HOUSTON, May 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) today announced its operating and financial results for the first quarter of 2023. Whitestone creates neighborhood center communities in its high-quality open-air shopping centers that it acquires, owns, manages, develops, and redevelops primarily in the largest, fastest-growing, high-household-income markets in the Sunbelt.

“We were pleased with our start to 2023, delivering strong results on multiple fronts. Our high-quality, open-air shopping centers located in Texas and Arizona continue to see strong consumer demand and performed very well in the quarter, highlighted by 2.8% same store NOI growth and 20%+ leasing spreads. Looking forward, we are well positioned to produce consistent cash flow growth, to continue balance sheet strengthening and to drive long-term shareholder value. We remain confident in our 2023 outlook and are reiterating all of our 2023 guidance targets.”

First Quarter 2023 Operating and Financial Results
All per share amounts are on a diluted per common share and operating partnership (“OP”) unit basis unless stated otherwise.
Reconciliations of Net Income Attributable to Whitestone REIT to FFO, NOI and EBITDAre are included herein.

• Revenues of $35.9 million versus $34.1 million for the first quarter of 2022.
• Net Income attributable to common shareholders of $3.8 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, versus $7.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2022, which included a compensation benefit of $2.2 million.
• Funds from Operations (“FFO”) per diluted share of $0.24 versus $0.30 for the first quarter of 2022, which included a compensation benefit of $0.04.
• EBITDAre of $20.4 million versus $21.9 million for the first quarter of 2022, which included a compensation benefit of $2.2 million.
• Same-Store Net Operating Income (“NOI”) grew 2.8% to $23.7 million versus $23.0 million for the first quarter of 2022.
• Net Effective Annual Base Rental Revenue per leased square foot was up 4.7% to $22.22, compared to the prior year quarter.

Operating Results
For the three-month periods ending March 31, 2023 and 2022 the Company’s operating highlights were as follows:

Balance Sheet and Debt Metrics

• As of March 31, 2023, Whitestone had total debt of $630.9 million, along with capacity and availability of $136.9 million each under its $250 million revolving credit facility.
• As of March 31, 2023, the Company has undepreciated real estate assets of $1.2 billion.

Dividend

On March 9, 2023, the Company declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.12 per common share and OP unit for the second quarter of 2023, to be paid in three equal installments of $0.04 in April, May and June of 2023. 

2023 Full Year Guidance

The Company reaffirms its previously released guidance for 2023 and estimates that U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) net income available to common shareholders will be within the range of $0.29 to $0.33 per diluted share, and FFO will be within the range of $0.95 to $0.99 per diluted share and OP Unit.

(1)   For the reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measure to the comparable GAAP financial measure, see the "FFO per diluted share and OP unit" reconciliation table.
(2)   Excludes straight-line rent, amortization of above/below market rates and lease termination fees for both periods.
(3)   Fourth quarter annualized EBITDAre.

Portfolio Statistics

As of March 31, 2023, Whitestone wholly owned 57 Community-Centered Properties™ with 5.1 million square feet of gross leasable area ("GLA"). Five of the 57 Community-Centered Properties™ are land parcels held for future development. The portfolio is comprised of 31 properties in Texas, 25 in Arizona and 1 in Illinois. Whitestone’s Community-Centered Properties™ are located in the MSA's of Austin (5), Chicago (1), Dallas-Fort Worth (9), Houston (14), Phoenix (25), and San Antonio (3). The Company’s properties in these markets are generally in high-traffic locations, surrounded by high-household-income communities. The Company also owns an 81.4% equity interest in eight properties containing 0.9 million square feet of GLA through its investment in Pillarstone OP.

At the end of the first quarter, the Company’s diversified tenant base was comprised of 1,467 tenants, with the largest tenant accounting for only 2.2% of annualized base rental revenues. Lease terms range from less than one year for smaller tenants to more than 15 years for larger tenants. Whitestone’s leases generally include minimum monthly lease payments and tenant reimbursements for payment of taxes, insurance and maintenance, and typically exclude restrictive lease clauses.

Conference Call Information

In conjunction with the issuance of its financial results, the Company invites you to listen to its earnings release conference call to be broadcast live on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 8:00 A.M Eastern Time / 7:00 A.M. Central Time. The call will be led by Dave Holeman, Chief Executive Officer. Conference call access information is as follows:

To listen to a webcast of the conference call, click on the Investor Relations tab of the Company’s website, www.whitestonereit.com, and then click on the webcast link. A replay of the call will be available on Whitestone’s website via the webcast link until the Company’s next earnings release. Additional information about Whitestone can be found on the Company’s website.

