Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. Reports Results for First Quarter 2019

PRNewswire 29-Apr-2019 4:29 PM

ATLANTA, April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:APTS) ("we," "our," the "Company" or "Preferred Apartment Communities") today reported results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, all per share results are reported based on the basic weighted average shares of Common Stock and Class A Units of the Company's operating partnership ("Class A Units") outstanding. See Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures.

"We are very pleased with our first quarter financial results and, in particular, with our multifamily same store NOI growth. We expect 2019 to be a transformative year for PAC as we seek to build a sustainable program of excellence," said Daniel M. DuPree, Preferred Apartment Communities' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Financial Highlights

                Our operating results are presented below.

• For the first quarter 2019, our FFO payout ratio to Common Stockholders and Unitholders was approximately 67.1% and our FFO payout ratio (before the deduction of preferred dividends) to our preferred stockholders was approximately 60.0%. ^(A)

• For the first quarter 2019, our AFFO payout ratio to Common Stockholders and Unitholders was approximately 80.8% and our AFFO payout ratio (before the deduction of preferred dividends) to our preferred stockholders was approximately 64.4%. ^(B)

• For the quarter ended March 31, 2019, our rental revenue increased approximately 3.1% and our net operating income increased approximately 3.1% for our same-store multifamily communities as compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2018.^(C) For the first quarter 2019, our average same-store multifamily communities' physical occupancy was 95.2%.

• At March 31, 2019, the market value of our common stock was $14.82 per share. A hypothetical investment in our Common Stock in our initial public offering on April 5, 2011, assuming the reinvestment of all dividends and no transaction costs, would have resulted in an average annual return of approximately 18.2% through March 31, 2019.

• As of March 31, 2019, the average age of our multifamily communities was approximately 5.2 years, which is the youngest in the public multifamily REIT industry.

• Approximately 88.6% of our permanent property-level mortgage debt has fixed interest rates and approximately 5.8% has variable interest rates which are capped. After the refinancing of the variable rate mortgages on our Royal Lakes Marketplace and Cherokee Plaza properties in April 2019, 90.0% of our mortgage debt has fixed interest rates. In addition, we plan to refinance the remaining uncapped variable rate mortgage debt into new fixed rate instruments during the remainder of 2019. We believe we are well protected against potential increases in market interest rates.

• At March 31, 2019, our leverage, as measured by the ratio of our debt to the undepreciated book value of our total assets, was approximately 53.0%. Included in our total assets were our investments in the Series 2018-ML04 and Series 2019-ML05 from the Freddie Mac K program. Our leverage calculation excludes the gross assets and liabilities of approximately $544.9 million that are owned by other pool participants in the Freddie Mac K program that we consolidated under the VIE rules.

• As of March 31, 2019, our total assets were approximately $4.8 billion compared to approximately $3.4 billion as of March 31, 2018, an increase of approximately $1.4 billion, or approximately 41.5%. This growth was driven by (i) the acquisition of 16 real estate properties (partially offset by the sale of 3 properties) and (ii) the consolidation of the mortgage pools from the Freddie Mac K program. Excluding the VIE mortgage pool assets from other participants in the K Program, our total assets grew approximately $862.9 million, or 25.4% since March 31, 2018.

• On March 25, 2019, we closed on a real estate loan investment aggregating approximately $10.8 million in support of a multifamily community to be located in Destin, Florida.

Acquisitions of Properties

During the first quarter 2019, we acquired the following properties:

Real Estate Assets

Subsequent to Quarter End

     On April 12, 2019, we closed on a real estate loan investment of up to approximately $7.2 million in connection with the development of a 204-unit second phase of our Lodge at Hidden River multifamily community located in Tampa, Florida.

     On April 12, 2019, we refinanced the variable-rate mortgage on our Royal Lakes Marketplace grocery-anchored shopping center into a new 10 year, $9,700,000 loan with a fixed rate of 4.29%.

     On April 12, 2019, we refinanced the variable-rate mortgage on our Cherokee Plaza grocery-anchored shopping center into a new 8 year, $25,200,000 loan with a fixed rate of 4.28%.

