Prologis Reports Third Quarter 2015 Earnings Results

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the global leader in industrial real estate, today reported results for the third quarter of 2015.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE QUARTER

  • Core funds from operations per diluted share was $0.58, up 21 percent year-over-year
  • Prologis' share of GAAP same store NOI increased 6.2 percent
  • Completed $733 million of dispositions and contributions at a 4.9 percent stabilized cap rate
  • Estimated value creation of $158 million from stabilizations, reflecting a 35.8 percent margin

"The team produced exceptionally strong financial and operating results in the third quarter," said Hamid Moghadam, chairman and CEO, Prologis. "The underlying trends in our businesses continue to be favorable, and as we look across our global portfolio, rents are trending higher while supply remains in check."

OPERATING RESULTS EXCEPTIONALLY STRONG


Owned & Managed

3Q15

3Q14

Notes

Occupancy

96.0%

95.0%

Up 60 basis points over 2Q15

Leases Signed

42.2MSF

40.8MSF


Customer Retention

87.0%

83.9%



Prologis Share

3Q15

3Q14

Notes

Rent Change (GAAP)

12.0%

11.9%

Driven by the U.S. at 16.4%

Rent Change (Cash)

3.6%

1.6%


Same store NOI (GAAP)

6.2%

3.9%

Driven by the U.S. at 8.0%

Same store NOI (Cash)

4.5%

4.7%


 

CAPITAL ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTED BY DISPOSITIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS


Prologis Share (Millions of $)

3Q15

YTD

Notes

Building Acquisitions

$240.3

$3,514.7


      Weighted avg stabilized cap rate

5.8%

5.5%


Development Stabilizations

$441.0

$1,350.1


      Value creation (estimate)

$157.9

$459.3

Weighted average yield (estimate) of 7.5%

      Weighted avg margin (estimate)

35.8%

34.0%


Development Starts

$229.0

$1,246.1


      Weighted avg margin (estimate)

27.5%

21.3%


      % Build-to-suit

36.0%

37.9%

Up from 28.8% in 3Q14

Total Dispositions and Contributions

$733.0

$1,704.7

3Q15 dispositions include $492.3 of
buildings and $78.5 of land

      Weighted avg stabilized cap rate

4.9%

4.8%

Excludes land and other real estate

"During the quarter we made good progress on our dispositions and contributions," said Tom Olinger, chief financial officer, Prologis. "Investor demand for high-quality industrial real estate around the world remains strong and we are confident in our ability to execute on our disposition and contribution activity planned through year-end."

GAAP NET EARNINGS
Net earnings per diluted share was $0.49 compared with $0.23 for the same period in 2014.

GUIDANCE MIDPOINT CONFIRMED AND RANGE NARROWED FOR 2015 CORE FFO
Core FFO guidance at the midpoint implies year-over-year growth of 17 percent.

Per diluted share

Previous

Revised

Core FFO

$2.18 to $2.22

$2.19 to $2.21

GAAP Net Earnings

$1.12 to $1.16

$1.51 to $1.53

The Core FFO and earnings guidance described above excludes any potential future gains (losses) recognized from real estate transactions. In reconciling from net earnings to Core FFO, Prologis makes certain adjustments, including but not limited to real estate depreciation and amortization expense, gains (losses) recognized from real estate transactions and early extinguishment of debt, acquisition costs, impairment charges, deferred taxes and unrealized gains or losses on foreign currency or derivative activity. The difference between the company's Core FFO and net earnings guidance for 2015 relates predominantly to these items.

WEBCAST & CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
Prologis will host a live webcast and conference call to discuss quarterly results, current market conditions and future outlook. Here are the event details:

  • Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 12 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time
  • Live webcast at http://ir.prologis.com or by clicking Investors>Investor Events and Presentations
  • Dial in: +1 877-256-7020 or +1 973-409-9692 and enter Passcode 48765491

A telephonic replay will be available Oct. 20-Oct. 27 at +1 855-859-2056 (from the U.S. and Canada) or +1 404-537-3406 (from all other countries); please use conference code 48765491. The webcast replay will be posted when available in the "Events & Presentations" section of Investor Relations on the Prologis website.