The conference call will be recorded, and a telephone replay will be available through Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Replay access information is as follows:

Supplemental Financial Information

The first quarter earnings release and supplemental data package will be located in the “News and Events” and “Financial Reporting” tabs of the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.whitestonereit.com. The earnings release and supplemental data package will also be available by mail upon request. To receive a copy, please call Investor Relations at (713) 435-2219.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy. For additional information, please visit www.whitestonereit.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including discussion and analysis of our financial condition, pending acquisitions and the impact of such acquisitions on our financial condition and results of operations, anticipated capital expenditures required to complete projects, amounts of anticipated cash distributions to our shareholders in the future and other matters. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but are the intent, belief or current expectations of our management based on its knowledge and understanding of our business and industry. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “predicts,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” or the negative of such terms and variations of these words and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this Report include: the imposition of federal income taxes if we fail to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) in any taxable year or forego an opportunity to ensure REIT status; uncertainties related to the national economy, the real estate industry in general and in our specific markets; legislative or regulatory changes, including changes to laws governing REITs; adverse economic or real estate developments or conditions in Texas or Arizona, Houston and Phoenix in particular, including the potential impact of COVID-19 on our tenants’ ability to pay their rent, which could result in bad debt allowances or straight-line rent reserve adjustments; inflation and increases in interest rates, operating costs or general and administrative expenses; availability and terms of capital and financing, both to fund our operations and to refinance our indebtedness as it matures; decreases in rental rates or increases in vacancy rates; litigation risks; lease-up risks, including leasing risks arising from exclusivity and consent provisions in leases with significant tenants; our inability to renew tenant leases or obtain new tenant leases upon the expiration of existing leases; our inability to generate sufficient cash flows due to market conditions, competition, uninsured losses, changes in tax or other applicable laws; geopolitical conflicts, such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the need to fund tenant improvements or other capital expenditures out of operating cash flow; the extent to which our estimates regarding Pillarstone REIT Operating Partnership LP's financial condition and results of operations differ from our estimates; and the risk that we are unable to raise capital for working capital, acquisitions or other uses on attractive terms or at all and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains supplemental financial measures that are not calculated pursuant to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) including EBITDAre, FFO, NOI and net debt. Following are explanations and reconciliations of these metrics to their most comparable GAAP metric.

EBITDAre: The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) defines EBITDAre as net income computed in accordance with GAAP, plus interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization and impairment write-downs of depreciable property and of investments in unconsolidated affiliates caused by a decrease in value of depreciable property in the affiliate, plus or minus losses and gains on the disposition of depreciable property, including losses/gains on change in control and adjustments to reflect the entity’s share of EBITDAre of the unconsolidated affiliates and consolidated affiliates with non-controlling interests. The Company calculates EBITDAre in a manner consistent with the NAREIT definition. Management believes that EBITDAre represents a supplemental non-GAAP performance measure that provides investors with a relevant basis for comparing REITs. There can be no assurance the EBITDAre as presented by the Company is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs. EBITDAre should not be considered as an alternative to net income or other measurements under GAAP as indicators of operating performance or to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities as measures of liquidity. EBITDAre does not reflect working capital changes, cash expenditures for capital improvements or principal payments on indebtedness.

FFO: Funds From Operations: The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) defines FFO as net income (loss) (calculated in accordance with GAAP), excluding depreciation and amortization related to real estate, gains or losses from the sale of certain real estate assets, gains and losses from change in control, and impairment write-downs of certain real estate assets and investments in entities when the impairment is directly attributable to decreases in the value of depreciable real estate held by the entity. We calculate FFO in a manner consistent with the NAREIT definition and also include adjustments for our unconsolidated real estate partnership.

Management uses FFO as a supplemental measure to conduct and evaluate our business because there are certain limitations associated with using GAAP net income (loss) alone as the primary measure of our operating performance. Historical cost accounting for real estate assets in accordance with GAAP implicitly assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Because real estate values instead have historically risen or fallen with market conditions, management believes that the presentation of operating results for real estate companies that use historical cost accounting is insufficient by itself. In addition, securities analysts, investors and other interested parties use FFO as the primary metric for comparing the relative performance of equity REITs. FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income or other measurements under GAAP, as an indicator of our operating performance or to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities as a measure of liquidity. FFO does not reflect working capital changes, cash expenditures for capital improvements or principal payments on indebtedness. Although our calculation of FFO is consistent with that of NAREIT, there can be no assurance that FFO presented by us is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs.