Same-Store Multifamily Communities Financial Data

The following chart presents same store operating results for the Company's same-store multifamily communities. We define our population of same-store multifamily communities as those that have achieved occupancy at or above 93% occupancy for all three consecutive months within a single quarter (stabilized) before the beginning of the prior year and that have been owned for at least 15 full months as of the end of the first quarter of the current year, enabling comparisons of the current year quarterly and annual reporting periods to the prior year comparative periods. The Company excludes the operating results of properties for which construction of adjacent phases has commenced and properties which are undergoing significant capital projects, have sustained significant casualty losses, or are being marketed for sale as of the end of the reporting period. For the periods presented, same store operating results consist of the operating results of the following same-store multifamily communities containing an aggregate 6,172 units:

Same store net operating income is a non-GAAP measure that is most directly comparable to net income (loss), as shown in the reconciliations below.

Capital Markets Activities

During the first quarter 2019, we issued and sold an aggregate of 129,680 Units from our offering of up to 1,500,000 Units, with each Unit consisting of one share of Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock and one Warrant to purchase up to 20 shares of Common Stock (the "$1.5 Billion Series A Unit Offering"), resulting in net proceeds of approximately $116.7 million after commissions and other fees.

In addition, during the first quarter 2019, we issued 334,480 shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of warrants issued under our Series A Preferred Stock offering, resulting in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $4.2 million. We also issued approximately 1.1 million shares of Common Stock for redemptions of 16,189 shares of our Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock.

During the first quarter 2019, we issued and sold an aggregate of 12,472 shares of Series M Redeemable Preferred Stock ("mShares"), resulting in net proceeds of approximately $12.1 million after dealer manager fees.

Dividends

Quarterly Dividends on Common Stock and Class A OP Units

On February 21, 2019, we declared a quarterly dividend on our Common Stock of $0.26 per share for the first quarter 2019. This represents a 4.0% increase in our common stock dividend from our first quarter 2018 common stock dividend of $0.25 per share, and an average annual dividend growth rate of 14.0% since June 30, 2011, the first quarter end following our initial public offering in April 2011. The first quarter dividend was paid on April 15, 2019 to all stockholders of record on March 15, 2019. In conjunction with the Common Stock dividend, the Company's operating partnership declared a distribution on its Class A Units of $0.26 per unit for the first quarter 2019, which was paid on April 15, 2019 to all Class A Unit holders of record as of March 15, 2019.

Monthly Dividends on Preferred Stock

We declared monthly dividends of $5.00 per share on our Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock, which totaled approximately $24.7 million for the first quarter 2019 and represent a 6% annual yield. We declared dividends totaling approximately $806,000 on our Series M Redeemable Preferred Stock, or mShares, for the first quarter 2019. The mShares have a dividend rate that escalates from 5.75% in year one of issuance to 7.50% in year eight and thereafter.

Conference Call and Supplemental Data

We will hold our quarterly conference call on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss our first quarter 2019 results. To participate in the conference call, please dial in to the following:

Live Conference Call Details
Domestic Dial-in Number: 1-844-890-1791
International Dial-in Number: 1-412-380-7408
Company: Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.
Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Time: 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific Time)

The live broadcast of our first quarter 2019 conference call will be available online, on a listen-only basis, at our website, www.pacapts.com, under "Investors" and then click on the "Upcoming Events" link. A replay of the call will be archived on under the Investors/Audio Archive section.

2019 Guidance:

Net income (loss) per share -  We are actively adding properties and real estate loan investments to our real estate portfolio and the specific timing of the closing of acquisitions is difficult to predict. Acquisition activity by its nature can cause material variation in our reported depreciation and amortization expense and interest income. Since net income (loss) per share is calculated net of depreciation and amortization expense, our net income (loss) results can fluctuate, possibly significantly, depending upon the timing of the closing of acquisitions. For this reason, we are unable to reasonably forecast this measure or provide a reconciliation of our projected FFO per share to this measure.

FFO per share  -   We currently project FFO to be in the range of $1.44 - $1.50 per share for the full year 2019.

