Paramount Announces Second Quarter 2017 Results

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Group, Inc. (NYSE:PGRE) (“Paramount” or the “Company”) filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 today and reported results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Second Quarter Highlights:

• Reported net income attributable to common stockholders of $103.0 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $3.2 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2016. The Company’s revised estimate for net income attributable to common stockholders is between $0.41 and $0.45 per diluted share, compared to its prior estimate of $0.33 and $0.37 per diluted share.
• Reported Core Funds from Operations (“Core FFO”) attributable to common stockholders of $54.6 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $50.1 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2016. Raised full-year 2017 Core FFO Guidance to $0.88 per diluted share at the midpoint of the Company’s guidance, up $0.03 per diluted share from the midpoint of the Company’s prior guidance.
• Leased 292,238 square feet, of which the Company’s share was 223,273 square feet that was leased at a weighted average initial rent of $84.70 per square foot. Of the square footage leased, 211,873 square feet represents second generation space, for which the Company achieved positive mark-to-markets of 19.8% on a cash basis and 7.5% on a GAAP basis.
• Completed the previously announced sale of Waterview, a 637,000 square foot, Class A office building in Rosslyn, Virginia on May 3, 2017, for $460 million, resulting in a net gain of $110.6 million.
• Used the net proceeds from the Waterview sale to repay $371.2 million of debt, comprised of (i) the $87.2 million loan at 1899 Pennsylvania Avenue, (ii) the $84.0 million loan at Liberty Place and (iii) $200.0 million outstanding under the Company’s revolving credit facility.
• Completed a $300 million refinancing of 712 Fifth Avenue, a 543,000 square foot Class A office and retail building located in the Plaza District of New York, on June 13, 2017. The new 10-year interest-only loan matures in July 2027 and has a fixed rate of 3.39%. The net proceeds from the refinancing were used to repay the existing $246.5 million loan bearing interest at 4.41%. The Company’s 50% share of net proceeds, after the repayment of the existing loan, closing costs and required reserves, was $20.0 million.
• Declared a second quarter cash dividend of $0.095 per common share on June 15, 2017, which was paid on July 14, 2017.

Transactions Subsequent to Second Quarter:

• Increased ownership in 50 Beale Street, a 661,000 square foot Class A office building in San Francisco, California, to 31.1% from 3.1%. The transaction values the property at $517.5 million. The property, which is currently 78.2% leased, is encumbered by an existing $228.0 million loan that bears interest at a fixed rate of 3.65%, that is scheduled to mature in October 2021.
• Received authorization from the Board of Directors to repurchase up to $200 million of the Company's common stock from time to time, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The amount and timing of repurchases, if any, will depend on a number of factors, including, the price and availability of the Company's shares, trading volume and general market conditions. The stock repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.
• Leased an additional 105,897 square feet at 1633 Broadway in July, bringing its leased rate to 90.6%.

Financial Results

Quarter Ended June 30, 2017

Net income attributable to common stockholders was $103.0 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $3.2 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Funds from Operations (“FFO”) attributable to common stockholders was $62.3 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $54.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2016. FFO attributable to common stockholders for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 includes the impact of non-core items, which are listed in the table on page 9. The aggregate of these items, net of amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests, increased FFO attributable to common stockholders for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 by $7.7 million and $4.1 million, or $0.04 and $0.02 per diluted share, respectively.

Core FFO attributable to common stockholders, which excludes the impact of the non-core items listed on page 9, was $54.6 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $50.1 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Six Months Ended June 30, 2017

Net income attributable to common stockholders was $103.4 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2017, compared to a net loss of $3.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2016.

FFO attributable to common stockholders was $113.9 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2017, compared to $103.5 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2016. FFO attributable to common stockholders for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 includes the impact of non-core items, which are listed in the table on page 9. The aggregate of these items, net of amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests, increased FFO attributable to common stockholders for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 by $7.8 million and $4.2 million, or $0.04 and $0.02 per diluted share, respectively.

Core FFO attributable to common stockholders, which excludes the impact of the non-core items listed on page 9, was $106.1 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $99.3 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2016.

Portfolio Operations

Quarter Ended June 30, 2017

During the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the Company leased 292,238 square feet, of which the Company’s share was 223,273 square feet that was leased at a weighted average initial rent of $84.70 per square foot. This leasing activity, partially offset by lease expirations in the quarter, increased leased occupancy by 10 basis points to 90.9% at June 30, 2017 from 90.8% at March 31, 2017. Same store leased occupancy increased by 70 basis points to 90.9% at June 30, 2017 from 90.2% at March 31, 2017. Of the 292,238 square feet leased in the second quarter, 211,873 square feet represents second generation space (space that has been vacant for less than twelve months) for which the Company achieved positive mark-to-markets of 19.8% on a cash basis and 7.5% on a GAAP basis. The weighted average lease term for leases signed during the second quarter was 7.5 years and weighted average tenant improvements and leasing commissions on these leases were $10.42 per square foot per annum, or 12.3% of initial rent.

