SITE Centers Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2021 Operating Results

SITE Centers Corp. (NYSE: SITC), an owner of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities, announced today operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021.

“Fourth quarter and full-year 2021 results were ahead of expectations on almost every front with record new leasing activity and above-guidance investment volume funded, in part, by proceeds from the $190 million of preferred dividends paid to SITE Centers by Retail Value Inc.,” commented David R. Lukes, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe the elevated levels of demand for space at our properties from national credit tenants, along with investments made in 2021 that offer expected occupancy and rent upside, position SITE Centers for a multi-year period of sustainable growth.”

Results for the Fourth Quarter

• Fourth quarter net income attributable to common shareholders was $56.2 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $6.4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. The year-over-year increase in net income was primarily attributable to increased property net operating income driven by revenue growth, the impact of property acquisitions and lower uncollectible revenue as well as gains associated with the sale of joint venture assets.
• Fourth quarter operating funds from operations attributable to common shareholders (“Operating FFO” or “OFFO”) was $63.8 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, compared to $48.3 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to increased property net operating income driven by revenue growth, the impact of property acquisitions and lower uncollectible revenue partially offset by lower management fees. Fourth quarter Operating FFO results included $1.4 million of net revenue at SITE Centers’ share related to prior periods primarily from cash basis tenants and related reserve adjustments.

Results for the Year

• Net income attributable to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $106.1 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, which compares to net income of $15.2 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the prior year.
• Operating FFO was $1.17 per diluted share for the full year 2021, which compares to $0.99 per diluted share for 2020. 2021 Operating FFO results included $13.8 million of net revenue, or $0.07 per diluted share, at SITE Centers’ share related to prior periods primarily from cash basis tenants and related reserve adjustments.

Significant Fourth Quarter and Recent Activity

• In December 2021, acquired partner Madison International’s 80% interest in six assets for $107.2 million ($134 million at 100%) with the mortgage debt related to the properties repaid upon closing. Five of the six properties are anchored by Publix, are located in key Florida sub-markets where the Company has an existing presence including Miami and Tampa, and offer upside from a mix of leasing and tactical redevelopment opportunities.
• In December 2021, acquired the remaining interest in a 67% consolidated joint venture that owned one shopping center, Paradise Village Gateway (Phoenix, Arizona), for $15.1 million ($45.8 million at 100%) with the mortgage debt related to the property repaid upon closing. The joint venture partner’s 33% ownership was previously reflected as non-controlling interest on the Company’s balance sheet. In addition, the Company repaid mortgage debt of $27.6 million at closing. The property was 57.4% leased at closing offering significant expected occupancy upside.
• Acquired Emmet Street North (Charlottesville, Virginia), one income producing parcel adjacent to Nassau Park Pavilion (Princeton, New Jersey) and one land parcel adjacent to Belgate Shopping Center (Charlotte, North Carolina) for an aggregate purchase price of $20.8 million.
• Sold two unconsolidated shopping centers for an aggregate sales price of $82.1 million, totaling $54.7 million at SITE Centers’ share.
• Agreed to sell its 20% interest in the SAU Joint Venture to its partner, the State of Utah, based on a gross asset value of $155.7 million (at 100%). The transaction is expected to close by June 2022. Fee income from the SAU joint venture totaled $1.0 million in 2021.
• In October 2021, received a cash distribution of $190.0 million on the Retail Value Inc. (“RVI”) Series A Preferred Shares, which represents the full amount to be paid by RVI on account of the Company’s preferred investment.
• In the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company sold 525,226 common shares on a forward basis under its ATM program at a weighted-average price of $16.87 per share before issuance costs, generating expected gross proceeds of $8.9 million. The shares may be settled at any time before the settlement date, December 8, 2022, with no shares settled to date.
• In October 2021, repaid $87.6 million of consolidated mortgage debt, which was scheduled to mature in January 2022.
• In the first quarter of 2022, acquired Artesia Village (Scottsdale, Arizona) for an aggregate price of $14.5 million.

Significant Full-Year 2021 Activity

• Acquired ten shopping centers (including through the acquisition of partners’ interests), one income producing parcel and one land parcel for an aggregate price of $222.8 million.
• Sold six unconsolidated shopping centers and several wholly-owned land parcels for an aggregate sales price of $166.6 million, totaling $96.5 million at SITE Centers’ share.
• Sold a parcel of undeveloped land in Richmond Hills, Ontario held in a joint venture. SITE Centers’ share of net proceeds totaled $22.1 million after accounting for customary closing costs and foreign currency translation but before income taxes.
• Over the course of the year, sold 2,225,698 common shares on a forward basis under its ATM program at a weighted-average price of $15.77 per share before issuance costs generating expected gross proceeds of $35.1 million. No shares have been settled to date.
• In March 2021, sold 17.25 million common shares in a registered public offering resulting in net proceeds of $225.3 million.
• In April 2021, redeemed all $150.0 million aggregate liquidation preference of its outstanding 6.250% Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares.

Key Quarterly Operating Results

• Reported an increase of 14.9% in SSNOI on a pro rata basis for the fourth quarter of 2021, including redevelopment, as compared to the year-ago period. The fourth quarter 2021 results were favorably impacted by lower year-over-year uncollectible revenue and prior period rent collections from cash basis tenants in addition to higher minimum rent.
• Generated new leasing spreads of 13.1% and renewal leasing spreads of 2.2%, both on a pro rata basis, for the trailing twelve-month period ended December 31, 2021 and new leasing spreads of 14.7% and renewal leasing spreads of 4.0%, both on a pro rata basis, for the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Reported a leased rate of 92.7% at December 31, 2021 on a pro rata basis, compared to 92.3% on a pro rata basis at September 30, 2021 and 91.6% on a pro rata basis at December 31, 2020. Fourth quarter transaction activity had a negative impact on the leased and commenced rate.
• As of December 31, 2021, the signed but not opened spread was 260 basis points representing $15.2 million of annualized base rent on a pro rata basis.
• Annualized base rent per occupied square foot on a pro rata basis was $18.33 at December 31, 2021, compared to $18.50 at December 31, 2020.

Base Rent Collections Overview

• As of January 31, 2022, the Company’s tenants, at the Company’s share, had paid approximately 99% of 2021 rent.

Guidance

The Company estimates net income attributable to common shareholders for 2022 to be from $0.19 to $0.26 per diluted share and Operating FFO to be from $1.08 to $1.13 per diluted share.

Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders to FFO and Operating FFO estimates:

Other key assumptions for 2022 guidance include:

About SITE Centers Corp.

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC. Additional information about the Company is available at www.sitecenters.com. To be included in the Company’s e-mail distributions for press releases and other investor news, please click here.

Conference Call and Supplemental Information

The Company will hold its quarterly conference call today at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate with access to the slide presentation, please visit the Investor Relations portion of SITE's website, ir.sitecenters.com, or for audio only, dial 888-317-6003 (U.S.), 866-284-3684 (Canada) or 412-317-6061 (international) using pass code 1508588 at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. The call will also be webcast and available in a listen-only mode on SITE Centers’ website at ir.sitecenters.com. If you are unable to participate during the live call, a replay of the conference call will also be available at ir.sitecenters.com for further review. You may also access the telephone replay by dialing 877-344-7529 (U.S.), 855-669-9658 (Canada) or 412-317-0088 (international) using passcode 3804753 through March 9, 2022. Copies of the Company’s supplemental package and earnings slide presentation are available on the Company’s website.

Non-GAAP Measures

Funds from Operations (“FFO”) is a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure used as a standard in the real estate industry and is a widely accepted measure of real estate investment trust (“REIT”) performance. Management believes that both FFO and Operating FFO provide additional indicators of the financial performance of a REIT. The Company also believes that FFO and Operating FFO more appropriately measure the core operations of the Company and provide benchmarks to its peer group.

