NYSE:WSR Whitestone REIT Q1 2024 Earnings Report $12.20 -0.06 (-0.49%) As of 03:26 PM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast Whitestone REIT EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.18Consensus EPS $0.24Beat/MissMissed by -$0.06One Year Ago EPS$0.24Whitestone REIT Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$37.16 millionExpected Revenue$38.00 millionBeat/MissMissed by -$840.00 thousandYoY Revenue GrowthN/AWhitestone REIT Announcement DetailsQuarterQ1 2024Date5/1/2024TimeAfter Market ClosesConference Call DateThursday, May 2, 2024Conference Call Time8:30AM ETUpcoming EarningsWhitestone REIT's Q2 2025 earnings is scheduled for Wednesday, July 30, 2025, with a conference call scheduled on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 8:30 AM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by Whitestone REIT Q1 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrMay 2, 2024 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 8 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, David Mordy, Director of Investor Relations. Operator00:00:08Please go ahead, sir. Speaker 100:00:10Good morning, and thank you for joining Whitestone REIT's Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Joining me on today's call are Dave Holman, Chief Executive Officer Christine Mastandrea, Chief Operating Officer and Scott Hogan, Chief Financial Officer. Please note that some statements made during this call are not historical and may be deemed forward looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those forward looking statements due to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Please refer to the company's earnings news release and filings with the SEC, including Whitestone's most recent Form 10 Q and 10 ks for a detailed discussion of these factors. Speaker 100:00:47Acknowledging the fact that this call may be webcast for a period of time, it is also important to note that this call includes time sensitive information that may be accurate only as of today's date, May 2, 2024. The company undertakes no obligation to update this information. Whitestone's 1st quarter earnings news release and supplemental operating and financial data package have been filed with the SEC and are available on our website in the Investor Relations section. We published Q1 2024 slides on our website yesterday afternoon, which highlight topics to be discussed today. I will now turn the call over to Dave Holman, our Chief Executive Officer. Speaker 200:01:25Thank you, David. Good morning and once again we thank you for joining Whitestone's Q1 2024 earnings conference call. Let me begin by saying that we are very focused on delivering solid, consistent results for shareholders and our Q1 results are exactly that. We put out our 2024 full year guidance less than 2 months ago with strong core FFO per share growth of 11%, a robust same store NOI growth target and a goal to beat last year's record occupancy finish. The team is delivering and we are on track with our internal forecast and reaffirming our previously issued guidance. Speaker 200:02:15In the Q1, we signed new and renewal leases at a blended 17% increase over the prior leases on a straight line basis and 9.3% increase on a cash basis. We grew our top line revenue over 3.7%, produced 3.1% growth in same store NOI and achieved core FFO per share of $0.24 And we continued to strengthen our balance sheet with debt to EBITDAre at 7.8 times which was negatively impacted by professional fees in the quarter related to our proxy contest which Scott will go into further detail in his comments. Our occupancy was 93.6% at the end of the quarter, up 90 basis points from a year ago and our net effective annual base rent per square foot was $23.83 up 7.2% from 2023. Our occupancy levels and average base rent aren't just up significantly over the last year. Our occupancy has increased 230 basis points and our ABR is over 13% higher since I became the CEO at the beginning of 2022. Speaker 200:03:36This growth shows the value of our strategy and is a result of our new team's execution focus, the quality of our assets and the demand for these types of spaces we specialize in. As Texas and Arizona continue their rapid growth, as our leasing team continues to execute and as we continue our successful capital recycling efforts, we expect these important metrics to continue to increase. I'll have Christine discuss our leasing and organic growth more shortly. Our capital recycling efforts are going very well also. This year, we have completed the sale of 1 center for $28,000,000 and acquired 2 centers for approximately $50,000,000 Since we began our recycling efforts in late 2022, we now have completed $84,000,000 in dispositions at an average cap rate of 6.2 percent based on the trailing 12 month NOI and we have completed $104,000,000 of acquisitions at an aggregate cap rate of 7.1% which is based on actual or projected year 1 NOI. Speaker 200:04:50Our next two transactions, which are underway, will be property sales of about $25,000,000 balancing out our disposition and acquisition level. Let me delve into the acquisitions a little bit. Garden Oaks is an Aldi anchored center located in the pathway of significant residential and commercial development and which sits on a major thoroughfare in our Houston market with 30,000 vehicles per day passing by. The center has a strong mix of 19 service and convenience based tenants and has significant potential for Enfield development. The surrounding neighborhood has seen residential property values increase nearly 50% since 2019. Speaker 200:05:37Our most recent acquisition was Scottsdale Commons in our Phoenix market and is another great add to our portfolio. Scottsdale Commons is located on the 2nd most trafficked intersection in Scottsdale, is home to 20 tenants and has a surrounding 3 mile average household income of over $135,000 The center acts as a gateway linking North Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. Both centers fit very well with our strategy and will benefit from our in place leasing and property management teams who are eager to get to work growing cash flow and increasing the value of the centers. Looking out slightly longer than the next couple of quarters, I think it is critical to look at what we're hearing from not only our current but prospective shareholders. We've doubled the percentage of our active institutional shareholders over the last few years and what is needed to continue expanding our shareholder base is to extend our track record of steady FFO growth while simultaneously improving our balance sheet. Speaker 200:06:47As I mentioned, we are forecasting 11% core FFO per share growth this year, driven primarily by strong same store NOI growth. With the vast majority of our debt locked until 2027, we have a clear runway for growth not just this year, but into 2025, 'twenty six and 'twenty seven. In addition, our earnings growth combined with free cash flow is driving our debt to EBITDA ratio down. We are forecasting sub-seven times debt to EBITDAre by the 4th quarter and that does not assume we collect the bulk of the Pillarstone judgment until 2025. This metric should improve noticeably in the Q4 due to annual percent of sale clauses in many of our leases that typically contribute significantly to the Q4 as well as the anticipated drop in our G and A expenses once we're past the proxy season. Speaker 200:07:51In summary, we are very well lined up to do exactly what we need to do. We're looking forward to connecting with many investors. And for those of you attending REIT Week in June, we'd love to meet with you at that conference. I hope you'll come by and see us. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Christine. Speaker 300:08:12Good morning, everyone. As Dave mentioned, we remain confident in terms of achieving our 2024 objectives and are on track within our internal monthly and quarterly goals. Occupancy remains high at 93.6%, up 90 basis points from a year ago. Anchor occupancy was 96.9% and smaller space occupancy was 91.6%. We achieved renewal leasing spreads of 15% and new leasing spreads of 25.9 percent for a combined overall positive leasing spread of 17% in the quarter. Speaker 300:08:47I remain confident in the leasing team executing in our projections for the year. However, this is the strongest environment we've ever seen in Texas and Arizona for all size spaces in all the categories we serve across our mix of tenants of food, grocery, restaurants, health, wellness and beauty, financial services, other services, education and entertainment. And I anticipate the next couple of years will bring the same as there's an increasing growth and a new demography that are showing a new interest and new types of things to do in their lives. One of the things that we look for in our tenants is the best in class operators, whether it's an Aldi or the Pickler, one of our keys to success is not just evaluating the credit quality of a potential tenant, but their skill as operators and their ability to succeed over the next 5, 10 and even 20 years. This environment is the perfect time to secure these businesses and ensure that our centers have the right drivers for the future success. Speaker 300:09:45Regarding the acquisitions we've recently closed, Garden Oaks, Houston and Scottsdale Commons in Arizona, Our leasing team knows how to deliver returns on these acquisitions, especially given the strong starting fundamentals. There are excellent visibility on major thoroughfares and fast growing surrounding neighborhoods and dense areas that are supply constrained in terms of more retail development. These factors provide for an infill development and make these acquisitions similar to, for example, our Los Colinas acquisition in late 2019. Since 2019, we have replaced 50% of the tenants in Los Collinas. We've increased the NOI by 35% and strengthened the traffic drivers for the center, which allows us to continue to drive value for the center both for our tenants, the neighborhoods and for Whitestone. Speaker 300:10:34With that, I'll keep my comments short today and turn it over to Scott to cover the financials. Scott? Speaker 400:10:41Thank you, Christine and good morning. Our solid first quarter results demonstrate the strength of our high quality portfolio of properties as evidenced by robust leasing spreads and positive same store NOI growth. Our core FFO per share was $0.24 for the quarter versus $0.24 for the same period in 2023. As Dave mentioned, we remain on track for our core FFO per share guidance of $0.98 to 1 point $4 We are also on track for our previous projections of same store NOI growth, ending occupancy, interest expense and debt to EBITDAre. We have increased our projection for net income and G and A expense to reflect the gain from our Q1 disposition and to reflect proxy contest professional fees. Speaker 400:11:38Our Q1 G and A expense included approximately $400,000 of professional fees related to our proxy contest and we expect that our Q2 will include $1,200,000 in professional fees related to our proxy contest. Additionally, bad debt was a bit higher in the Q1 primarily from a small number of tenants we are now in the process of re tenanting. We anticipate that number will come down for the remaining quarters. On the whole, we've taken significant steps to reduce earnings variables and allow for our same our strong same store NOI growth to continue to drive earnings growth and balance sheet improvement. Same store NOI was 3.1 percent or same store NOI growth was 3.1% for the quarter, which is exactly what we need in order to drive the $0.07 earnings growth expected to come from same store NOI growth in 2024. Speaker 400:12:38We redeemed our Pillarstone OP units in January. So going forward, our income statement no longer has a deficit related to Pillarstone and any associated variability. We'll keep you updated on our collection efforts and our guidance does not assume much of that occurs in 2024 and we may have some significant stretches with no update as our collection efforts progress. We are also in the process of covering off maturities we have coming due later in the year and are currently rate locked for approximately $55,000,000 of 7 year mortgage debt at 6.2%. Accordingly, I anticipate our fixed debt rate percentage will be greater than 85% by the end of the year. Speaker 400:13:24Furthermore, if the 2 upcoming dispositions Dave mentioned close as expected, our fixed debt percentage will increase as we reduce our overall debt. Let me wrap up our prepared comments by saying we are excited to be able to support the businesses that populate our centers, but most of all we are thrilled to deliver results to our shareholders. We look forward to connecting with you in the weeks and months ahead. And with that, let's open the line for questions. Operator00:14:00Thank you, sir. At this time, we will be conducting a question and answer session. The first question we have comes from Mitch Germain of JMP Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:14:37Good morning. Speaker 600:14:40Can you provide some perspective on some of the nuances related to the JV accounting now that you've redeemed the units? Speaker 400:14:52Yes. Sure Mitch. This is Scott. As we mentioned on the call, in January, we redeemed our OP units, which changes the accounting from that of equity method accounting because we're no longer a partner in Pillarstone to an accounting where we have collection effort around the redemption. So there is a $30,000,000 or $31,000,000 receivable. Speaker 400:15:25And then as the guarantor on Pillarstone's only loan, we paid $13,600,000 Both of those are amounts that we're working to collect through the bankruptcy. And we're confident that we'll collect at least that much through the bankruptcy process. Speaker 200:15:45Hey, Mitch. Sorry, Scott. I was going to just add one thing, which was real positive. Obviously, it will take some of the volatility that we've had in past quarters out of our results as we no longer will be recording those deficits from Pillarstone that we had in 2023. Sorry, Scott, didn't mean to step on you there. Speaker 400:16:07That's okay. Did I answer it, Mitch? Or are there any other Speaker 600:16:11Yes. So two questions. One, there's no more management fee as well Speaker 500:16:15about it? Speaker 400:16:17Well, we haven't had a management fee from Pillarstone since August of 'twenty two when we canceled the management contract. Speaker 600:16:24So Oh, that's right. I'm sorry Speaker 400:16:25about that. Yes. Really what we've had with Pillarstone is a JV where there haven't been any distributions to us or any funding from us to Pillarstone. It's just been an equity method accounting exercise that ended on January 25 when we redeemed our OP units. Speaker 600:16:45And is the deposit on the debt was that money out the door by you guys or? Speaker 400:16:54That was it was money out the door. We have a right of subrogation now. I didn't mention that there'll be a disclosure in our 10 Q around this, but in April, Pillarstone and the lender filed a motion to settle the loan with Uptown Tower whereby Pillarstone will pay by June 10 or can pay by June 10 $1,100,000 more. And then that releases the liens the lender has against the asset and releases Whitestone as the guarantor and then allows Pillarstone to hopefully sell the property and then Whitestone would have a right of subrogation against Pillarstone. We think there's a contract for $26,000,000 on that building right now. Speaker 400:17:52So the amount should cover our $13,000,000 claim. Speaker 600:17:57Got you. They have a contractual right to do that despite what's happening between both entities now with those potential settlement from the