Six Months Ended June 30, 2017

During the six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company leased 577,744 square feet, of which the Company’s share was 503,019 square feet that was leased at a weighted average initial rent of $76.60 per square foot. This leasing activity, offset by lease expirations in the six months, decreased leased occupancy by 180 basis points to 90.9% at June 30, 2017 from 92.7% at December 31, 2016. Same store leased occupancy decreased by 150 basis points to 90.8% from 92.3% at December 31, 2016. Of the 577,744 square feet leased in the six months, 431,120 square feet represents second generation space (space that has been vacant for less than twelve months) for which the Company achieved positive mark-to-markets of 19.2% on a cash basis and 12.2% on a GAAP basis. The weighted average lease term for leases signed during the six months was 8.3 years and weighted average tenant improvements and leasing commissions on these leases were $8.69 per square foot per annum, or 11.3% of initial rent.

Guidance

The Company is updating its Estimated Core FFO Guidance for the full year of 2017, which is reconciled below to estimated net income attributable to common stockholders per diluted share in accordance with GAAP. The Company estimates that net income attributable to common stockholders will be between $0.41 and $0.45 per diluted share, up from its prior estimate of $0.33 to $0.37 per diluted share. The estimated net income attributable to common stockholders per diluted share is not a projection and is being provided solely to satisfy the disclosure requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Based on the Company’s performance for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and its outlook for the remainder of 2017, the Company is raising its Estimated Core FFO Guidance for 2017 to be between $0.86 and $0.90 per diluted share, up from its prior range of $0.83 to $0.87 per diluted share. This represents an increase of $0.03 per diluted share at the midpoint of the Company’s guidance based on (i) an assumed increase in Same Store Cash NOI of 8.0% to 11.0%, compared to its prior assumption of 6.0% to 9.0%, resulting in an incremental $0.02 per diluted share, and (ii) an increase of $0.01 per diluted share from the acquisition of the 31.1% interest in 50 Beale Street in July 2017.

Except as described above, these estimates reflect management’s view of current and future market conditions, including assumptions with respect to rental rates, occupancy levels and the earnings impact of the events referenced in this release and otherwise to be referenced during the conference call referred to below. Except for the acquisitions of 60 Wall Street and 50 Beale Street and the disposition of Waterview, these estimates do not include the impact on operating results from possible future property acquisitions or dispositions, capital markets activity or unrealized gains or losses on real estate fund investments. The estimates set forth above may be subject to fluctuations as a result of several factors, including the straight-lining of rental income and the amortization of above and below-market leases. There can be no assurance that the Company’s actual results will not differ materially from the estimates set forth above.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. You can identify these statements by our use of the words “assumes,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “guidance,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects” and similar expressions that do not relate to historical matters. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control and could materially affect actual results, performance or achievements. These factors include, without limitation, the ability to enter into new leases or renew leases on favorable terms, dependence on tenants’ financial condition, the uncertainties of real estate development, acquisition and disposition activity, the ability to effectively integrate acquisitions, the costs and availability of financing, the ability of our joint venture partners to satisfy their obligations, the effects of local, national and international economic and market conditions, the effects of acquisitions, dispositions and possible impairment charges on our operating results, regulatory changes, including changes to tax laws and regulations, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake a duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

FFO is a supplemental measure of our performance. We present FFO in accordance with the definition adopted by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”). NAREIT defines FFO as GAAP net income or loss adjusted to exclude net gains from sales of depreciated real estate assets, impairment losses on depreciable real estate and depreciation and amortization expense from real estate assets, including our share of such adjustments of unconsolidated joint ventures. FFO is commonly used in the real estate industry to assist investors and analysts in comparing results of real estate companies because it excludes the effect of real estate depreciation and amortization and net gains on sales, which are based on historical costs and implicitly assume that the value of real estate diminishes predictably over time, rather than fluctuating based on existing market conditions. In addition, we present Core FFO as an alternative measure of our operating performance, which adjusts FFO for certain other items that we believe enhance the comparability of our FFO across periods. Core FFO, when applicable, excludes the impact of certain items, including, transaction related costs, realized and unrealized gains or losses on real estate fund investments, unrealized gains or losses on interest rate swaps, severance costs and defeasance and debt breakage costs, in order to reflect the Core FFO of our real estate portfolio and operations. In future periods, we may also exclude other items from Core FFO that we believe may help investors compare our results.

FFO and Core FFO are presented as supplemental financial measures and do not fully represent our operating performance. Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating FFO and Core FFO or use other definitions of FFO and Core FFO and, accordingly, our presentation of these measures may not be comparable to other real estate companies. Neither FFO nor Core FFO is intended to be a measure of cash flow or liquidity. Please refer to our financial statements, prepared in accordance with GAAP, for purposes of evaluating our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

A reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure can be found in this press release and in our Supplemental Information for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, which is available on our website.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast on Friday, August 4, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), during which management will discuss the second quarter results and provide commentary on business performance. A question and answer session with analysts and investors will follow the prepared remarks.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing 877-407-0789 (domestic) or 201-689-8562 (international). An audio replay of the conference call will be available from 1:00 p.m. ET on August 4, 2017 through August 11, 2017 and can be accessed by dialing 844-512-2921 (domestic) or 412-317-6671 (international) and entering the passcode 13665136.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available through the “Investors” section of the Company’s website, www.paramount-group.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website.

About Paramount Group, Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, Paramount Group, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties located in select central business district submarkets of New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Paramount is focused on maximizing the value of its portfolio by leveraging the sought-after locations of its assets and its proven property management capabilities to attract and retain high-quality tenants.