FFO is generally defined and calculated by the Company as net income (loss) (computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”)), adjusted to exclude (i) preferred share dividends, (ii) gains and losses from disposition of real estate property and related investments, which are presented net of taxes, (iii) impairment charges on real estate property and related investments, including reserve adjustments of preferred equity interests, (iv) gains and losses from changes in control and (v) certain non-cash items. These non-cash items principally include real property depreciation and amortization of intangibles, equity income (loss) from joint ventures and equity income (loss) from non-controlling interests and adding the Company’s proportionate share of FFO from its unconsolidated joint ventures and non-controlling interests, determined on a consistent basis. The Company’s calculation of FFO is consistent with the definition of FFO provided by NAREIT. The Company calculates Operating FFO as FFO excluding certain non-operating charges, income and gains. Operating FFO is useful to investors as the Company removes non-comparable charges, income and gains to analyze the results of its operations and assess performance of the core operating real estate portfolio. Other real estate companies may calculate FFO and Operating FFO in a different manner.

In calculating the expected range for or amount of net (loss) income attributable to common shareholders to estimate projected FFO and Operating FFO for future periods, the Company does not include a projection of gain and losses from the disposition of real estate property, potential impairments and reserves of real estate property and related investments, debt extinguishment costs, certain transaction costs or certain fee income. Other real estate companies may calculate expected FFO and Operating FFO in a different manner.

The Company also uses net operating income (“NOI”), a non-GAAP financial measure, as a supplemental performance measure. NOI is calculated as property revenues less property-related expenses. The Company believes NOI provides useful information to investors regarding the Company’s financial condition and results of operations because it reflects only those income and expense items that are incurred at the property level and, when compared across periods, reflects the impact on operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates, operating costs and acquisition and disposition activity on an unleveraged basis.

The Company presents NOI information herein on a same store basis or “SSNOI.” The Company defines SSNOI as property revenues less property-related expenses, which exclude straight-line rental income (including reimbursements) and expenses, lease termination income, management fee expense, fair market value of leases and expense recovery adjustments. SSNOI includes assets owned in comparable periods (15 months for quarter comparisons). In addition, SSNOI is presented both including and excluding activity associated with development and major redevelopment. SSNOI excludes all non-property and corporate level revenue and expenses. Other real estate companies may calculate NOI and SSNOI in a different manner. The Company believes SSNOI at its effective ownership interest provides investors with additional information regarding the operating performances of comparable assets because it excludes certain non-cash and non-comparable items as noted above.

FFO, Operating FFO, NOI and SSNOI do not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP, are not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs and should not be considered as alternatives to net income computed in accordance with GAAP, as indicators of the Company’s operating performance or as alternatives to cash flow as a measure of liquidity. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures have been provided herein. Reconciliation of the 2022 SSNOI projected growth target to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is not provided because the Company is unable to provide such reconciliation without unreasonable effort.

Safe Harbor

SITE Centers Corp. considers portions of the information in this press release to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended, with respect to the Company's expectation for future periods. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, among other factors, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s ability to manage its properties and finance its operations and on tenants’ ability to operate their businesses, generate sales and meet their financial obligations, including the obligation to pay rents; the Company’s ability to pay dividends; local conditions such as the supply of, and demand for, retail real estate space in the area; the impact of e-commerce; dependence on rental income from real property; the loss of, significant downsizing of or bankruptcy of a major tenant and the impact of any such event on rental income from other tenants and our properties; redevelopment and construction activities may not achieve a desired return on investment; our ability to buy or sell assets on commercially reasonable terms; our ability to complete acquisitions or dispositions of assets under contract; our ability to secure equity or debt financing on commercially acceptable terms or at all; impairment charges; our ability to enter into definitive agreements with regard to our financing and joint venture arrangements and the Company’s ability to satisfy conditions to the completion of these arrangements; valuation and risks relating to our joint venture investments; the termination of any joint venture arrangements or arrangements to manage real property; property damage, expenses related thereto and other business and economic consequences (including the potential loss of rental revenues) resulting from extreme weather conditions or natural disasters in locations where we own properties, and the ability to estimate accurately the amounts thereof; sufficiency and timing of any insurance recovery payments related to damages from extreme weather conditions or natural disasters; any change in strategy; our ability to maintain REIT status; and the finalization of the financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2021. For additional factors that could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate the risks described therein, any of which could have a material effect on the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

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