court? Speaker 400:18:08They have to work through the bankruptcy court. But getting the lender out of the equation is a good thing and that the loan that I was just talking about is the only loan against any of the properties that they have. Speaker 200:18:22Yes. Okay. Speaker 600:18:26Legal fees that you guided to in addition to the proxy costs, is that all baked for G and N? Speaker 400:18:40I'm sorry, I didn't understand the last part of the question. It was legal fees. So there's legal fees and Your Speaker 600:18:46G and A guidance, right? Yes, you've got G and A guidance that went out quarter over quarter. Obviously, you're backing out the proxy costs, but that still includes legal, correct? Speaker 400:18:58We haven't changed the guidance on the legal fees. There can be timing on that depending on when hearings happen and so forth. So I think we had a little more in the Q1. The full year legal fees we don't think are going to change. And the only change to the guidance was just the proxy fees that we mentioned. Speaker 600:19:17Yes, great. Okay. And then can I give some color on the asset sales? You sold the property. Sounds like $28,000,000 or so. Speaker 600:19:29And then you've got another one that's or another 1 or 2 queued up. How should I just think about what's been done and what we should anticipate going forward? Sure. Speaker 200:19:43It's Dave. I'll take that one. So I think we announced a couple of years ago the intent to continue just refining the portfolio, looking at assets that we felt like were either very attractively valued or assets that had less upside in the future and recycling those into some new properties. I think in my earlier, I commented on we're about $100,000,000 once we close the next two acquisitions. We've done the dispositions at a cap rate of approximately $6,200,000 and we've been able to acquire properties with a day 1 cash flow of 7.1%. Speaker 200:20:23And obviously, more importantly, much more upside in really great areas with opportunity. So I think as you think about our recycling efforts, I mean, this is no different than a portfolio. We're going to continue probably looking to turn we've done $100,000,000 in 2 years. That's probably a decent run rate that we would do going forward and redeploying that. We are seeing some positive movement on the cap rates on acquisitions as evidenced. Speaker 200:20:54But right now, we're pleased with the efforts. We think they're contributing significantly. If you look at the new properties we have bought, better demographics, higher incomes, higher ABRs, just continuing to strengthen the portfolio at Whitestone. Speaker 600:21:10Okay. Understood. Just one more follow-up. The $28,000,000 closed when in the quarter? Speaker 200:21:18So the $28,000,000 closed in the Scott, do you remember the date? It was in the Q1. You're talking about the asset sale? Yes. Was towards the end of March. Speaker 200:21:28Yes. Speaker 600:21:29So, Speaker 400:21:30yes, that's towards the end of March. Speaker 600:21:33And then you've got $25,000,000 in process, right? Speaker 200:21:39That's right. And that will be timing wise right now, that's expected to be potentially in the Q2, but definitely, if not Q2, early Q3. And there's risk, but we feel very confident with what we're moving forward and just continuing to execute on the recycling efforts. Speaker 600:21:59Thank you. Speaker 200:22:00Thanks, Mitch. Operator00:22:04Thank you. The next question we have comes from Gaurav Mehta of Alliance Global Partners. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:22:11Good morning. I wanted to follow-up on the asset sales. Just to clarify the $80,000,000 number that you have in the slide, does that include $25,000,000 or you would have $25,000,000 on top of $80,000,000 Speaker 200:22:26It does not. The $84,000,000 is the actual dispositions. I think the dispositions. I think the comment we were making is we have about $100,000,000 in acquisitions, roughly $80,000,000 in dispositions. The next two transactions will really balance that. Speaker 200:22:41So we're going to have got about an additional $20 ish million to go, just continuing to refine the portfolio, upgrade the portfolio with by recycling and without the need for external capital. Speaker 500:22:55Okay. Okay, great. Second question on your leverage. I think you touched upon this in your prepared remarks, but hoping to get some more color on your debt to EBITDA going from 7.8% to the guidance of 6.6% to 7 Speaker 400:23:13Sure. In the Q1 of this year, we've got some elevated G and A cost around legal pertaining to our efforts with Pillarstone and also proxy contest costs. We also expect NOI to grow throughout the year and debt to continue to improve by the time we get to the Q4. So I think we'll see improvement both in the numerator and the denominator by the time we get to the end of the year through top line growth and also through lower G and A cost. Speaker 500:23:50Okay. Maybe one more follow-up on the balance sheet. The 2024, I think the $55,000,000 debt that you've talked about earlier on the call, you said 6.2% rate. Is that the rate that's expiring on that debt? Or is that the rate you're seeing in the market? Speaker 400:24:12That's the right lock we have on that loan. And I didn't understand the second part of the question about the market, sorry. Speaker 500:24:19And I guess where would you how do you plan to replace that debt? Would you be looking to do another purchase debt or put that on the line? Speaker 400:24:28That is the I mean that is the replacement debt. So we would it's a $55,000,000 loan and then we'd use those proceeds to pay down the revolver. Speaker 200:24:39We have about $50,000,000 of debt maturities this year. And basically, I think this is just replacing those, right, Scott? That's right. Speaker 600:24:49Yes. Speaker 500:24:50Okay. Understood. Speaker 200:24:51Thank you. Thank you. Operator00:24:56Thank you. The next question we have comes from John Massocca of B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 200:25:10Good morning. Good morning. Speaker 700:25:14Going back to the capital recycling, I caught the acquisition cap rates, but what's the disposition cap rates and the kind of the other leg of that of those transactions? Speaker 200:25:25Sure, John. Yes, we've done $84,000,000 in dispositions since October of 'twenty two. Those have been at a disposition cap rate of 6.2 based on the trailing 12 month NOI. The acquisitions, the other side have been at a 7.1 cap rate on 1st year NOI actual or projected. Speaker 700:25:52And maybe how does year to date compare to that longer term number? Speaker 200:25:59I think you're asking what's our volume level for recycling? Is that what you're asking? Speaker 700:26:05No, no, just cap rate. I was kind of like, how does the year to date cap rate compare to the number you're citing since 2022? Speaker 200:26:16Yes, I think it's right on it. So I mean, we're not trying to play with the period. It's just saying and looking at the most recent performance on a 12 month period, what we're buying versus what we're selling right now, there's about a 1% spread positive for us. Speaker 700:26:33Okay. And then maybe just kind of more holistically, I mean, just because they were in the same market, what makes something like selling Mercado at Scottsdale Ranch and moving into the other asset you purchased in Scottsdale, like what's kind of the logic in that those two transactions together? Speaker 300:26:52Sure. Let me help a little bit on this. So first of all, Mercado was in an area that was a bit challenged as far as locationally because it only had 180 degree trade area. So the trade area was somewhat limited along Shea Road and it was further closer to Fountain Hills. So what I look at is I always think about where's my location as far as infill in my trade area. Speaker 300:27:20What I like about so if you look for almost