Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMB PROPERTY CORPORATION® PROVIDES UPDATE FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END 2008
RESULTS
SAN FRANCISCO, January 23, 2009 AMB Property Corporation® (NYSE: AMB) today announced
that it will incur charges in the fourth quarter 2008 related to the valuation of its development
program as well as its recently completed reduction in personnel. The company also provided updates
on its fourth quarter 2008 development gains, leasing, and financing activity.
As previously outlined, our top two priorities are to further strengthen our balance sheet and
reduce our cost structure so that it is in line with our current business plan. We continue to
manage the company for the long term and the actions we have taken in the fourth quarter put us in
a strong position to meet the challenges presented by a difficult global economic environment,
said Hamid R. Moghadam, AMBs chairman & CEO.
Impairment Charges
The company conducted a comprehensive review of its land holdings and development assets in
connection with the preparation of its fourth quarter 2008 financial results. To the extent that
the book value of a land parcel or development asset exceeded the fair market value of the
property, based on its intended holding period, a non-cash impairment charge was recognized for the
shortfall. For the fourth quarter and year ended 2008, the company expects to recognize non-cash
impairment charges of approximately $204 million or $2.01 per share. These charges represent
preliminary estimates and were not previously included in the companys earnings guidance for the
year ended December 31, 2008. Components of the impairment charges are as follows:
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The company examined the estimated fair value of all of its assets under development and
assets held for sale or contribution. The estimated fair value of each of these assets was
calculated based upon the companys intent to sell or contribute these properties, assumptions
regarding rental rates, costs to complete, lease-up and holding periods and sales prices or
contribution values. The company expects to incur an impairment charge of approximately
$97 million or $0.96 per share related to these assets which had an investment cost basis of
$734 million. |
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To determine the fair market value for its land holdings, the company considered its intent
to sell or to develop the parcels and, in the case of the latter, assumptions regarding rental
rates, costs to complete, lease-up and holding periods and sales prices or contribution values
were taken into account. The company expects to incur impairment charges of approximately
$95 million or $0.94 per share related to these parcels which had an investment cost basis of
$300 million. |
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The company expects to incur charges of approximately $12 million or $0.12 per share to
write-off pursuit costs related to development projects it no longer plans to commence and
to establish a reserve against tax assets associated with a reduction of development
activities. |
Pier 1, Bay 1 San Francisco, California 94111 Main 415 394.9000 Fax 415 394.9001 www.amb.com
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These charges are consistent with its previously stated decision to curtail development
activities. |
The impairment charges were principally a result of increases in estimated capitalization rates and
deterioration in market conditions that adversely impacted values. These non-cash charges do not
impact AMBs liquidity, cost and availability of credit or affect the companys continued
compliance with its various financial covenants under its credit facilities and unsecured bonds.
Restructuring Costs
To position the company to meet the challenges of the current business environment, the company
implemented more than a 22 percent reduction in its global headcount and cost structure which is
projected to result in a 20 percent savings in net general and administrative (G&A) expenses. These
restructuring costs, a third of which are non-cash, total approximately $14 million or $0.14 per
share and include costs associated with severance, office closures and the termination of certain
contractual obligations.
The decision to reduce our workforce was a difficult one and a first in AMBs 26 year history.
We greatly value the commitment and contributions of those colleagues who have left, as theyve
helped build our company. Our commitment to fulfilling the needs of our customers and to continue
to realize the benefits of our global platform remain intact, said Mr. Moghadam. We believe that
these actions better position the company for the current economic environment.
Development Gains
AMB expects development gains of $3 million or approximately $0.03 per share compared to its prior
forecast of $20 to $25 million, or $0.20 to $0.25 per share for the fourth quarter of 2008.
The shortfall in development gains from the companys prior guidance was primarily attributable
to the non-occurrence of an anticipated sale of a parcel of land that was previously under a sales
contract. In preparation for the sale, the land was rezoned for retail use which the company
expects will substantially enhance its value from its former industrial designation.
Leasing Activity
The company achieved a new leasing record of approximately 8.3 million square feet
(768,300 square meters) of its development pipeline in 2008, compared to 8.2 million square feet
(761,800 square meters) of development leasing in 2007.
Additionally, AMB leased more than 23.8 million square feet (2.2 million square meters) in its
global operating portfolio during 2008, maintained an average occupancy of 94.9 percent throughout
the year and was 95.1 percent occupied at December 31, 2008.
Capital Markets
The company successfully refinanced, extended and obtained new financings during the fourth
quarter, including:
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Resolved its 2008 maturities of $106 million by refinancing and extending debt in Japan and
China by one year |
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Converted $84 million of short-term debt into five-year non-recourse mortgage debt for
AMB Europe Fund I, at a floating rate which was 5.39 percent as of December 31, 2008 |
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Closed on $97 million non-recourse loan in Japan, with a three-year term and a floating
rate priced at a rate of less than 3 percent as of December 31, 2008. The proceeds were used
to pay down the Japanese Yen line of credit |
As of December 31, 2008, the company had approximately $934 million of capacity consisting of $224
million of consolidated cash and cash equivalents and $710 million of availability on its lines of
credit.
We continue to have sufficient capacity to fully fund the build-out of our development pipeline,
to hold all of our current development and held for sale or contribution assets on our balance
sheet, while maintaining compliance with our various financial covenants, said Thomas S. Olinger,
AMBs chief financial officer. We are extremely focused on our liquidity and addressing our
near-term debt maturities.
Earnings Call
The company is continuing to review its fourth quarter and year-end results. It is expected that
management will provide additional information and update 2009 guidance during its previously
scheduled earnings announcement on Thursday, January 29, 2009, prior to the market opening. The
company will then host a conference call to discuss the quarterly and year-end results at
1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST.
To access a live broadcast of the conference call, dial 877 447 8218 (from the U.S. and Canada)
or +1 706 643 7823 (from all other countries) and enter reservation code 78372583. You may
also access the live webcast of the conference call from the companys website at www.amb.com.
AMB Property Corporation.® Local partner to global trade.
AMB Property Corporation® is a leading owner, operator and developer of industrial real
estate, focused on major hub and gateway distribution markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
As of December 31, 2008, AMB owned, or had investments in, on a consolidated basis or
through unconsolidated joint ventures, properties and development projects expected to total
approximately 160 million square feet (14.9 million square meters) in 49 markets within
15 countries. AMB invests in properties located predominantly in the infill submarkets of its
targeted markets. The companys portfolio is comprised of High Throughput Distribution®
facilitiesindustrial properties built for speed and located near airports, seaports and ground
transportation systems.
AMBs press releases are available on the company website at www.amb.com or by contacting the
Investor Relations department at +1 415 394 9000.
Some of the information included in this press release contains forward-looking statements, such as
the extent of impairment charges and charges to write-off pursuit costs and to establish reserves
against tax assets, the estimated fair value of assets and land holdings, our intent to sell,
develop or contribute properties, our assumptions regarding rental rates, lease-up periods, costs
to complete, holding periods and sales prices, expectations regarding future liquidity,
availability and cost of credit, balance sheet capacity, cash flow, financial position, debt
maturity schedules, options to extend debt, debt capacity, compliance with financial covenants,
future development gains,
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actions regarding development deployment and expenses, future development funding costs and future
development completions, long-term value enhancement of rezoned properties and the companys
ability to meet future customer needs and economic challenges, which are made pursuant to the
safe-harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Because these forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause our actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, and you should not rely on the
forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events or circumstances reflected
in forward-looking statements might not occur. You can identify forward-looking statements by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as believes, expects, may, will, should, seeks,
approximately, intends, plans, pro forma, estimates or anticipates or the negative of
these words and phrases or similar words or phrases. You can also identify forward-looking
statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements are
necessarily dependent on assumptions, data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and we may
not be able to realize them. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which reflect our analysis only and speak only as of the date of this press release or
the dates indicated in the statements. We assume no obligation to update or supplement
forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and
future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking
statements: defaults on or non-renewal of leases by customers or renewals at lower than expected
rent, increased interest rates and operating costs, or greater than expected capital expenditures,
our failure to obtain necessary outside financing, re-financing risks, risks related to our
obligations in the event of certain defaults under co-investment ventures and other debt, risks
related to debt and equity security financings (including dilution risk), difficulties in
identifying properties to acquire and in effecting acquisitions, our failure to successfully
integrate acquired properties and operations, our failure to divest properties on advantageous
terms or to timely reinvest proceeds from any divestitures, risks and uncertainties affecting
property development, value-added conversions and construction (including construction delays, cost
overruns, our inability to obtain necessary permits and public opposition to these activities), our
failure to qualify and maintain our status as a real estate investment trust, risks related to our
tax structuring, failure to maintain our credit agency ratings, environmental uncertainties, risks
related to natural disasters, financial market fluctuations, changes in general economic conditions
or in the real estate sector, decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges, inflation
risks, changes in real estate and zoning laws or other local, state and federal regulatory
requirements, a continued or prolonged downturn in the U.S., California, or the global economy,
risks related to doing business internationally and global expansion, costs of opening offices
globally, risks of changing personnel and roles, losses in excess of our insurance coverage,
unknown liabilities acquired in connection with acquired properties or otherwise and increases in
real property tax rates. Our success also depends upon economic trends generally, including
interest rates, income tax laws, governmental regulation, legislation, population changes, various
market conditions and fluctuations and those other risk factors discussed under the heading Risk
Factors and elsewhere in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2007 and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
AMB CONTACT
Tracy A. Ward
Vice President, IR & Corporate Communications
Direct +1 415 733 9565
Email tward@amb.com
Rachel E. M. Bennett
Media and Public Relations Director
Direct +1 415 733 9532
Email rbennett@amb.com