AFFO and FFO are calculated after deductions for all preferred stock dividends. Reconciliations of net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders to FFO and AFFO for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 appear in the attached report, as well as on our website using the following link:

http://investors.pacapts.com/download/1Q19_Earnings_and_Supplemental_Data.pdf

Forward-Looking Statements

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:  Estimates of future earnings, guidance, goals and performance are, by definition, and certain other statements in this Earnings Release and Supplemental Financial Data Report may constitute, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, achievements or transactions to be materially different from the results, guidance, goals, performance, achievements or transactions expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that impact such forward-looking statements include, among others, our business and investment strategy; legislative or regulatory actions; the state of the U.S. economy generally or in specific geographic areas; economic trends and economic recoveries; changes in operating costs, including real estate taxes, utilities and insurance costs; our ability to obtain and maintain debt or equity financing; financing and advance rates for our target assets; our leverage level; changes in the values of our assets; the occurrence of natural or man-made disasters; availability of attractive investment opportunities in our target markets; our ability to maintain our qualification as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes; our ability to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; availability of quality personnel; our understanding of our competition and market trends in our industry; and interest rates, real estate values, the debt securities markets and the general economy.

Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we assume no liability to update the information in this Earnings Release and Supplemental Financial Data Report.

We refer you to the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on March 1, 2019, which discuss various factors that could adversely affect our financial results. Such risk factors and information may be updated or supplemented by our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filings and other documents filed from time to time with the SEC.

Additional Information

The SEC has declared effective the registration statement filed by the Company for each of the offerings to which this communication may relate. Before you invest, you should read the final prospectus, and any prospectus supplements, forming a part of the registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the offering to which this communication may relate. In particular, you should carefully read the risk factors described in the final prospectus and in any related prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference in the final prospectus and any related prospectus supplement to which this communication may relate. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Company or its dealer manager, Preferred Capital Securities, LLC, will arrange to send you a prospectus with respect to the mShares Offering and/or the $1.5 Billion Unit Offering upon request by contacting Leonard A. Silverstein at (770) 818-4100, 3284 Northside Parkway NW, Suite 150, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.

The final prospectus for the mShares Offering, dated January 19, 2017, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183217000008/a424prospectus-mshares1.htm

The final prospectus for the $1.5 Billion Unit Offering, dated March 16, 2017, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183217000061/a424prospectus-15bseriesar.htm

FIRST QUARTER – SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA

Notes to Reconciliations of FFO Attributable to Common Stockholders and Unitholders and AFFO to Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Stockholders

1. Rental and other property revenues and property operating expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 include activity for the properties acquired during the quarter only from their respective dates of acquisition. In addition, the first quarter 2019 period includes activity for the properties acquired since March 31, 2018. Rental and other property revenues and expenses for the first quarter 2018 include activity for the acquisitions made during that period only from their respective dates of acquisition.
                                                                                         
2. Non-controlling interests in Preferred Apartment Communities Operating Partnership, L.P., or our Operating Partnership, consisted of a total of 879,335 Class A Units as of March 31, 2019. Included in this total are 419,228 Class A Units which were granted as partial consideration to the seller in conjunction with the seller's contribution to us on February 29, 2016 of the Wade Green grocery-anchored shopping center. The remaining Class A units were awarded primarily to our key executive officers. The Class A Units are apportioned a percentage of our financial results as non-controlling interests. The weighted average ownership percentage of these holders of Class A Units was calculated to be 2.02% and 2.67% for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
                                                                                         
3. We pay loan coordination fees to Preferred Apartment Advisors, LLC, our Manager, to reflect the administrative effort involved in arranging debt financing for acquired properties. The fees are calculated as 0.6% of the amount of any mortgage indebtedness on newly-acquired properties or refinancing and are amortized over the lives of the respective mortgage loans. This non-cash amortization expense is an addition to FFO in the calculation of AFFO. At March 31, 2019, aggregate unamortized loan coordination fees were approximately $13.4 million, which will be amortized over a weighted average remaining loan life of approximately 10.7 years.
                                                                                         
4. We sustained weather-related operating losses due to Hurricane Harvey at our Stone Creek multifamily community during the first quarter 2018; these costs are added back to FFO in our calculation of AFFO. Included in these adjustments are the receipt from our insurance carrier during the first quarter 2018 of claims proceeds for lost rental revenues incurred during the third and fourth quarters of 2017 that totaled approximately $588,000, which was recognized in our statements of operations for the first quarter 2018.
                                                                                         