a swap from that type of asset where your trade area is limited by 180 degrees, which is pretty significant. That's because the Indian reservation surrounds it. And then you go all the way to Scottsdale and Shea, which is probably it's the northern gateway over to PB, Paradise Valley and also the east gateway to the 101 which goes around the city. So it's probably one of the best, what I consider one of the best intersections in the city of Scottsdale, versus a trade area that's limited. And that's been some of the recycling. Speaker 300:27:59So just to comment on some of the recycling that we have done. It's either been assets that are tapped out, limited trade areas, limited growth and opportunity. And the assets that we've purchased, I think we've exceeded our expectations on the rental rates and the lease up times. Speaker 700:28:18Okay. That makes sense. And then on the bad debt that increased, any kind of specific themes to call out there? Was that one tenant, multiple tenants, any particular tenant industry? Just looking for some more color on Speaker 400:28:32It's just a handful of tenants that we're working to re tenant and really upgrade and better serve gives us an opportunity also to better serve the community around the properties. It's not a pervasive issue across tenant base. It's really just probably 3 or 4 tenants. Speaker 300:28:53Yes. It really has been something that I think overall we've really improved this in our portfolio. And also as a team, as we've talked about this in the past that if we do have tenants out there that are weaker tenants, we'd rather remerchandise them in a strong market. So we've taken a very active stand towards that. And quite frankly, the team knows that we look at bad debt as something that is part of how we operate is something that is to be taken seriously and not to have a lingering number out there. Speaker 300:29:29So we've been very active in managing towards reducing what I would consider some challenges in the past. And as we talked about, we really look for quality of revenue going forward in the type of tenancy that we bring in. So I think the team has done a really good job with this and we continue to see improvement of that in the future. But I'm not I look for tenant weakness all the time. We also look through our portfolio to figure out where we need to be careful in leasing efforts in the future. Speaker 300:29:59And so far we've seen the market is really, really strong towards all tenant types. And I haven't seen like a significant amount of weakness in a certain type of tenant since COVID. Speaker 700:30:14Okay. And then maybe bigger picture, as you kind of think about capital recycling beyond the transactions that you completed or that are kind of in the pipeline, is that impacted at all by the ongoing proxy contest? I mean, you kind of need to take a pause on any strategic initiatives until that's completed? Or is it, we'll see the result of that and then adjust as need be? Speaker 200:30:41I think I would say, John, absolutely not. Our business is frankly firing on all cylinders. Our tenant demand is strong. We've got great locations. You've got a team that's synced and executing. Speaker 200:30:56We intend to keep delivering and keep laying down a track record. Speaker 700:31:02Okay. That's it for me. Thank you very much. Speaker 200:31:05Thank you. Operator00:31:08Thank you. The next question we have comes from Michael Diana, Maxim Group of Maxim Group LLC. Please go ahead. Okay. Speaker 300:31:22Thank you. Christine, you mentioned that in one of the two recent acquisitions you retenanted a lot, or there's a lot of retenanting. Can you just give us some more detail why were the new tenants better than the old? What were you doing there? I wouldn't consider it's a lot of re tenanting. Speaker 300:31:43It's just that what we look at when we buy a center, we so we have an approach a couple of different approaches that we take. First of all, is it serving successfully serving the community. And we look for opportunities that maybe there are some tenants that have been just rolling forward in portfolios or properties that haven't been actively managed. And those types of tenants are maybe not serving the community as well as they could be, their sales numbers aren't there, the management of the business is not as active as it should be. We take those opportunities to remerchandise because we think that first of all, again, our goal is to successfully serve the community. Speaker 300:32:26And in doing so, we look for those types of businesses that do that and have the strong sales to match that. So an example is I think is a really good one is when we bought the one in Woodlands, which has been a really a phenomenal property, it's a really well located property. We've been able to re tenant 2 of the operators in there and significantly raise the rents at the same time. So we've gotten stronger operators and have been able to raise the rents. And again, we look at that because the area is such a strong area, why shouldn't we move in that direction, especially with the strong market that we have today. Speaker 300:33:07The same and we always have that look at every other acquisition that we take a look at. It's the same type of point of view. We get an understanding of who's in there, are they meeting the community needs, is there an opportunity to re tenant. And then again, I would say that Los Collinas was an example that we used of one that was several years ago. There was a significant re tenanting in that center. Speaker 300:33:32But with that, the traffic levels are much higher. Again, the quality of revenue is much better, and we've been able to raise the rents as well. So that's always been our approach in acquisition. I think it's been very successful and we'll continue doing it in the future. Okay, great. Speaker 300:33:50Thank you very much. Operator00:33:54Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of our question and answer session. And I would like to turn the call back over to Dave Holman for closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir. Speaker 200:34:07Well, thank everyone for joining us today. I'd just like to wrap up by saying I'm extremely proud of the progress that's been made at Whitestone. A little over 2 years ago, we put a new team in place at the leadership level. Our Board significantly reshaped itself and we made commitments to shareholders. Since that time, I'm extremely proud that we've delivered on those commitments. Speaker 200:34:33And I guess I'll just leave you with today, I'm also extremely confident that the momentum and the progress we have today is going to only continue to accelerate as we move through this year and into the coming years. We have great assets, great markets, have a great team, and we thank you so much for your support. As I said in my comments, number of conferences coming up over the next few months. So love to run into some of you at NAREIT or other places. If there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to reach out. Speaker 200:35:06Thank you. Operator00:35:10Thank you, Phil. Ladies and gentlemen, that then concludes today's conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.Read morePowered by Key Takeaways Whitestone reaffirmed its 2024 guidance, targeting ~11% core FFO per share growth, robust same-store NOI expansion and a record year-end occupancy rate. In Q1, new and renewal leases delivered a blended 17% straight-line rental increase (9.3% on a cash basis), lifting occupancy to 93.6% and average base rent to $23.83 (+7.2% YoY). Quarterly results featured 3.7% top-line revenue growth, 3.1% same-store NOI growth and core FFO per share of $0.24, in line with year-ago levels despite proxy contest fees. Capital recycling remains active, with $84 million in dispositions at a 6.2% cap rate and $104 million in acquisitions at a 7.1% cap rate, plus an additional ~$25 million in sales pending. The balance sheet was further strengthened with debt to EBITDAre at 7.8x, rate-locking $55 million of seven-year mortgage debt at 6.2%, and aiming for sub-7x leverage and >85% fixed-rate debt by Q4. A.I. generated. May contain errors.Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallWhitestone REIT Q1 202400:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Whitestone REIT Earnings HeadlinesTruist Financial Lowers Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Price Target to $14.00May 14, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comWhitestone REIT (WSR) Target Price Adjusted by Analyst | WSR Stock NewsMay 12, 2025 | gurufocus.comA grave, grave error.I thought what happened 25 years ago was a once- in-a-lifetime event… but how wrong I was. Because here we are, a quarter of a century later, almost to the exact day, and it’s happening again. May 22, 2025 | Porter & Company (Ad)Whitestone REIT (WSR) Price Target Reduced by Truist Analyst | WSR Stock NewsMay 12, 2025 | gurufocus.comWhitestone REIT acquires San Clemente in TexasMay 10, 2025 | seekingalpha.comWhitestone REIT Acquires San Clemente Neighborhood Retail Center in AustinMay 8, 2025 | globenewswire.comSee More Whitestone REIT Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Whitestone REIT? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Whitestone REIT and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Whitestone REITWhitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) (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. 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There are 8 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, David Mordy, Director of Investor Relations. Operator00:00:08Please go ahead, sir. Speaker 100:00:10Good morning, and thank you for joining Whitestone REIT's Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Joining me on today's call are Dave Holman, Chief Executive Officer Christine Mastandrea, Chief Operating Officer and Scott Hogan, Chief Financial Officer. Please note that some statements made during this call are not historical and may be deemed forward looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those forward looking statements due to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Please refer to the company's earnings news release and filings with the SEC, including Whitestone's most recent Form 10 Q and 10 ks for a detailed discussion of these factors. Speaker 100:00:47Acknowledging the fact that this call may be webcast for a period of time, it is also important to note that this call includes time sensitive information that may be accurate only as of today's date, May 2, 2024. The company undertakes no obligation to update this information. Whitestone's 1st quarter earnings news release and supplemental operating and financial data package have been filed with the SEC and are available on our website in the Investor Relations section. We published Q1 2024 slides on our website yesterday afternoon, which highlight topics to be discussed today. I will now turn the call over to Dave Holman, our Chief Executive Officer. Speaker 200:01:25Thank you, David. Good morning and once again we thank you for joining Whitestone's Q1 2024 earnings conference call. Let me begin by saying that we are very focused on delivering solid, consistent results for shareholders and our Q1 results are exactly that. We put out our 2024 full year guidance less than 2 months ago with strong core FFO per share growth of 11%, a robust same store NOI growth target and a goal to beat last year's record occupancy finish. The team is delivering and we are on track with our internal forecast and reaffirming our previously issued guidance. Speaker 200:02:15In the Q1, we signed new and renewal leases at a blended 17% increase over the prior leases on a straight line basis and 9.3% increase on a cash basis. We grew our top line revenue over 3.7%, produced 3.1% growth in same store NOI and achieved core FFO per share of $0.24 And we continued to strengthen our balance sheet with debt to EBITDAre at 7.8 times which was negatively impacted by professional fees in the quarter related to our proxy contest which Scott will go into further detail in his comments. Our occupancy was 93.6% at the end of the quarter, up 90 basis points from a year ago and our net effective annual base rent per square foot was $23.83 up 7.2% from 2023. Our occupancy levels and average base rent aren't just up significantly over the last year. Our occupancy has increased 230 basis points and our ABR is over 13% higher since I became the CEO at the beginning of 2022. Speaker 200:03:36This growth shows the value of our strategy and is a result of our new team's execution focus, the quality of our assets and the demand for these types of spaces we specialize in. As Texas and Arizona continue their rapid growth, as our leasing team continues to execute and as we continue our successful capital recycling efforts, we expect these important metrics to continue to increase. I'll have Christine discuss our leasing and organic growth more shortly. Our capital recycling efforts are going very well also. This year, we have completed the sale of 1 center for $28,000,000 and acquired 2 centers for approximately $50,000,000 Since we began our recycling efforts in late 2022, we now have completed $84,000,000 in dispositions at an average cap rate of 6.2 percent based on the trailing 12 month NOI and we have completed $104,000,000 of acquisitions at an aggregate cap rate of 7.1% which is based on actual or projected year 1 NOI. Speaker 200:04:50Our next two transactions, which are underway, will be property sales of about $25,000,000 balancing out our disposition and acquisition level. Let me delve into the acquisitions a little bit. Garden Oaks is an Aldi anchored center located in the pathway of significant residential and commercial development and which sits on a major thoroughfare in our Houston market with 30,000 vehicles per day passing by. The center has a strong mix of 19 service and convenience based tenants and has significant potential for Enfield development. The surrounding neighborhood has seen residential property values increase nearly 50% since 2019. Speaker 200:05:37Our most recent acquisition was Scottsdale Commons in our Phoenix market and is another great add to our portfolio. Scottsdale Commons is located on the 2nd most trafficked intersection in Scottsdale, is home to 20 tenants and has a surrounding 3 mile average household income of over $135,000 The center acts as a gateway linking North Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. Both centers fit very well with our strategy and will benefit from our in place leasing and property management teams who are eager to get to work growing cash flow and increasing the value of the centers. Looking out slightly longer than the next couple of quarters, I think it is critical to look at what we're hearing from not only our current but prospective shareholders. We've doubled the percentage of our active institutional shareholders over the last few years and what is needed to continue expanding our shareholder base is to extend our track record of steady FFO growth while simultaneously improving our balance sheet. Speaker 200:06:47As I mentioned, we are forecasting 11% core FFO per share growth this year, driven primarily by strong same store NOI growth. With the vast majority of our debt locked until 2027, we have a clear runway for growth not just this year, but into 2025, 'twenty six and 'twenty seven. In addition, our earnings growth combined with free cash flow is driving our debt to EBITDA ratio down. We are forecasting sub-seven times debt to EBITDAre by the 4th quarter and that does not assume we collect the bulk of the Pillarstone judgment until 2025. This metric should improve noticeably in the Q4 due to annual percent of sale clauses in many of our leases that typically contribute significantly to the Q4 as well as the anticipated drop in our G and A expenses once we're past the proxy season. Speaker 200:07:51In summary, we are very well lined up to do exactly what we need to do. We're looking forward to connecting with many investors. And for those of you attending REIT Week in June, we'd love to meet with you at that conference. I hope you'll come by and see us. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Christine. Speaker 300:08:12Good morning, everyone. As Dave mentioned, we remain confident in terms of achieving our 2024 objectives and are on track within our internal monthly and quarterly goals. Occupancy remains high at 93.6%, up 90 basis points from a year ago. Anchor occupancy was 96.9% and smaller space occupancy was 91.6%. We achieved renewal leasing spreads of 15% and new leasing spreads of 25.9 percent for a combined overall positive leasing spread of 17% in the quarter. Speaker 300:08:47I remain confident in the leasing team executing in our projections for the year. However, this is the strongest environment we've ever seen in Texas and Arizona for all size spaces in all the categories we serve across our mix of tenants of food, grocery, restaurants, health, wellness and beauty, financial services, other services, education and entertainment. And I anticipate the next couple of years will bring the same as there's an increasing growth and a new demography that are showing a new interest and new types of things to do in their lives. One of the things that we look for in our tenants is the best in class operators, whether it's an Aldi or the Pickler, one of our keys to success is not just evaluating the credit quality of a potential tenant, but their skill as operators and their ability to succeed over the next 5, 10 and even 20 years. This environment is the perfect time to secure these businesses and ensure that our centers have the right drivers for the future success. Speaker 300:09:45Regarding the acquisitions we've recently closed, Garden Oaks, Houston and Scottsdale Commons in Arizona, Our leasing team knows how to deliver returns on these acquisitions, especially given the strong starting fundamentals. There are excellent visibility on major thoroughfares and fast growing surrounding neighborhoods and dense areas that are supply constrained in terms of more retail development. These factors provide for an infill development and make these acquisitions similar to, for example, our Los Colinas acquisition in late 2019. Since 2019, we have replaced 50% of the tenants in Los Collinas. We've increased the NOI by 35% and strengthened the traffic drivers for the center, which allows us to continue to drive value for the center both for our tenants, the neighborhoods and for Whitestone. Speaker 300:10:34With that, I'll keep my comments short today and turn it over to Scott to cover the financials. Scott? Speaker 400:10:41Thank you, Christine and good morning. Our solid first quarter results demonstrate the strength of our high quality portfolio of properties as evidenced by robust leasing spreads and positive same store NOI growth. Our core FFO per share was $0.24 for the quarter versus $0.24 for the same period in 2023. As Dave mentioned, we remain on track for our core FFO per share guidance of $0.98 to 1 point $4 We are also on track for our previous projections of same store NOI growth, ending occupancy, interest expense and debt to EBITDAre. We have increased our projection for net income and G and A expense to reflect the gain from our Q1 disposition and to reflect proxy contest professional fees. Speaker 400:11:38Our Q1 G and A expense included approximately $400,000 of professional fees related to our proxy contest and we expect that our Q2 will include $1,200,000 in professional fees related to our proxy contest. Additionally, bad debt was a bit higher in the Q1 primarily from a small number of tenants we are now in the process of re tenanting. We anticipate that number will come down for the remaining quarters. On the whole, we've taken significant steps to reduce earnings variables and allow for our same our strong same store NOI growth to continue to drive earnings growth and balance sheet improvement. Same store NOI was 3.1 percent or same store NOI growth was 3.1% for the quarter, which is exactly what we need in order to drive the $0.07 earnings growth expected to come from same store NOI growth in 2024. Speaker 400:12:38We redeemed our Pillarstone OP units in January. So going forward, our income statement no longer has a deficit related to Pillarstone and any associated variability. We'll keep you updated on our collection efforts and our guidance does not assume much of that occurs in 2024 and we may have some significant stretches with no update as our collection efforts progress. We are also in the process of covering off maturities we have coming due later in the year and are currently rate locked for approximately $55,000,000 of 7 year mortgage debt at 6.2%. Accordingly, I anticipate our fixed debt rate percentage will be greater than 85% by the end of the year. Speaker 400:13:24Furthermore, if the 2 upcoming dispositions Dave mentioned close as expected, our fixed debt percentage will increase as we reduce our overall debt. Let me wrap up our prepared comments by saying we are excited to be able to support the businesses that populate our centers, but most of all we are thrilled to deliver results to our shareholders. We look forward to connecting with you in the weeks and months ahead. And with that, let's open the line for questions. Operator00:14:00Thank you, sir. At this time, we will be conducting a question and answer session. The first question we have comes from Mitch Germain of JMP Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:14:37Good morning. Speaker 600:14:40Can you provide some perspective on some of the nuances related to the JV accounting now that you've redeemed the units? Speaker 400:14:52Yes. Sure Mitch. This is Scott. As we mentioned on the call, in January, we redeemed our OP units, which changes the accounting from that of equity method accounting because we're no longer a partner in Pillarstone to an accounting where we have collection effort around the redemption. So there is a $30,000,000 or $31,000,000 receivable. Speaker 400:15:25And then as the guarantor on Pillarstone's only loan, we paid $13,600,000 Both of those are amounts that we're working to collect through the bankruptcy. And we're confident that we'll collect at least that much through the bankruptcy process. Speaker 200:15:45Hey, Mitch. Sorry, Scott. I was going to just add one thing, which was real positive. Obviously, it will take some of the volatility that we've had in past quarters out of our results as we no longer will be recording those deficits from Pillarstone that we had in 2023. Sorry, Scott, didn't mean to step on you there. Speaker 400:16:07That's okay. Did I answer it, Mitch? Or are there any other Speaker 600:16:11Yes. So two questions. One, there's no more management fee as well Speaker 500:16:15about it? Speaker 400:16:17Well, we haven't had a management fee from Pillarstone since August of 'twenty two when we canceled the management contract. Speaker 600:16:24So Oh, that's right. I'm sorry Speaker 400:16:25about that. Yes. Really what we've had with Pillarstone is a JV where there haven't been any distributions to us or any funding from us to Pillarstone. It's just been an equity method accounting exercise that ended on January 25 when we redeemed our OP units. Speaker 600:16:45And is the deposit on the debt was that money out the door by you guys or? Speaker 400:16:54That was it was money out the door. We have a right of subrogation now. I didn't mention that there'll be a disclosure in our 10 Q around this, but in April, Pillarstone and the lender filed a motion to settle the loan with Uptown Tower whereby Pillarstone will pay by June 10 or can pay by June 10 $1,100,000 more. And then that releases the liens the lender has against the asset and releases Whitestone as the guarantor and then allows Pillarstone to hopefully sell the property and then Whitestone would have a right of subrogation against Pillarstone. We think there's a contract for $26,000,000 on that building right now. Speaker 400:17:52So the amount should cover our $13,000,000 claim. Speaker 600:17:57Got you. They have a contractual right to do that despite what's happening between both entities now with those potential settlement from the court? Speaker 400:18:08They have to work through the bankruptcy court. But getting the lender out of the equation is a good thing and that the loan that I was just talking about is the only loan against any of the properties that they have. Speaker 200:18:22Yes. Okay. Speaker 600:18:26Legal fees that you guided to in addition to the proxy costs, is that all baked for G and N? Speaker 400:18:40I'm sorry, I didn't understand the last part of the question. It was legal fees. So there's legal fees and Your Speaker 600:18:46G and A guidance, right? Yes, you've got G and A guidance that went out quarter over quarter. Obviously, you're backing out the proxy costs, but that still includes legal, correct? Speaker 400:18:58We haven't changed the guidance on the legal fees. There can be timing on that depending on when hearings happen and so forth. So I think we had a little more in the Q1. The full year legal fees we don't think are going to change. And the only change to the guidance was just the proxy fees that we mentioned. Speaker 600:19:17Yes, great. Okay. And then can I give some color on the asset sales? You sold the property. Sounds like $28,000,000 or so. Speaker 600:19:29And then you've got another one that's or another 1 or 2 queued up. How should I just think about what's been done and what we should anticipate going forward? Sure. Speaker 200:19:43It's Dave. I'll take that one. So I think we announced a couple of years ago the intent to continue just refining the portfolio, looking at assets that we felt like were either very attractively valued or assets that had less upside in the future and recycling those into some new properties. I think in my earlier, I commented on we're about $100,000,000 once we close the next two acquisitions. We've done the dispositions at a cap rate of approximately $6,200,000 and we've been able to acquire properties with a day 1 cash flow of 7.1%. Speaker 200:20:23And obviously, more importantly, much more upside in really great areas with opportunity. So I think as you think about our recycling efforts, I mean, this is no different than a portfolio. We're going to continue probably looking to turn we've done $100,000,000 in 2 years. That's probably a decent run rate that we would do going forward and redeploying that. We are seeing some positive movement on the cap rates on acquisitions as evidenced. Speaker 200:20:54But right now, we're pleased with the efforts. We think they're contributing significantly. If you look at the new properties we have bought, better demographics, higher incomes, higher ABRs, just continuing to strengthen the portfolio at Whitestone. Speaker 600:21:10Okay. Understood. Just one more follow-up. The $28,000,000 closed when in the quarter? Speaker 200:21:18So the $28,000,000 closed in the Scott, do you remember the date? It was in the Q1. You're talking about the asset sale? Yes. Was towards the end of March. Speaker 200:21:28Yes. Speaker 600:21:29So, Speaker 400:21:30yes, that's towards the end of March. Speaker 600:21:33And then you've got $25,000,000 in process, right? Speaker 200:21:39That's right. And that will be timing wise right now, that's expected to be potentially in the Q2, but definitely, if not Q2, early Q3. And there's risk, but we feel very confident with what we're moving forward and just continuing to execute on the recycling efforts. Speaker 600:21:59Thank you. Speaker 200:22:00Thanks, Mitch. Operator00:22:04Thank you. The next question we have comes from Gaurav Mehta of Alliance Global Partners. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:22:11Good morning. I wanted to follow-up on the asset sales. Just to clarify the $80,000,000 number that you have in the slide, does that include $25,000,000 or you would have $25,000,000 on top of $80,000,000 Speaker 200:22:26It does not. The $84,000,000 is the actual dispositions. I think the dispositions. I think the comment we were making is we have about $100,000,000 in acquisitions, roughly $80,000,000 in dispositions. The next two transactions will really balance that. Speaker 200:22:41So we're going to have got about an additional $20 ish million to go, just continuing to refine the portfolio, upgrade the portfolio with by recycling and without the need for external capital. Speaker 500:22:55Okay. Okay, great. Second question on your leverage. I think you touched upon this in your prepared remarks, but hoping to get some more color on your debt to EBITDA going from 7.8% to the guidance of 6.6% to 7 Speaker 400:23:13Sure. In the Q1 of this year, we've got some elevated G and A cost around legal pertaining to our efforts with Pillarstone and also proxy contest costs. We also expect NOI to grow throughout the year and debt to continue to improve by the time we get to the Q4. So I think we'll see improvement both in the numerator and the denominator by the time we get to the end of the year through top line growth and also through lower G and A cost. Speaker 500:23:50Okay. Maybe one more follow-up on the balance sheet. The 2024, I think the $55,000,000 debt that you've talked about earlier on the call, you said 6.2% rate. Is that the rate that's expiring on that debt? Or is that the rate you're seeing in the market? Speaker 400:24:12That's the right lock we have on that loan. And I didn't understand the second part of the question about the market, sorry. Speaker 500:24:19And I guess where would you how do you plan to replace that debt? Would you be looking to do another purchase debt or put that on the line? Speaker 400:24:28That is the I mean that is the replacement debt. So we would it's a $55,000,000 loan and then we'd use those proceeds to pay down the revolver. Speaker 200:24:39We have about $50,000,000 of debt maturities this year. And basically, I think this is just replacing those, right, Scott? That's right. Speaker 600:24:49Yes. Speaker 500:24:50Okay. Understood. Speaker 200:24:51Thank you. Thank you. Operator00:24:56Thank you. The next question we have comes from John Massocca of B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 200:25:10Good morning. Good morning. Speaker 700:25:14Going back to the capital recycling, I caught the acquisition cap rates, but what's the disposition cap rates and the kind of the other leg of that of those transactions? Speaker 200:25:25Sure, John. Yes, we've done $84,000,000 in dispositions since October of 'twenty two. Those have been at a disposition cap rate of 6.2 based on the trailing 12 month NOI. The acquisitions, the other side have been at a 7.1 cap rate on 1st year NOI actual or projected. Speaker 700:25:52And maybe how does year to date compare to that longer term number? Speaker 200:25:59I think you're asking what's our volume level for recycling? Is that what you're asking? Speaker 700:26:05No, no, just cap rate. I was kind of like, how does the year to date cap rate compare to the number you're citing since 2022? Speaker 200:26:16Yes, I think it's right on it. So I mean, we're not trying to play with the period. It's just saying and looking at the most recent performance on a 12 month period, what we're buying versus what we're selling right now, there's about a 1% spread positive for us. Speaker 700:26:33Okay. And then maybe just kind of more holistically, I mean, just because they were in the same market, what makes something like selling Mercado at Scottsdale Ranch and moving into the other asset you purchased in Scottsdale, like what's kind of the logic in that those two transactions together? Speaker 300:26:52Sure. Let me help a little bit on this. So first of all, Mercado was in an area that was a bit challenged as far as locationally because it only had 180 degree trade area. So the trade area was somewhat limited along Shea Road and it was further closer to Fountain Hills. So what I look at is I always think about where's my location as far as infill in my trade area. Speaker 300:27:20What I like about so if you look for almost a swap from that type of asset where your trade area is limited by 180 degrees, which is pretty significant. That's because the Indian reservation surrounds it. And then you go all the way to Scottsdale and Shea, which is probably it's the northern gateway over to PB, Paradise Valley and also the east gateway to the 101 which goes around the city. So it's probably one of the best, what I consider one of the best intersections in the city of Scottsdale, versus a trade area that's limited. And that's been some of the recycling. Speaker 300:27:59So just to comment on some of the recycling that we have done. It's either been assets that are tapped out, limited trade areas, limited growth and opportunity. And the assets that we've purchased, I think we've exceeded our expectations on the rental rates and the lease up times. Speaker 700:28:18Okay. That makes sense. And then on the bad debt that increased, any kind of specific themes to call out there? Was that one tenant, multiple tenants, any particular tenant industry? Just looking for some more color on Speaker 400:28:32It's just a handful of tenants that we're working to re tenant and really upgrade and better serve gives us an opportunity also to better serve the community around the properties. It's not a pervasive issue across tenant base. It's really just probably 3 or 4 tenants. Speaker 300:28:53Yes. It really has been something that I think overall we've really improved this in our portfolio. And also as a team, as we've talked about this in the past that if we do have tenants out there that are weaker tenants, we'd rather remerchandise them in a strong market. So we've taken a very active stand towards that. And quite frankly, the team knows that we look at bad debt as something that is part of how we operate is something that is to be taken seriously and not to have a lingering number out there. Speaker 300:29:29So we've been very active in managing towards reducing what I would consider some challenges in the past. And as we talked about, we really look for quality of revenue going forward in the type of tenancy that we bring in. So I think the team has done a really good job with this and we continue to see improvement of that in the future. But I'm not I look for tenant weakness all the time. We also look through our portfolio to figure out where we need to be careful in leasing efforts in the future. Speaker 300:29:59And so far we've seen the market is really, really strong towards all tenant types. And I haven't seen like a significant amount of weakness in a certain type of tenant since COVID. Speaker 700:30:14Okay. And then maybe bigger picture, as you kind of think about capital recycling beyond the transactions that you completed or that are kind of in the pipeline, is that impacted at all by the ongoing proxy contest? I mean, you kind of need to take a pause on any strategic initiatives until that's completed? Or is it, we'll see the result of that and then adjust as need be? Speaker 200:30:41I think I would say, John, absolutely not. Our business is frankly firing on all cylinders. Our tenant demand is strong. We've got great locations. You've got a team that's synced and executing. Speaker 200:30:56We intend to keep delivering and keep laying down a track record. Speaker 700:31:02Okay. That's it for me. Thank you very much. Speaker 200:31:05Thank you. Operator00:31:08Thank you. The next question we have comes from Michael Diana, Maxim Group of Maxim Group LLC. Please go ahead. Okay. Speaker 300:31:22Thank you. Christine, you mentioned that in one of the two recent acquisitions you retenanted a lot, or there's a lot of retenanting. Can you just give us some more detail why were the new tenants better than the old? What were you doing there? I wouldn't consider it's a lot of re tenanting. Speaker 300:31:43It's just that what we look at when we buy a center, we so we have an approach a couple of different approaches that we take. First of all, is it serving successfully serving the community. And we look for opportunities that maybe there are some tenants that have been just rolling forward in portfolios or properties that haven't been actively managed. And those types of tenants are maybe not serving the community as well as they could be, their sales numbers aren't there, the management of the business is not as active as it should be. We take those opportunities to remerchandise because we think that first of all, again, our goal is to successfully serve the community. Speaker 300:32:26And in doing so, we look for those types of businesses that do that and have the strong sales to match that. So an example is I think is a really good one is when we bought the one in Woodlands, which has been a really a phenomenal property, it's a really well located property. We've been able to re tenant 2 of the operators in there and significantly raise the rents at the same time. So we've gotten stronger operators and have been able to raise the rents. And again, we look at that because the area is such a strong area, why shouldn't we move in that direction, especially with the strong market that we have today. Speaker 300:33:07The same and we always have that look at every other acquisition that we take a look at. It's the same type of point of view. We get an understanding of who's in there, are they meeting the community needs, is there an opportunity to re tenant. And then again, I would say that Los Collinas was an example that we used of one that was several years ago. There was a significant re tenanting in that center. Speaker 300:33:32But with that, the traffic levels are much higher. Again, the quality of revenue is much better, and we've been able to raise the rents as well. So that's always been our approach in acquisition. I think it's been very successful and we'll continue doing it in the future. Okay, great. Speaker 300:33:50Thank you very much. Operator00:33:54Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of our question and answer session. And I would like to turn the call back over to Dave Holman for closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir. Speaker 200:34:07Well, thank everyone for joining us today. I'd just like to wrap up by saying I'm extremely proud of the progress that's been made at Whitestone. A little over 2 years ago, we put a new team in place at the leadership level. Our Board significantly reshaped itself and we made commitments to shareholders. Since that time, I'm extremely proud that we've delivered on those commitments. Speaker 200:34:33And I guess I'll just leave you with today, I'm also extremely confident that the momentum and the progress we have today is going to only continue to accelerate as we move through this year and into the coming years. We have great assets, great markets, have a great team, and we thank you so much for your support. As I said in my comments, number of conferences coming up over the next few months. So love to run into some of you at NAREIT or other places. If there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to reach out. Speaker 200:35:06Thank you. Operator00:35:10Thank you, Phil. Ladies and gentlemen, that then concludes today's conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.Read morePowered by