Phillips Edison & Co. Provides Operational and Rent Updates
July 15, 2020
Phillips Edison & Co. Inc. said it is executing on its conservative capital allocation strategy, including repaying its revolving credit facility to a zero balance, and will reevaluate shareholder distributions once there is clarity surrounding the impact and duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
The nontraded grocery-anchored shopping center real estate investment trust said its June rent and recoveries totaled 87% of monthly billings, and 97% of its neighbor spaces are open as of July 10.
From the letter to shareholders dated July 14, 2020:
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (“PECO” or the “Company”), an internally-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored shopping centers, issued an update regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including rent and recovery collections for June 2020. Statistics include pro rata ownership through joint ventures and exclude statistics related to properties that have since been disposed.
Management Commentary
“The necessity-based nature of our neighbors has driven the rapid increase in store re-openings, as neighbors representing 98% of our annualized base rent are open for business as of July 10, 2020,” commented Jeff Edison, CEO of Phillips Edison. “Our portfolio has continued to see increasing foot traffic over recent weeks, which we believe impacted the positive trend in rent and recoveries collected over the past three months. June 2020 rent and recoveries totaled 87% of monthly billings, up from 84% for May 2020 and 82% for April 2020.”
“We continue to monitor our business, working closely with our neighbors during these challenging times, and are executing on our conservative capital allocation strategy, including repayment of our revolving credit facility to a zero balance. However, the recent surge in COVID-19 cases has created additional uncertainty around the economic recovery and its sustainability. When we are able to better understand the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will reevaluate stockholder distributions.”
April, May, and June 2020 Collection Details
The table below outlines how PECO’s neighbors have been impacted and the ensuing impact to PECO throughout the COVID-19 pandemic:
The Company will release its second quarter 2020 financial results and provide another update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-August 2020.
Sources: S&P Global, SEC