NOI: Net Operating Income: Management believes that NOI is a useful measure of our property operating performance. We define NOI as operating revenues (rental and other revenues) less property and related expenses (property operation and maintenance and real estate taxes). Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating NOI and, accordingly, our NOI may not be comparable to other REITs. Because NOI excludes general and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortization, equity or deficit in earnings of real estate partnership, interest expense, interest, dividend and other investment income, provision for income taxes, gain on sale of property from discontinued operations, management fee (net of related expenses) and gain or loss on sale or disposition of assets, and includes NOI of real estate partnership (pro rata) and net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year-over-year, reflects the revenues and expenses directly associated with owning and operating commercial real estate properties and the impact to operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs, providing perspective not immediately apparent from net income. We use NOI to evaluate our operating performance since NOI allows us to evaluate the impact that factors such as occupancy levels, lease structure, lease rates and tenant base have on our results, margins and returns. In addition, management believes that NOI provides useful information to the investment community about our property and operating performance when compared to other REITs since NOI is generally recognized as a standard measure of property performance in the real estate industry. However, NOI should not be viewed as a measure of our overall financial performance since it does not reflect the level of capital expenditure and leasing costs necessary to maintain the operating performance of our properties, including general and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortization, equity or deficit in earnings of real estate partnership, interest expense, interest, dividend and other investment income, provision for income taxes, gain on sale of property from discontinued operations, management fee (net of related expenses) and gain or loss on sale or disposition of assets.

Same Store NOI: Management believes that Same Store NOI is a useful measure of the Company’s property operating performance because it includes only the properties that have been owned for the entire period being compared, and that it is frequently used by the investment community. Same Store NOI assists in eliminating differences in NOI due to the acquisition or disposition of properties during the period being presented, providing a more consistent measure of the Company’s performance. The Company defines Same Store NOI as operating revenues (rental and other revenues, excluding straight-line rent adjustments, amortization of above/below market rents, and lease termination fees) less property and related expenses (property operation and maintenance and real estate taxes), Non-Same Store NOI, and NOI of our investment in Pillarstone OP (pro rata). We define “Non-Same Stores” as properties that have been acquired since the beginning of the period being compared and properties that have been sold, but not classified as discontinued operations. Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating Same Store NOI, and accordingly, the Company's Same Store NOI may not be comparable to that of other REITs.

Net debt: We present net debt, which we define as total debt net of insurance financing less cash plus our proportional share of net debt of real estate partnership, and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre, which we define as net debt divided by EBITDAre because we believe they are helpful as supplemental measures in assessing our ability to service our financing obligations and in evaluating balance sheet leverage against that of other REITs. However, net debt and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre should not be viewed as a stand-alone measure of our overall liquidity and leverage. In addition, our REITs may use different methodologies for calculating net debt and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre, and accordingly our net debt and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre may not be comparable to that of other REITs.

Investor and Media Relations:
David Mordy
Director, Investor Relations
Whitestone REIT
(713) 435-2219
ir@whitestonereit.com

(1)   For a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, see supplemental disclosures below.

(1)   Includes pro-rata share attributable to real estate partnership.

(2)  We rely on reporting provided to us by our third party partners for financial information regarding the Company's investment in Pillarstone OP. Because Pillarstone OP financial statements as of March 31, 2023 have not been made available to us, we have estimated depreciation and amortization of real estate assets based on the information available to us at the time of this Report.

(1)   We rely on reporting provided to us by our third party partners for financial information regarding the Company's investment in Pillarstone OP. Because Pillarstone OP financial statements as of March 31, 2023 have not been made available to us, we have estimated (equity) deficit in earnings and pro rata share of NOI of real estate partnership based on the information available to us at the time of this Report.

(2)   We define “Non-Same Store” as properties that have been acquired since the beginning of the period being compared and properties that have been sold, but not classified as discontinued operations. For purposes of comparing the three months ended March 31, 2023 to the three months ended March 31, 2022, Non-Same Store includes properties acquired between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023 and properties sold between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, but not included in discontinued operations. 

(3)   We define “Same Store” as properties that have been owned during the entire period being compared. For purposes of comparing the three months ended March 31, 2023 to the three months ended March 31, 2022, Same Store includes properties owned before January 1, 2022 and not sold before March 31, 2023. Straight line rent adjustments, above/below market rents, and lease termination fees are excluded.

(1)    We rely on reporting provided to us by our third party partners for financial information regarding the Company's investment in Pillarstone OP. Because Pillarstone OP financial statements as of March 31, 2023 have not been made available to us, we have estimated (equity) deficit in earnings and EBITDAre adjustments for real estate partnership based on the information available to us at the time of this Report.