largest non-government owner and operator of medical office buildings and healthcare real estate, today announced its results for the three months ended March 31, 2014.

Highlights of the Quarter:

• AFFO per unit for the quarter was $0.21, consistent with the comparable prior year quarter.
• FFO per unit for the quarter was $0.24, a $0.01 decrease over the comparable prior year quarter.
• Occupancy was 91.8%, an improvement from the previous quarter at 91.3%. 
• During the quarter the REIT sold a property in London, Ontario (Wharncliffe Health Centre) for net proceeds of approximately $3.4 million. The property was designated by the REIT as a non-core asset and was sold to a user group. 
• During the quarter the REIT also sold a property in Montreal, Quebec (Centre Medical Saint Urbain) for net proceeds of approximately $2.2 million with a mortgage of $2.4 million assumed by the purchaser. The property was designated by the REIT as a non-core asset and was sold to a local developer group. 
• During the quarter the REIT refinanced its Fredericton Medical Centre property with a $13.0 million fixed rate mortgage, at 3.31% for a 5 year term, resulting in net proceeds to the REIT of approximately $5.3 million, after the maturing mortgage, at 6.19%, was paid out. 
• On February 4, the REIT repaid a maturing mortgage at its Oxford Health Centre of $5.5 million at 5.89%.
• The REIT paid distributions of $0.06667 per unit on January 15, 2014, February 14, 2014 and March 14, 2014 consistent with its annualized target of $0.80 cents per unit.

Peter Riggin, CEO, commented that "While our financial and operating performance was generally in line with expectations, we are especially pleased with the progress on our on-going plan to improve the quality of our portfolio and recycle capital to other growth opportunities with the disposition of certain non-core assets, and with our on-going refinancing program to lock-in lower mortgage interest costs."

Selected Financial Information:

Subsequent Events:

• Subsequent to the quarter end, the REIT obtained new financing for its Springbank Medical Centre with a $15.5 million fixed rate mortgage, at 3.36% for a 5 year term, resulting in net proceeds to the REIT of $15.5 million, which will be used to pay down the existing credit facility and for general trust purposes. 
• On May 1, the REIT refinanced its CSSS du Haut-Richelieu Marieville and CSSS Grand Littoral properties with fixed rate mortgages of $8.4 million and $6.4 million, respectively, at 4.53% (previous rates at 4.91%) for 10 year terms, resulting in net proceeds to the REIT of approximately $3.0 million.
• On May 1, the REIT repaid a maturing mortgage at its Stewart Building of $10.4 million at 5.07%. 
• The REIT declared distributions of $0.06667 per unit to unitholders of record as at April 30, 2014.

The REIT also announced today that Mr. Ernie Spraggs has postponed his previously announced retirement from May until October, 2014 to permit a transition period to a replacement CFO still to be named.

Some financial measures used in this press release, such as FFO and AFFO, are used by the real estate industry to measure and compare the operating performance of real estate companies, but they do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. As such, they are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other real estate companies.  These non-IFRS measures are more fully defined and discussed in the REIT's management discussion and analysis (the "MD&A") for the first quarter of 2014, which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.  Also on SEDAR are the interim financial statements of the REIT.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the REIT, its operations, strategy, financial performance and condition. These statements generally can be identified by use of forward-looking words such as "may", "will", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intends", "believe", or "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations.  The REIT's actual results and performance discussed herein could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.  Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations, including that the transactions contemplated herein are completed.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, competition, changes in government regulations and the factors described under "Risks and Uncertainties" in the REIT's Annual Information Form and the risks and uncertainties set out in the MD&A which are available on www.sedar.com.  These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to the REIT and persons acting on its behalf.  Unless otherwise stated, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the REIT assumes no obligation to update such statements.

The REIT invites you to participate in its conference call with senior management to discuss our first quarter 2014 results on Friday, May 9, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern).  The conference call can be accessed by dialing 416-640-5926 or 800-820-0231. The conference ID is 7195070.

Audio replay will be available until May 15, 2014 by dialing 647-436-0148 or 888-203-1112. The passcode is 7195070.

Following the call, the webcast can be accessed from the "Investor Relations" page, under "Webcasts & Presentations", of the REIT's web site at www.nwhp.ca, and will be archived for 30 days.

About NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario. The REIT holds a portfolio of 76 income-producing properties, with a focus on medical office buildings and healthcare real estate, comprising approximately 4.6 million square feet of gross leasable area located in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

SOURCE NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust