Alexander & Baldwin Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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April 25, 2024

There are 9 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the First Quarter 20 24 Alexander and Baldwin Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. This call is being recorded on Thursday, April 25, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ms.

Operator

Jessica Welch, Senior Manager of Financial Reporting and Technical Accounting. Thank you. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Aloha, and welcome to Alexander and Baldwin's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Jessica Welch, and I am a Senior Manager on our Financial Reporting and Technical Accounting team. With me today are AMD's Chief Executive Officer, Lance Parker and Chief Financial Officer, Clayton Chen. We are also joined by Chip Milin, Senior Vice President of Asset Management, who is available to participate in the Q and A portion of the call.

Speaker 1

During our call, please refer to our Q1 2024 supplemental information available on our website at investors. Alexanderbaldwin.com/supplements. Before we commence, please note that statements in this presentation that are not historical facts are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward looking statements. These forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, growth opportunities and competitive positions. Such forward looking statements speak only as of the date the statements were made and are not guarantees of future performance.

Speaker 1

Forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, prevailing market conditions and other factors related to the company's REIT status and the company's business, the evaluation of alternatives by the company related to its non core assets and business and the risk factors discussed in the company's most recent Form 10 ks, Form 10 Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information in this presentation should be evaluated in light of these important risk factors. We do not undertake any obligation to update the company's forward looking statements. Management will be referring to non GAAP financial measures during our call today.

Speaker 1

Please refer to our statement regarding the use of these non GAAP measures and reconciliations included in our 2024 Q1 supplemental information materials. Lance will kick off today's presentation with an overview of the quarter, then hand it off to Clayton for a discussion of financial matters. To close, Lance will return for some final remarks, then we will open it up for your questions. With that, let me turn the call over to Lance.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Jess, and aloha, everyone. I'm pleased to say that we started the year strong. Total NOI growth was 4.4%, and we achieved same store NOI growth of 4.1%. Same store NOI growth, excluding collections of previously reserved amounts, was 3.9%. Same store lease occupancy was 95%, twenty basis points higher than the same period last year, but down 70 basis points from last quarter, due primarily to a move out at Wai Nai Mall.

Speaker 2

Same store economic occupancy at quarter end was 90 3.3%, down 10 basis points from last year and 70 basis points from last quarter. We executed 44 leases in our improved property portfolio for approximately 212,000 square feet and on a comparable lease basis achieved blended spreads of 7.8% with spreads for new leases at 11.8% and spreads for renewal leases at 7.2%. In our Land Operations segment, we sold more than 300 acres of land holdings, which exceeded our initial target for 2024. We recognized nearly $7,900,000 of operating profit in the Q1 of 2024 compared to selling 1 acre and recognizing an operating loss of $92,000 in the same period last year. The disposition of remaining non core assets remains a priority, but the sale of land holdings will vary period to period and will be opportunistic in nature and this quarter was an example of just that.

Speaker 2

The majority of the land that was sold at the end of March was not factored into our initial outlook provided in February and we will therefore be raising our guidance to reflect the impact of this land sale occurring. Finally, on our last call, I mentioned that the sale of Grace would enable us to simplify our reporting metrics. You'll notice changes in our supplemental information package that improves period over period comparability and is presented in a way that will enable you, our analysts and investors, to more easily evaluate our performance. I'd like to thank Jess and our financial reporting team for leading the initiative to make those enhancements. Turning to the economic environment in Hawaii.

Speaker 2

Unemployment was 3.1% at the end of February versus the national average of 3.9%. Hawaii saw 1,500,000 visitor arrivals in the 1st 2 months of 2024, flat compared to 2023. Visitors from the mainland U. S. Continued to exceed pre pandemic levels in the 1st 2 months of 2024 and visitor arrivals from Japan were more than 80% higher compared to the same period in 2023 and about half of their pre pandemic levels.

Speaker 2

We believe our portfolio of primarily grocery anchored neighborhood centers has and will continue to benefit from the strength of our underlying economy. And now, I'll turn the call over to Clayton for financial details. Clayton?

Speaker 3

Thanks, Lance, and aloha, everyone. Starting with our consolidated metrics for the Q1 of 2024. Net income available to shareholders was $20,000,000 or $0.28 per diluted share. Income from continuing operations available to shareholders was $20,200,000 or $0.28 per diluted share. FFO was $29,200,000 or $0.40 per diluted share, which compares to $18,600,000 or $0.26 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Speaker 3

Land operations related FFO was $0.11 per diluted share during the Q1 of 2024, primarily reflecting the land sales that Lance previously mentioned. This compares to the Q1 of 2023, where land operations contributed no FFO. FFO related to commercial real estate operations and corporate was $0.29 per diluted share compared to $0.26 per diluted share in the same quarter of 2023. The $0.03 improvement was due primarily to higher rental revenue, lower bad debt expense and lower G and A compared to last As we mentioned on our last call, with Grace now sold and our business activity made up primarily of commercial real estate and land operations land sales, we are no longer reporting core FFO. Instead, we are now reporting AFFO.

Speaker 3

AFFO was $25,500,000 or $0.35 per diluted share for the Q1 of 2024. This compares to $16,000,000 or $0.22 per diluted share in the same period last year. The increase in AFFO was due primarily to the land sales previously mentioned, higher net operating income in our commercial real estate portfolio and lower G and A compared to last year. Each of these metrics for the Q1 of 2024 benefited from collections of amounts reserved in previous years of approximately $800,000 or $0.01 per diluted share. For comparative purposes, in the Q1 of 2023, collections of amounts reserved in previous years was $700,000 or a $0.01 per diluted share.

Speaker 3

G and A expenses decreased by $1,500,000 or 17.1 percent to $7,200,000 which compares to $8,700,000 in the Q1 of 2023, largely reflecting cost reductions due to our simplification and streamlining efforts as well as favorable timing differences. We will continue to manage our G and A overhead costs and are targeting a run rate for 2024 that approximates the $7,800,000 that we reported for the Q4 of 2023. For additional details on our results and comparisons to prior periods in 2023, please see our earnings release and supplemental information package. Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity metrics. At quarter end, total debt outstanding was $458,000,000 and we had total liquidity of $470,000,000 made up of approximately $16,000,000 in cash and $454,000,000 available on our revolving credit facility.

Speaker 3

Approximately 90% of our debt is fixed rate. Net debt to trailing 12 months consolidated adjusted EBITDA was 3.8 times, which compares to 4.2 times at 2023 year end. With respect to our dividend, we paid a 1st quarter dividend of $0.225 per share on April 5, and our Board declared a 2nd quarter dividend of $0.225 per share that is payable on July 8. We have $58,000,000 of debt secured by our Lalani Village asset, which matures on May 1. We intend to pay off the mortgage with proceeds from the previously announced 8 year private placement note that we issued on April 15.

Speaker 3

In addition, we intend to use 1 of our 2 forward starting interest rate swaps to hedge the floating interest rate on our revolver debt once it becomes effective on May 1. We expect the combined impact of the refinance together with the interest swap to be approximately 10 to 15 basis points on our overall cost of debt on a pro form a basis. As Lance mentioned, given our overall performance in the Q1, we are raising our guidance. We now expect same store NOI growth in the range of 1.1% to 2.1% and same store NOI growth excluding collections of amounts reserved in prior years of 2.1% to 3.1%. We are guiding to FFO in the range of $1.05 per share to $1.16 per share and AFFO in the range of $0.89 per share to $1 per share.

Speaker 3

Our revised outlook primarily reflects the strong results we achieved in the Q1. As we look ahead to the remainder of the year, there are a few timing related items to point out. First, while there may be quarterly fluctuations, we expect our retail and industrial assets to continue performing at levels consistent with what we had anticipated in our initial guidance. 2nd, you may recall that we had significant ground lease renewals during the Q2 last year that provided an ABR increase of $1,100,000 As part of that renewal, we also received 1 quarter's worth of retroactive rent in the Q2 of 2023. We are not expecting any significant fair market value resets this year.

Speaker 3

And as a result, we are expecting ground lease NOI growth to be slightly negative in the Q2 of 2024 and flat for the remainder of the year. 3rd, we also expect certain office properties to be impacted by tenant move outs later in the year as we look to reposition them. Last, as we have mentioned throughout the call, we sold more than 300 acres of land in the Q1 of 2024. We plan to sell the majority of that land in 2025, The benefit of selling these lands was not factored in our initial 2024 guidance. As a result of the land sales in the Q1, we are increasing our 2024 land operations FFO per share range by $0.09 per diluted share on the low end and $0.10 per diluted share on the high end.

Speaker 3

We are also raising FFO per share attributable to CRE and corporate by another penny on the low and high end, reflecting our stronger than expected CRE performance in the Q1. With that, I will turn the call over to Lance for his closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Clayton. The Q1 demonstrated the strength of our outstanding team and quality of our assets. Our portfolio is performing well, our balance sheet is strong, and we have taken steps to limit our exposure to rising interest rates. With these accomplishments, we are well positioned to grow our business. We continue to make progress on internal growth initiatives, and I am encouraged by the pace and types of external investment opportunities we have been underwriting in the 1st 3 months of this year.

Speaker 2

On that note, we'll now open the call up to questions.

Operator

Thank you. Your first question comes from the line of Rob Stevenson from Janney. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Good afternoon, guys. Clayton, in terms of the FFO from land sales, how much was that in the Q1 and how much does that represent of the $0.05 to $0.11 guidance for the year?

Speaker 3

So the $0.11 what we did for purposes of our revised guidance, it was updated to reflect the actual impact of our Q1 performance. And so the $0.11 was built into the overall revision. I'm not sure if that answers your question.

Speaker 4

So the rest of the year is flat to negative 0.6

Speaker 3

So we I guess I should just start off by saying that we have mentioned in the past that non core land sales remain a priority for the company. And so we're going to continue to pursue every opportunity to monetize and simplify what's left in this non core portion of our business. But with respect to what's incorporated into our forecast for the balance of the year, we are having or we've been in some discussions with potential buyers of additional parcels. But at this point, it's too early for us to indicate whether or not those will occur or not. And so from that perspective, we've simply updated our overall guidance for the year to reflect the actual results related to land ops.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then the and I'm going to butcher it, but the Y and A mall, you had I guess, 17,000 roughly a 17,000 foot user move out of there. What is the plans for that space and the timing? Is it going to need any sort of redevelopment? Is it just going to be released more or less as is?

Speaker 4

How are you guys thinking about that space?

Speaker 5

Hi, this is Kit. How are you doing?

Speaker 4

All right.

Speaker 5

Good. So yes, it was a it's actually it's about 20,000 square feet overall, if you talk about the adjacent spaces. And we're really happy that we are in discussions for a backfill with a high credit tenant. And we're optimistic about being able to get that deal done.

Speaker 4

Okay. And how material was the rent that you did get from the tenant in the Q1? Or was that all out of the Q1? In other words, what do we need to strip out of any sort of stub revenue in order to get to the current run rate?

Speaker 5

So they moved out in late January. So 1 third of the quarter was in there. What I will say though is that our original guidance, it still stands relative to the retail portfolio.

Speaker 4

Okay. All right. And then I guess the last one winds up being is that you guys announced in the release about the industrial the new industrial development that you guys are in the planning stages for. How much is behind that? And is anything else at this point likely to be started in 2024 or anything else that you guys are planning is likely to be a 2025 or later start?

Speaker 2

Hey, Rob, this is Lance. We continue to be opportunistic in terms of potential transactions and build to suits at Maui Business Park. And so while there has been some interest in terms of firm deals, it's really just the one that we announced earlier in the year. But I think it's important, maybe a couple of things. 1, in our S and O that we have about $1,000,000 in S and O attributable to that deal that we expect to come economic late next year that is not currently in our number.

Speaker 2

So I just want to make sure that people are aware of that. And then maybe just speaking a little bit more broadly because of course we think about growth opportunities both internally as well as externally. So whether it's development at Maui Business Park, repositioning of some of our retail assets that falls into the same bucket as acquisitions. And what I would say on the acquisition front is that although the market remains tight from a marketed deal standpoint, our investment team, which is led by Jeff Pouker, they're actively out there working all of our existing Hawaii relationships looking for off market transactions for us. And while it would be probably premature to give insight into specific deals or even a dollar amount for 2024, just based on what we're seeing at the top of the funnel.

Speaker 2

As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, I am encouraged that we'll be able to place some investment capital in 2024.

Speaker 4

Okay, that's great. Thanks guys. Appreciate the time.

Speaker 3

Thank

Operator

you. And your next question comes from the line of Connor Mitchell. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hey, thanks for taking my question. I guess just kind of following that line of question and answering, You guys are looking at some acquisitions. We talked about the development of Maui business. Can you speak to how you guys think about your balance of industrial and retail and other lines of revenue, other property types as well? We've been hearing about maybe some industrial developments pulling back or slowing down just due to the broader economic outlook and environment.

Speaker 6

So, yes, if you guys can just talk about how you see the mix of your property types, whether it's acquisitions or developments?

Speaker 2

Yes. Hey, Connor, it's Lance. Maybe from a market perspective, we still view all of the existing asset classes that we're in as favorable. So whether it's retail, whether it's industrial, whether it's our ground lease portfolio, we're still seeing market conditions that are very encouraging to us. And maybe unlike other domestic industrial markets, we're still at a very, very low vacancy rate and feel strong about the near term prospects for that.

Speaker 2

So all of that being said, I would say in terms of this is kind of a capital allocation question, whether it's internal or external, I think we're really more agnostic and whether it's a specific asset class versus another Similarly, we're pretty agnostic. It's really more opportunistic in terms of return profile, risk adjusted return profile. And as long as it fits within box that we're comfortable with, it's certainly something that we'll take a look at. And of course, we've acknowledged that in the past, given the fact that we're geographically focused here in Hawaii, we will get creative in terms of opportunities within the state to invest capital.

Speaker 6

Okay. I appreciate that. And then maybe going back to the land operations and the sale, It sounds like you guys were saying that you're expecting the majority or all of the remaining land operations and sales to take place by the end of 2025, but you're not really baking any expected transactions in 2024. Did I get that correct?

Speaker 2

Maybe I can just sort of reiterate some of the maybe bigger picture more strategic and then have Clayton talk a little bit about specific guidance. So as Clayton mentioned, we had a great obviously a great quarter in land ops in Q1. It really was opportunistic in terms of some land transactions, primarily on Maui. And we will continue to pursue those types of transactions. It is difficult for us from a timing perspective to really forecast what that looks like.

Speaker 2

And clearly, we sort of blew through our guidance and took advantage of a good buyer relationship that we had on one deal in particular. They were able to move very quickly and we were as well. And so to the extent that those types of transactions come up, we will definitely be ready to execute on them.

Speaker 3

Then with respect to the guidance portion of your question, I think it's important to note that the land sale that we were talking about that really moved the needle for the segment FFO for the quarter. That was not factored into our 2024 guidance because that was assumed to occur at a later period, so 2025 timeframe. That is not to say that we expect to have everything monetized by 2025. As Lance indicated, we're prioritizing the non core land sales and are going to continue to pursue every opportunity to monetize and simplify the non core aspects of the business. But with respect to that specific question, we did not have that factored into our 2024 guidance.

Speaker 3

Hope that helps.

Speaker 6

Yes, yes. I appreciate the clarification. And then maybe one more just on the land sales as well. We talked about in the past the overhead expense attached to the land operations. Could you just provide an update on maybe how that was affected with this land sale that took place in the quarter and maybe how much more there is attached to the remaining land operations?

Speaker 3

Yes. So as we have mentioned in the past, as we're able to monetize this non core portion of our business, It also provides us an opportunity to simplify overall. And so in the case of this quarter's planned sales, we're expecting that there will be approximately a few $100,000 of carrying costs that will be eliminated as part of the simplification that comes along with that sale. And so as I said before, we're going to continue to opportunistically jump on any other monetization opportunities that come about. But with respect to that particular transaction, you can expect about order a few $100,000 for annualized run rate purposes.

Operator

Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Mitch Germain from Citizens JMP. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Hi, thanks for taking my question. It seems like same store, it sounds like ground lease in office is going to be a bit of a drag here in the back part of the year, which is why the 4% is going to be closer to a 2% number. Is that the way to think about it here?

Speaker 3

Yes. So what we were indicating in the scripted remarks is that there's a couple of factors in play here with respect to the same store NOI guidance. So in the case of the ground leases, you may recall that in the Q2 of last year, we had a large rent step up with Windward City Shopping Center. And so that amounted to approximately $1,100,000 in ABR increase that came about with that renewal. And so we're not expecting any significant fair market value resets to occur in 2024.

Speaker 3

And so that is factoring into the guidance and probably what you're seeing with respect to your question. The other thing that we wanted to point out was on the office side of things. Although it's a smaller portion of our overall portfolio, we do have some the move outs that are occurring that frankly are allowing us to reposition those assets. And so that's also weighing into our overall guidance for the commercial real estate results.

Speaker 7

Okay. That's helpful. Just overall balance sheet, some of the language around your swaps, I didn't fully hear it. So maybe if you can just talk about, specifically, you said around 10 or 15 basis points, I believe, on the credit facility. Maybe just talk about that strategy and the recent notes offering that you did and how that versus your expectations?

Speaker 3

Yes. So we have a mortgage note related to the Lalami Village asset that is maturing in May. And so what we did during the quarter was we entered into a $60,000,000 private placement note that has a duration for 8 years, comes with a 6.09 coupon. And so what we did in addition to that was utilize 1 of the 2 forward starting interest rate swaps that we have. And so what we're doing with respect to that is applying it against to our variable rate debt on the revolver.

Speaker 3

So the swap itself is for $57,000,000 and between the 2, so the private placement as well as the utilization of the swap. In total, our overall cost of debt for across the board is going to be impacted by the 10 to 15 basis points. Higher or lower. Higher.

Speaker 6

Okay. That's what I thought.

Speaker 7

And then if I'm not mistaken, you have another slug of debt coming due later on this year, correct?

Speaker 3

We do. Yes, that's related to our Pearl Highlands mortgage, which is coming due in December.

Speaker 7

Got you. So do you have a you don't have a swap that's currently in place for that mortgage, correct?

Speaker 3

So that mortgage is currently fixed rate. What we do have though is a that's the other forward starting rate swap, which is for notional amount of $70,000,000 And so where we stand right now is we are considering a number of options. We've been in discussions with banks. And so at the end of the day, what we could pursue is either a refinance with the existing lender, so effectively having a form of secured debt, we could also pursue unsecured debt. And so at this point, we're in discussions and we'll provide more additional information as we proceed down this path and are able to do so.

Speaker 7

Got you. Last question, the move out that was referenced in late January, what type of space is that or what type of tenant?

Speaker 5

So I would it's more a mid box top type space. The previous tenant was more of a community type use. And so our goal is to reposition that with more of a traditional mid box space.

Speaker 7

Got you. I just was curious if it was a restaurant or something like that. That's

Operator

And your last question comes from the line of Brendan McCarthy from Sidoti. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Hey guys, congrats on the results and thanks for taking my question.

Speaker 3

I just wanted to start

Speaker 8

off with the 300 and just want to start off with the 300 acres sale to the owner of NAND. I guess, are you able to disclose the financial details of that sale and I guess the cost basis?

Speaker 2

We have not disclosed the specifics of the deal for competitive purposes. But obviously that along with a couple of other land sales, you can see the results from an FFO standpoint. And my comments earlier in reference to a buyer that we had a strong pre existing relationship, they were the buyer of Grace Pacific late last year. And so we were able to really parlay that relationship into another opportunity for us.

Speaker 8

Got it. And probably fair to assume that relationship was what caused that sale to, I guess, maybe get pulled forward a little bit from a timing perspective?

Speaker 2

It was and quite frankly, another driver as to why it happened so quickly.

Speaker 3

Yes. Okay.

Speaker 8

And then looking at the balance sheet, nice move down in net leverage 3.20 times, I believe. Can you just talk about what leverage number you're comfortable with? I think I remember seeing a 5 to 6 times range might be a target, but maybe just kind of your outlook there for 2024?

Speaker 3

Yes. Hi, Brennan, it's Clayton. So you're right that in terms of our long term target, we are shooting for 5 to 6 times net debt to EBITDA. And so we're in really good shape from a balance sheet perspective. And what this does is provide us the dry powder for growth opportunities.

Speaker 8

Got it. That makes sense. That's all for me. Thank you.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Brennan.

Operator

Thank you. That concludes our question and answer session for today. I will now hand the call back to the management for closing remarks.

Speaker 3

Thank you, operator, and thank you all for joining us today. If you have any follow-up questions, please feel free to call us at 808-525-8475 or email us at investorrelationsabhi.com. Aloha and have a great day.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's call. Thank you all for participating. You may all disconnect.

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Key Takeaways

  • Alexander & Baldwin delivered a strong first quarter with total net operating income up 4.4% and same-store NOI rising 4.1% (3.9% ex-reserve collections) on a 95% lease occupancy rate.
  • The company sold over 300 acres of non-core land, generating $7.9 million in operating profit versus a loss last year, prompting management to raise full-year land sales guidance.
  • Q1 FFO reached $29.2 million ($0.40 per share) and AFFO was $25.5 million ($0.35 per share), each significantly ahead of the prior year’s $0.26 and $0.22 per share, respectively.
  • Management boosted its 2024 outlook to same-store NOI growth of 1.1%–2.1%, FFO of $1.05–$1.16 per share, and AFFO of $0.89–$1.00 per share, reflecting the quarter’s strong results.
  • The balance sheet remains robust with $470 million of liquidity, net debt/EBITDA at 3.8× (down from 4.2×), a new $60 million eight-year note at 6.09%, and hedges added to cap interest-rate exposure.
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Earnings Conference Call
Alexander & Baldwin Q1 2024
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