ABOUT PROLOGIS
Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in industrial real estate. As of September 30, 2015, Prologis owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 671 million square feet (62 million square meters) in 21 countries. The company leases modern distribution facilities to more than 5,200 customers, including third-party logistics providers, transportation companies, retailers and manufacturers.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry and markets in which Prologis operates, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management. Such statements involve uncertainties that could significantly impact Prologis' financial results. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature.  All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to rent and occupancy growth, development activity and changes in sales or contribution volume of properties, disposition activity, general conditions in the geographic areas where we operate, our debt and financial position, our ability to form new co-investment ventures and the availability of capital in existing or new co-investment ventures — are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained and therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may affect outcomes and results include, but are not limited to: (i) national, international, regional and local economic climates, (ii) changes in financial markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, (iii) increased or unanticipated competition for our properties, (iv) risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions and development of properties, (v) maintenance of real estate investment trust ("REIT") status and tax structuring, (vi) availability of financing and capital, the levels of debt that we maintain and our credit ratings, (vii) risks related to our investments in our co-investment ventures and funds, including our ability to establish new co-investment ventures and funds, (viii) risks of doing business internationally, including currency risks, (ix) environmental uncertainties, including risks of natural disasters, and (x) those additional factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Prologis under the heading "Risk Factors." Prologis undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this document.








Three Months ended September 30,


Nine Months ended September 30,

(dollars in thousands, except per share data)


2015


2014


2015


2014


Revenues


$ 580,622


$ 415,151


$ 1,553,873


$ 1,309,922


Net earnings attributable to common stockholders


258,979


136,245


744,425


213,626


Core FFO


307,268


244,896


835,532


706,726


AFFO


355,634


266,144


980,262


668,299


Adjusted EBITDA


566,615


450,604


1,421,646


1,215,303


Value creation from development stabilizations - Prologis share


157,906


56,921


459,290


189,646


Common stock dividends paid


209,935


166,697


587,776


500,025














Per common share - diluted:











Net earnings attributable to common stockholders


$       0.49


$       0.23


$          1.41


$          0.43



Core FFO


0.58


0.48


1.59


1.39



Business line reporting:












Real estate operations 


0.54


0.43


1.47


1.23




Strategic capital 


0.04


0.05


0.12


0.16




Core FFO


0.58


0.48


1.59


1.39




Realized development gains


0.24


0.16


0.39


0.22


Dividends per share


0.40


0.33


1.12


0.99

























 

(in thousands)

September 30, 2015


June 30, 2015


December 31, 2014

Assets:










Investments in real estate properties:











Operating properties


$ 23,499,186



$ 23,685,534



$       18,635,452



Development portfolio


1,575,389



1,547,395



1,473,980



Land


1,569,416



1,597,802



1,577,786



Other real estate investments


625,367



632,318



502,927







27,269,358



27,463,049



22,190,145



Less accumulated depreciation


3,156,445



3,075,438



2,790,781





Net investments in real estate properties


24,112,913



24,387,611



19,399,364


Investments in and advances to unconsolidated entities


4,841,225



4,911,505



4,824,724


Assets held for sale


369,382



514,752



43,934


Note receivable backed by real estate


197,500



197,500



-





Net investments in real estate


29,521,020



30,011,368



24,268,022















Cash and cash equivalents


310,433



351,025



350,692


Other assets


1,587,901



1,240,004



1,199,509





Total assets


$ 31,419,354



$ 31,602,397



$       25,818,223














Liabilities and Equity:










Liabilities:











Debt 


$ 11,934,355



$ 12,121,305



$         9,380,199



Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities


1,300,028



1,127,068



1,254,425





Total liabilities


13,234,383



13,248,373



10,634,624















Equity:











Stockholders' equity:












Preferred stock


78,235



78,235



78,235




Common stock 


5,242



5,241



5,095




Additional paid-in capital 


19,150,336



19,129,348



18,467,009




Accumulated other comprehensive loss


(776,570)



(631,265)



(600,337)




Distributions in excess of net earnings


(3,825,673)