5. We incur loan closing costs on our existing mortgage loans, which are secured on a property-by-property basis by each of our acquired real estate assets, and also for occasional amendments to our syndicated revolving line of credit with Key Bank National Association, or our Revolving Line of Credit. Effective April 13, 2018, the maximum borrowing capacity on the Revolving Line of Credit was increased from $150 million to $200 million. These loan closing costs are also amortized over the lives of the respective loans and the Revolving Line of Credit, and this non-cash amortization expense is an addition to FFO in the calculation of AFFO. Neither we nor the Operating Partnership have any recourse liability in connection with any of the mortgage loans, nor do we have any cross-collateralization arrangements with respect to the assets securing the mortgage loans, other than security interests in 49% of the equity interests of the subsidiaries owning such assets, granted in connection with our Revolving Line of Credit, which provides for full recourse liability. At March 31, 2019, aggregate unamortized loan costs were approximately $23.6 million, which will be amortized over a weighted average remaining loan life of approximately 9.1 years.
                                                                                         
6. We receive loan origination fees in conjunction with the origination of certain real estate loan investments. These fees are then recognized as revenue over the lives of the applicable loans as adjustments of yield using the effective interest method. The total fees received after the payment of loan origination fees to our Manager are additive adjustments in the calculation of AFFO. Correspondingly, the amortized non-cash income is a deduction in the calculation of AFFO. Over the lives of certain loans, we accrue additional interest amounts that become due to us at the time of repayment of the loan or refinancing of the property, or when the property is sold. This non-cash interest income is subtracted from FFO in our calculation of AFFO. The amount of additional accrued interest becomes an additive adjustment to FFO once received from the borrower (see note 7).
                                                                                         
7. This adjustment reflects the receipt during the periods presented of additional interest income (described in note 6 above) which was earned and accrued prior to those periods presented on various real estate loans.
                                                                                         
8. This adjustment reflects the add-back of exploratory expenses incurred by the Company related to the potential internalization of the functions performed by its Manager.
                                                                                         
9. This adjustment removes the non-cash amortization of costs incurred to induce tenants to lease space in our office buildings and grocery-anchored shopping centers.
                                                                                         
10. Effective January 1, 2019, we terminated our purchase options on the Sanibel Straits, Newbergh, Wiregrass and Cameron Square multifamily communities and the Solis Kennesaw student housing property, all of which are partially supported by real estate loan investments held by us. In exchange for termination fees aggregating $7.9 million from the developers, which are recorded as revenue over  the period beginning on the date of election until the earlier of (i) the maturity of the real estate loan investment and (ii) the sale of the property. The receipt of the cash termination fees are an additive adjustment in our calculation of AFFO and the removal of non-cash revenue from the recognition of the termination fees are a reduction to FFO in our calculation of AFFO; both of these adjustments are presented in a single net number within this line. As of March 31, 2019, we had received cash in excess of recognized termination fee revenues of approximately $296,000. This difference is an additive adjustment to FFO in our calculation of AFFO.
                                                                                          
11. This adjustment reflects straight-line rent adjustments and the reversal of the non-cash amortization of below-market and above-market lease intangibles, which were recognized in conjunction with our acquisitions and which are amortized over the estimated average remaining lease terms from the acquisition date for multifamily communities and over the remaining lease terms for grocery-anchored shopping center assets and office buildings. At March 31, 2019, the balance of unamortized below-market lease intangibles was approximately $46.6 million, which will be recognized over a weighted average remaining lease period of approximately 9.2 years.
                                                                                          
12. This adjustment removes the non-cash amortization of deferred revenue recorded by us in conjunction with Company-owned lessee-funded tenant improvements in our office buildings.
                                                                                          
13. We deduct from FFO normally recurring capital expenditures that are necessary to maintain our assets' revenue streams in the calculation of AFFO. This adjustment also deducts from FFO capitalized amounts for third party costs during the period to originate or renew leases in our grocery-anchored shopping centers and office buildings. No adjustment is made in the calculation of AFFO for nonrecurring capital expenditures. See Capital Expenditures, Grocery-Anchored Shopping Center Portfolio, and Office Buildings Portfolio sections for definitions of these terms.

See Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures.

Real Estate Loan Investments

The following tables present details pertaining to our portfolio of fixed rate, interest-only real estate loan investments.

We hold options, but not obligations, to purchase some of the properties which are partially financed by our real estate loan investments. The option purchase prices are negotiated at the time of the loan closing and are to be calculated based upon market cap rates at the time of exercise of the purchase option, less a discount ranging from between 10 and 60 basis points (if any), depending on the loan. As of March 31, 2019, potential property acquisitions and units from projects in our real estate loan investment portfolio consisted of: