Scott Schaeffer
Analyst · Baird. Your line is open
Thank you, Alex. The third quarter delivered results in line with our expectations, while also building momentum in our value add initiatives and strengthening our portfolio through capital recycling activity, and lastly solidifying our balance sheet by extending our debt maturities with a new five year term loan subsequent to quarter end. For the third quarter Core FFO was $0.19 per share, unchanged both year-over-year and sequentially, while same-store NOI grew at 1.9%, the high end of our quarterly guidance range provided with their Q2 earnings report. As we move into the last two months of the year and through 2019, our investment thesis remains on track. From a macro perspective, the recent softening of existing housing sales along with a rising interest rate environment is a positive for the multifamily rental market. Further when we look at our portfolio, we continue to be encouraged by the strong fundamentals and demographic trends in our markets that are driving consistent demand for multifamily product at attractive rental rates. Jobs and population growth continue to outpace both gateway markets and the national average, providing a strong foundation for continued acceleration. Our value-add program which commenced in early 2018 continues to be a major initiative for IRT as we seek to organically unlock value in our portfolio. We have identified opportunities to improve unit interiors and in some cases building exteriors which is increasing rental rates and reducing operating costs. We are confident that this program will continue to improve our rental profile, generate strong returns on investment and increase long term value for our shareholders. To that end we have transformative projects under way in 12 of the 14 phase 1 and phase 2 communities, and are realizing the rent premiums and return on investment we projected for our renovated and lased units. Specifically, these new units are generating an average monthly rent premium of $173 per unit and we are completing the projects at budget. This has enabled us to deliver an 18% return on investment. Even with these rent premiums, our units are priced below comparable new construction. Further, we continue to expect phases 1 and 2 of the value add program to generate between $8 million and $9 million of incremental annual NOI upon completion. While the long term returns are on track with expectations, during the latter half of the summer the disruption from the renovation process caused increased vacancy due to lower than anticipated lease renewals at four of our value add communities. The occupancy impact has culminated in lower near-term top-line rent than we had originally anticipated. Concurrently we also experienced some staffing challenges at these four value add properties, including filling open positions and having the appropriate skilled labor to process the higher volume of unit renovations. These issues are resolved, occupancy is beginning to rebound at these communities and it is expected to stabilize in the first quarter of next year with a higher credit profile resident paying a higher rents. These challenges will delay the completion at these four properties, but do not alter the ultimate value creation for the program. We've learned from this experience, we have the right team in place; we've improved the processes of renovating units and delivering them for leasing. We will continue to provide you with a detailed disclosure of the redevelopment projects going forward, and I encourage you to review the supplemental we posted on our Investor Relations website this morning. As a result of the occupancy drag at the four value add communities, we are adjusting our Q4 and full year same-store NOI expectations which Jim will discuss momentarily. Additionally we now forecast that the completion of the phase 1 and phase 2 initiatives to be pushed out by approximately six months. This puts the conclusion of phase 1 into the second quarter of 2019 and the completion of phase 2 in early 2020. Turning to capital recycling, we are building critical scale in our core markets through new acquisitions, including four new communities since the start of the third quarter. Two communities are located in Tampa; one in Columbus, Ohio; and one in Atlanta, all target markets that we have pro-actively chosen to increase our footprint and to build economies of scale based on the superior supply-demand fundamentals for middle-market rental housing. Additionally, the dispositions are on track with four of the community's held for sale, expected to close by year end and the fifth expected to close in January. Lastly on the financing side, we are pleased to announce the issuance of a new five year term loan which strengthens our capital position and provides us with increased flexibility to continue to execute our accretive investment and operational strategies moving forward. The proceeds were used to pay down our revolving line of credit and therefore do not impact our overall debt levels. Before passing the call on to Farrell to discuss our markets in more depth, I would like to take a moment to highlight the hard work and dedication of our teams on the ground in the Carolinas in the hurricane Florence. We were fortunate to suffer no material damage to any of our communities, although our team was ready and available to help with any debris clean up and outreach needed in the broader communities we serve. Farrell?