(3,870,808)



(3,974,493)





Total stockholders' equity


14,631,570



14,710,751



13,975,509



Noncontrolling interests


3,371,425



3,461,450



1,159,901



Noncontrolling interests - limited partnership unitholders


181,976



181,823



48,189





Total equity


18,184,971



18,354,024



15,183,599





Total liabilities and equity


$ 31,419,354



$ 31,602,397



$       25,818,223














 


Three Months Ended


Nine Months Ended

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

September 30,


September 30,





2015

2014


2015

2014

Revenues:











Rental income


$ 532,755


$ 355,822



$ 1,413,001


$ 1,125,335


Strategic capital income


44,176


54,070



133,247


175,714


Development management and other income


3,691


5,259



7,625


8,873



 Total revenues 


580,622


415,151



1,553,873


1,309,922














Expenses:











Rental expenses


139,905


102,324



392,438


322,417


Strategic capital expenses


21,714


22,442



62,190


74,442


General and administrative expenses


59,375


58,203



172,690


181,781


Depreciation and amortization


247,471


149,202



607,467


471,059


Other expenses


8,765


4,868



44,467


15,371



Total expenses


477,230


337,039



1,279,252


1,065,070














Operating income


103,392


78,112



274,621


244,852














Other income (expense):











Earnings from unconsolidated entities, net


33,557


28,514



106,383


79,411


Interest expense


(81,035)


(69,086)



(218,698)


(234,793)


Gains on dispositions of development properties and land, net


135,043


89,270



210,110


126,321


Gains on dispositions of real estate, net (excluding development properties and land)


133,748


61,787



445,178


211,374


Foreign currency and derivative gains (losses) and interest and other income (expense), net


(3,191)


21,342



18,759


22,454


Losses on early extinguishment of debt, net


-


(86,076)



(16,525)


(163,361)



Total other income


218,122


45,751



545,207


41,406














Earnings before income taxes


321,514


123,863



819,828


286,258


Current income tax expense


(17,283)


(10,394)



(22,828)


(59,292)


Deferred income tax benefit


2,955


33,658



1,758


84,594

Consolidated net earnings


307,186


147,127



798,758


311,560

Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests


(46,536)


(9,212)



(49,314)


(85,664)

Net earnings attributable to controlling interests


260,650


137,915



749,444


225,896

Preferred stock dividends


(1,671)


(1,670)



(5,019)


(5,753)

Loss on preferred stock repurchase


-


-



-


(6,517)

Net earnings attributable to common stockholders


$ 258,979


$ 136,245



$    744,425


$    213,626

Weighted average common shares outstanding - Diluted


532,073


516,088



531,121


504,211

Net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders - Diluted


$       0.49


$       0.23



$          1.41


$          0.43

 


Three Months Ended


Nine Months Ended

(in thousands)

September 30,


September 30,





2015

2014


2015

2014

Reconciliation of net earnings to FFO























Net earnings attributable to common stockholders


$ 258,979


$ 136,245



$  744,425


$ 213,626

Add (deduct) NAREIT defined adjustments:











Real estate related depreciation and amortization


239,896


143,370



587,384


453,707


Gains on dispositions of real estate, net (excluding development properties and land)


(133,748)


(61,787)



(445,178)


(211,374)


Reconciling items related to noncontrolling interests


(1,080)


(4,821)



(33,373)


48,923


Our share of reconciling items included in earnings from unconsolidated co-investment ventures


49,349


57,130



144,299


148,583


Our share of reconciling items included in earnings from other unconsolidated ventures


1,650


1,452



4,948


4,536

Subtotal-NAREIT defined FFO


415,046


271,589



1,002,505


658,001














Add (deduct) our defined adjustments:











Unrealized foreign currency and derivative losses (gains), net


12,362


(18,978)



8,856


(903)


Deferred income tax benefit


(2,955)


(33,658)



(1,758)


(84,594)


Current income tax expense related to acquired tax liabilities


3,497


-



3,497


30,521


Reconciling items related to noncontrolling interests


(375)


-



(1,167)


-


Our share of reconciling items included in earnings from unconsolidated co-investment ventures


2,116


4,147



(11,771)


287

FFO, as defined by Prologis


429,691


223,100



1,000,162


603,312














Adjustments to arrive at Core FFO:











Net gain on dispositions of development properties and land, net of taxes


(125,640)


(80,402)



(205,180)


(111,508)


Acquisition expenses


2,115


413



29,549


2,616


Losses on early extinguishment of debt and repurchase of preferred stock, net


-


86,076



16,525


169,878


Reconciling items related to noncontrolling interests


(180)


-



(12,407)


-


Our share of reconciling related to unconsolidated co-investment ventures


1,282


15,709



6,883


42,428

Core FFO


$ 307,268


$ 244,896



$  835,532


$ 706,726














Adjustments to arrive at Adjusted FFO ("AFFO"), including our share of unconsolidated ventures less third party share of consolidated entities:











Net gains on dispositions of development properties and land, net of taxes


125,640


73,669



206,247


104,809


Straight-lined rents and amortization of lease intangibles


(20,677)


(5,538)



(41,130)


(20,597)


Property improvements


(22,136)


(34,131)



(55,475)


(61,172)


Tenant improvements


(24,148)


(22,750)



(64,960)


(63,529)


Leasing commissions


(20,591)


(15,584)



(52,324)


(43,520)


Amortization of management contracts


1,088


1,445



3,383


3,842


Amortization of debt discounts (premiums) and financing costs, net


(4,216)


2,359



(12,659)


(1,169)


Cash received (paid) on net investment hedges


-


7,722



121,524


(133)


Stock compensation expense


13,406


14,056



40,124


43,042

AFFO




$ 355,634


$ 266,144



$  980,262


$ 668,299














Common stock dividends


$ 209,935


$ 166,697



$  587,776


$ 500,025

 

Business Line Reporting. Core FFO and development gains are generated by our three lines of business: (i) real estate operations; (ii) strategic capital; and (iii) development.  Real estate operations represents total Prologis Core FFO, less the amount allocated to the Strategic Capital line of business.  The amount of Core FFO allocated to the Strategic Capital line of business represents the third party share of the asset management related fees we earn from our co-investment ventures (both consolidated and unconsolidated) less costs directly associated to our strategic capital group, plus development management income.  Development gains include our share of gains on dispositions of development properties and land, net of taxes. To calculate the per share amount, the amount generated by each line of business is divided by the weighted average diluted common shares outstanding used in our Core FFO calculation of per share amounts. Management believes evaluating our results by line of business is a useful supplemental measure of our operating performance because it helps the investing public compare the operating performance of Prologis' respective businesses to other companies' comparable businesses. Prologis' computation of FFO by line of business may not be comparable to that reported by other real estate investment trusts as they may use different methodologies in computing such measures.

Calculation of Per Share Amounts is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):


Three Months Ended


Nine Months Ended


September 30,


September 30,



2015



2014



2015



2014

Net earnings












Net earnings

$

258,979


$

136,245


$

744,425


$

213,626

Noncontrolling interest attributable to exchangeable limited

 partnership units


3,203



493



7,331



767

Gains, net of expenses, associated with exchangeable

 debt assumed exchanged


-



(18,658)



(1,614)



-

Adjusted net earnings - Diluted

$

262,182


$

118,080


$

750,142


$

214,393

Weighted average common shares outstanding - Basic


523,528



499,292



520,388



499,045

Incremental weighted average effect on exchange of

 limited partnership units


6,685



1,843



5,875



1,792

Incremental weighted average effect of stock awards


1,860



3,074



1,953



3,374

Incremental weighted average effect on exchangeable

 debt assumed exchanged (a)


-



11,879



2,905



-

Weighted average common shares outstanding - Diluted


532,073



516,088



531,121



504,211

Net earnings per share - Basic

$

0.49


$

0.27


$

1.43


$

0.43

Net earnings per share - Diluted

$

0.49


$

0.23


$

1.41


$

0.43

Core FFO












Core FFO

$

307,268


$

244,896


$

835,532


$

706,726

Noncontrolling interest attributable to exchangeable limited

 partnership units


48



92



160



149

Interest expense on exchangeable debt assumed exchanged


-



4,246



3,506



12,738

Core FFO - Diluted

$

307,316


$

249,234


$

839,198


$

719,613

Weighted average common shares outstanding - Basic


523,528



499,292



520,388



499,045

Incremental weighted average effect on exchange of

 limited partnership units


6,685



2,040



4,201



1,990

Incremental weighted average effect of stock awards


1,860



3,074



1,953



3,374

Incremental weighted average effect on exchangeable

 debt assumed exchanged (a)


-



11,879



2,905



11,879

Weighted average common shares outstanding - Diluted


532,073



516,285



529,447



516,288

Core FFO per share - Diluted

$

0.58


$

0.48


$

1.59


$

1.39


(a) In March 2015, the exchangeable debt was settled primarily through the issuance of common stock. The adjustment in 2015 assumes the exchange occurred on January 1, 2015.

FFO, as defined by Prologis attributable to common stockholders/unitholders ("FFO, as defined by Prologis"); Core FFO attributable to common stockholders/unitholders ("Core FFO"); AFFO (collectively referred to as "FFO"). FFO is a financial measure that is not determined in accordance with GAAP, but is a measure that is commonly used in the real estate industry. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to FFO is net earnings. Although the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") has published a definition of FFO, modifications to the NAREIT calculation of FFO are common among REITs, as companies seek to provide financial measures that meaningfully reflect their business.

FFO is not meant to represent a comprehensive system of financial reporting and does not present, nor do we intend it to present, a complete picture of our financial condition and operating performance. We believe net earnings computed under GAAP remains the primary measure of performance and that FFO is only meaningful when it is used in conjunction with net earnings computed under GAAP. Further, we believe our consolidated financial statements, prepared in accordance with GAAP, provide the most meaningful picture of our financial condition and our operating performance.

NAREIT's FFO measure adjusts net earnings computed under GAAP to exclude historical cost depreciation and gains and losses from the sales, along with impairment charges, of previously depreciated properties. We agree that these NAREIT adjustments are useful to investors for the following reasons:

(i)

historical cost accounting for real estate assets in accordance with GAAP assumes, through depreciation charges, that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. NAREIT stated in its White Paper on FFO "since real estate asset values have historically risen or fallen with market conditions, many industry investors have considered presentations of operating results for real estate companies that use historical cost accounting to be insufficient by themselves." Consequently, NAREIT's definition of FFO reflects the fact that real estate, as an asset class, generally appreciates over time and depreciation charges required by GAAP do not reflect the underlying economic realities. We exclude depreciation from our unconsolidated entities and the third parties' share of our consolidated ventures.

(ii)

REITs were created in order to encourage public ownership of real estate as an asset class through investment in firms that were in the business of long-term ownership and management of real estate. The exclusion, in NAREIT's definition of FFO, of gains and losses from the sales, along with impairment charges, of previously depreciated operating real estate assets allows investors and analysts to readily identify the operating results of the long-term assets that form the core of a REIT's activity and assists in comparing those operating results between periods. We include the gains and losses (including impairment charges) from dispositions of land and development properties, as well as our proportionate share of the gains and losses (including impairment charges) from dispositions of development properties recognized by our unconsolidated and consolidated entities, in our definition of FFO. We exclude the gain on revaluation of equity investments upon acquisition of a controlling interest from our definition of FFO.

Our FFO Measures

At the same time that NAREIT created and defined its FFO measure for the REIT industry, it also recognized that "management of each of its member companies has the responsibility and authority to publish financial information that it regards as useful to the financial community." We believe stockholders, potential investors and financial analysts who review our operating results are best served by a defined FFO measure that includes other adjustments to net earnings computed under GAAP in addition to those included in the NAREIT defined measure of FFO.  Our FFO measures are used by management in analyzing our business and the performance of our properties and we believe that it is important that stockholders, potential investors and financial analysts understand the measures management uses.

We calculate our FFO measures, as defined below, based on our proportionate ownership share of both our unconsolidated and consolidated ventures.  We reflect our share of our FFO measures for unconsolidated ventures by applying our average ownership percentage for the period to the applicable reconciling items on an entity by entity basis.  We reflect our share for consolidated ventures in which we do not own 100% of the equity by adjusting our FFO measures to remove the third party ownership share of the applicable reconciling items based on average ownership percentage for the applicable periods.

We use these FFO measures, including by segment and region, to: (i) evaluate our performance and the performance of our properties in comparison to expected results and results of previous periods, relative to resource allocation decisions; (ii) evaluate the performance of our management; (iii) budget and forecast future results to assist in the allocation of resources; (iv) assess our performance as compared to similar real estate companies and the industry in general; and (v) evaluate how a specific potential investment will impact our future results. Because we make decisions with regard to our performance with a long-term outlook, we believe it is appropriate to remove the effects of short-term items that we do not expect to affect the underlying long-term performance of the properties. The long-term performance of our properties is principally driven by rental income. While not infrequent or unusual, these additional items we exclude in calculating FFO, as defined by Prologis, defined below, are subject to significant fluctuations from period to period that cause both positive and negative short-term effects on our results of operations in inconsistent and unpredictable directions that are not relevant to our long-term outlook.

We use our FFO measures as supplemental financial measures of operating performance. We do not use our FFO measures as, nor should they be considered to be, alternatives to net earnings computed under GAAP, as indicators of our operating performance, as alternatives to cash from operating activities computed under GAAP or as indicators of our ability to fund our cash needs.

FFO, as defined by Prologis

To arrive at FFO, as defined by Prologis, we adjust the NAREIT defined FFO measure to exclude:

(i)

deferred income tax benefits and deferred income tax expenses recognized by our subsidiaries;

(ii)

current income tax expense related to acquired tax liabilities that were recorded as deferred tax liabilities in an acquisition, to the extent the expense is offset with a deferred income tax benefit in GAAP earnings that is excluded from our defined FFO measure;

(iii)

unhedged foreign currency exchange gains and losses resulting from debt transactions between us and our foreign consolidated subsidiaries and our foreign unconsolidated entities;

(iv)

foreign currency exchange gains and losses from the remeasurement (based on current foreign currency exchange rates) of certain third party debt of our foreign consolidated subsidiaries and our foreign unconsolidated entities; and 

(v)

mark-to-market adjustments associated with derivative financial instruments.

We believe investors are best served if the information that is made available to them allows them to align their analysis and evaluation of our operating results along the same lines that our management uses in planning and executing our business strategy.

Core FFO

In addition to FFO, as defined by Prologis, we also use Core FFO. To arrive at Core FFO, we adjust FFO, as defined by Prologis, to exclude the following recurring and non-recurring items that we recognized directly in FFO, as defined by Prologis:

(i)

gains or losses from contribution or sale of land or development properties;

(ii)

income tax expense related to the sale of investments in real estate and third-party acquisition costs related to the acquisition of real estate;

(iii)

impairment charges recognized related to our investments in  real estate generally as a result of our change in intent to contribute or sell these properties;

(iv)

gains or losses from the early extinguishment of debt and redemption and repurchase of preferred stock; and

(v)

expenses related to natural disasters.

We believe it is appropriate to further adjust our FFO, as defined by Prologis for certain recurring items as they were driven by transactional activity and factors relating to the financial and real estate markets, rather than factors specific to the on-going operating performance of our properties or investments. The impairment charges we have recognized were primarily based on valuations of real estate, which had declined due to market conditions, that we no longer expected to hold for long-term investment. Over the last few years, we made it a priority to strengthen our financial position by reducing our debt, our investment in certain low yielding assets and our exposure to foreign currency exchange fluctuations.  As a result, we changed our intent to sell or contribute certain of our real estate properties and recorded impairment charges when we did not expect to recover the costs of our investment. Also, we purchased portions of our debt securities when we believed it was advantageous to do so, which was based on market conditions, and in an effort to lower our borrowing costs and extend our debt maturities. As a result, we have recognized net gains or losses on the early extinguishment of certain debt due to the financial market conditions at that time.

We analyze our operating performance primarily by the rental income of our real estate and the revenue driven by our strategic capital business, net of operating, administrative and financing expenses. This income stream is not directly impacted by fluctuations in the market value of our investments in real estate or debt securities.  Although these items discussed above have had a material impact on our operations and are reflected in our financial statements, the removal of the effects of these items allows us to better understand the core operating performance of our properties over the long term.

We use Core FFO, including by segment and region, to: (i) evaluate our performance and the performance of our properties in comparison to expected results and results of previous periods, relative to resource allocation decisions; (ii) evaluate the performance of our management; (iii) budget and forecast future results to assist in the allocation of resources; (iv) provide guidance to the financial markets to understand our expected operating performance; (v) assess our operating performance as compared  to similar real estate companies and the industry in general; and (vi) evaluate how a specific potential investment will impact our future results. Because we make decisions with regard to our performance with a long-term outlook, we believe it is appropriate to remove the effects of items that we do not expect to affect the underlying long-term performance of the properties we own. As noted above, we believe the long-term performance of our properties is principally driven by rental income. We believe investors are best served if the information that is made available to them allows them to align their analysis and evaluation of our operating results along the same lines that our management uses in planning and executing our business strategy. 

AFFO

To arrive at AFFO, we adjust Core FFO to include realized gains from the disposition of land and development properties and to exclude our share of the impact of; (i) straight-line rents; (ii) amortization of above- and below-market lease intangibles; (iii) recurring capital expenditures; (iv) amortization of management contracts; (v) amortization of debt premiums and discounts and financing costs, net of amounts capitalized, and; (vi) stock compensation expense.

We believe AFFO provides a meaningful indicator of our ability to fund cash needs, including cash distributions to our stockholders.

Limitations on Use of our FFO Measures

While we believe our defined FFO measures are important supplemental measures, neither NAREIT's nor our measures of FFO should be used alone because they exclude significant economic components of net earnings computed under GAAP and are, therefore, limited as an analytical tool. Accordingly, these are only a few of the many measures we use when analyzing our business.  Some of these limitations are:

  • The current income tax expenses and acquisition costs that are excluded from our defined FFO measures represent the taxes and transaction costs that are payable.
  • Depreciation and amortization of real estate assets are economic costs that are excluded from FFO. FFO is limited, as it does not reflect the cash requirements that may be necessary for future replacements of the real estate assets. Further, the amortization of capital expenditures and leasing costs necessary to maintain the operating performance of industrial properties are not reflected in FFO.
  • Gains or losses from non-development property acquisitions and dispositions or impairment charges related to expected dispositions represent changes in value of the properties. By excluding these gains and losses, FFO does not capture realized changes in the value of acquired or disposed properties arising from changes in market conditions.
  • The deferred income tax benefits and expenses that are excluded from our defined FFO measures result from the creation of a deferred income tax asset or liability that may have to be settled at some future point. Our defined FFO measures do not currently reflect any income or expense that may result from such settlement.
  • The foreign currency exchange gains and losses that are excluded from our defined FFO measures are generally recognized based on movements in foreign currency exchange rates through a specific point in time. The ultimate settlement of our foreign currency-denominated net assets is indefinite as to timing and amount. Our FFO measures are limited in that they do not reflect the current period changes in these net assets that result from periodic foreign currency exchange rate movements.
  • The gains and losses on extinguishment of debt that we exclude from our Core FFO, may provide a benefit or cost to us as we may be settling our debt at less or more than our future obligation.
  • The natural disaster expenses that we exclude from Core FFO are costs that we have incurred.

We compensate for these limitations by using our FFO measures only in conjunction with net earnings computed under GAAP when making our decisions. This information should be read with our complete consolidated financial statements prepared under GAAP. To assist investors in compensating for these limitations, we reconcile our defined FFO measures to our net earnings computed under GAAP.

Same Store. We evaluate the operating performance of the operating properties we own and manage using a "Same Store" analysis because the population of properties in this analysis is consistent from period to period, thereby eliminating the effects of changes in the composition of the portfolio on performance measures. We include the properties included in our owned and managed portfolio that were in operation (including development properties that have been completed and available for lease) at January 1, 2014 and throughout the full periods in both 2014 and 2015. We have removed all properties that were disposed of to a third party from the population for both periods. We believe the factors that impact rental income, rental expenses and NOI in the Same Store portfolio are generally the same as for the total operating portfolio. In order to derive an appropriate measure of period-to-period operating performance, we remove the effects of foreign currency exchange rate movements by using the current exchange rate to translate from local currency into U.S. dollars, for both periods.

Our same store measures are non-GAAP measures that are commonly used in the real estate industry and are calculated beginning with rental income and rental expenses from the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is also common in the real estate industry and expected from the analyst and investor community that these numbers be further adjusted to remove certain non-cash items included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP to reflect a cash same store number. In order to clearly label these metrics, we call one Same Store NOI- GAAP and one Same Store NOI-Adjusted Cash. As these are non-GAAP measures they have certain limitations as an analytical tool and may vary among real estate companies. As a result, we provide a reconciliation from our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP to Same Store NOI-GAAP and then to Same Store NOI-Adjusted Cash with explanations of how these metrics are calculated and adjusted.

The following is a reconciliation of our consolidated rental income, rental expenses and NOI, as included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, to the respective amounts in our Same Store portfolio analysis (dollars in thousands):


Three Months Ended


September 30,


2015


2014


Change     (%)

Rental Income:









Per the Consolidated Statements of Operations

$

532,755


$

355,822




Properties not included and other adjustments (a)


(147,104)



(46,967)




Unconsolidated Co-Investment Ventures


409,489



451,005




Same Store - Rental Income

$

795,140


$

759,860



4.6%










Rental Expense:









Per the Consolidated Statements of Operations

$

139,905


$

102,324




Properties not included and other adjustments (b)


(27,882)



(10,566)




Unconsolidated Co-Investment Ventures


91,284



102,664




Same Store - Rental Expense

$

203,307


$

194,422



4.6%










NOI-GAAP:









Per the Consolidated Statements of Operations

$

392,850


$

253,498




Properties not included and other adjustments


(119,222)



(36,401)




Unconsolidated Co-Investment Ventures


318,205



348,341




Same Store - NOI - GAAP

$

591,833


$

565,438



4.7%

Same Store - NOI - GAAP - Prologis Share (c)

$

353,092


$

332,421



6.2%










NOI-Adjusted Cash:









Same store- NOI - GAAP

$

591,833


$

565,438




Adjustments (d)


(11,809)



(5,806)




Same Store - NOI- Adjusted Cash

$

580,024


$

559,632



3.6%

Same Store - NOI- Adjusted Cash - Prologis Share (c)

$

345,367


$

330,607



4.5%



(a)

To calculate Same Store rental income, we exclude the net termination and renegotiation fees to allow us to evaluate the growth or decline in each property's rental income without regard to items that are not indicative of the property's recurring operating performance.



(b)

To calculate Same Store rental expense, we include an allocation of the property management expenses for our consolidated properties based on the property management fee that is provided for in the individual management agreements under which our wholly owned management companies provide property management services (generally the fee is based on a percentage of revenue). On consolidation, the management fee income and expenses are eliminated and the actual cost of providing property management services is recognized.



(c)

Prologis share of Same Store is calculated using the underlying building information from the Same Store NOI GAAP and Adjusted Cash calculations and applying our ownership percentage as of September 30, 2015 to the NOI of each building for both periods.



(d)

In order to derive Same Store- NOI - Adjusted Cash, we adjust Same Store- NOI- GAAP to exclude non-cash items included in our rental income in our GAAP financial statements, including straight line rent adjustments and adjustments related to purchase accounting to reflect leases at fair value at the time of acquisition.

Value Creation represents the value that we will create through our development and leasing activities. We calculate value creation by estimating the NOI that the property will generate at Stabilization and applying an estimated stabilized capitalization rate applicable to that property. The value creation is calculated as the amount by which the estimated value exceeds our total expected investment and does not include any fees or promotes we may earn. This can also include realized economic gains from value-added conversion properties.

Prologis

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SOURCE Prologis, Inc.