EX-99.1 2 exhibit1.htm EX-99.1 EX-99.1

RAIT Financial Trust Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2006 Results

     
PHILADELPHIA, PA — February 21, 2007 — RAIT Financial Trust (“RAIT”) (NYSE: RAS)
 
   
RAIT Financial Trust’s Performance Highlights:
 
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  Completed the merger with Taberna Realty Finance Trust (“Taberna”) on December 11, 2006.
Declared a dividend of $0.75 per common share on December 18, 2006.
Investment portfolio totaled $11.2 billion as of December 31, 2006.

RAIT, a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), reported estimated REIT taxable income for the three months and year ended December 31, 2006 of $30.8 million and $92.1 million, or $0.92 and $3.12 per share based on 33.7 million and 29.6 million weighted average common shares – diluted for the respective periods. A reconciliation of estimated REIT taxable income to RAIT’s GAAP net income available to common shares is included in schedule I to this release.

RAIT reported net income available to common shares for the three months and year ended December 31, 2006 of $13.1 million and $67.8 million, or total earnings per share – diluted of $0.39 and $2.30 based on 33.7 million and 29.6 million weighted average common shares – diluted, as compared to net income available to common shares for the three months and year ended December 31, 2005 of $18.1 million and $68.0 million, or total earnings per share – diluted of $0.64 and $2.57 based on 28.1 million and 26.4 million weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted. Total revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2006 were $28.8 million and $102.3 million as compared to $24.0 million and $92.4 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2005.

Investment Portfolio Summary
At December 31, 2006, RAIT’s investment portfolio totaled $11.2 billion including: $4.3 billion relating to trust preferred securities (“TruPS”) and subordinated debentures, $1.3 billion in commercial mortgages, mezzanine loans, and participation interests, $4.7 billion in residential mortgages and mortgage-related receivables and $0.9 billion of other real estate related investments. At December 31, 2006, RAIT’s investment portfolio was financed with $10.5 billion of total indebtedness including: $4.9 billion of collateralized debt obligation (“CDO”) notes payable, $3.7 billion of mortgage–backed securities issued and $1.9 billion of trust preferred obligations, repurchase agreements and other indebtedness.

Book Value per Share
RAIT’s book value per common share outstanding at December 31, 2006 was $20.54 as compared to $17.34 at December 31, 2005. Book value is calculated by subtracting the liquidation value of our preferred shares from total shareholders’ equity and dividing the result by the number of common shares outstanding at the end of the period. Total shareholders’ equity was $1.2 billion at December 31, 2006 and $609.2 million at December 31, 2005. Total shares outstanding were 52,151,412 and 27,899,065 at December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Dividend Summary
On January 9, 2007, RAIT paid a fourth quarter dividend of $0.75 per common share to shareholders of record on December 28, 2006. On December 29, 2006, RAIT paid a fourth quarter dividend of $0.484375 per preferred share relating to RAIT’s 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares and a fourth quarter dividend of $0.5234375 per share on RAIT’s 8.375% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares to shareholders of record on December 1, 2006.

Conference Call
Interested parties can access the LIVE webcast of RAIT’s earnings conference call at 11:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 22, 2007 by clicking on the Webcast link on RAIT’s homepage at www.raitft.com. The live conference may also be accessed by dialing 866.510.0705 Domestic or 617.597.5363 International, using passcode RAIT Financial Trust. For those who are not available to listen to the live broadcast, the replay of the webcast will be available following the live call on RAIT’s investor relations website and telephonically until Thursday, March 1, 2007 by dialing 888.286.8010, access code 38913625.

About RAIT Financial Trust
RAIT Financial Trust originates secured and unsecured debt instruments including bridge, mezzanine and whole commercial real estate loans, trust preferred securities and subordinated debt for private and corporate owners of commercial real estate, REITs and real estate operating companies throughout the United States and Europe. For more information, please visit www.raitft.com or call Investor Relations.

Forward-Looking Statements
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding RAIT’s business which are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward looking statement, include those discussed in RAIT’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and its current report on Form 8-K filed January 10, 2007. These risks and uncertainties also include the following factors: the businesses of RAIT and Taberna may not be integrated successfully; the expected growth opportunities from the merger may not be fully realized; operating costs, customer losses and business disruption following the merger may be greater than expected; adverse governmental or regulatory policies may be enacted; management and other key personnel may be lost; competition from other REITs and other specialty finance vehicles may increase; RAIT may be unable to obtain adequate capital and other funding for operations at attractive rates or otherwise; fluctuations in interest rates and related hedging activities against such interest rates may affect RAIT’s revenues and the value of its assets; covenants in RAIT’s financing arrangements may restrict its business operations; RAIT and Taberna may fail to maintain qualification as REITs; RAIT may be unable to acquire eligible securities for CDO and other securitization transactions on favorable economic terms; adverse market trends may affect the value of real estate and other securities that are used as collateral in CDO and other securitizations; borrowing costs may increase relative to the interest received on RAIT’s investments; RAIT may fail to maintain exemptions under the Investment Company Act of 1940; geographic concentrations in investment portfolios of residential mortgage loans could be adversely affected by economic factors unique to such concentrations; the market value of real estate that secures mortgage loans could diminish due to factors outside of RAIT’s control; changes in the market for trust preferred securities may adversely affect RAIT’s operations; and general business and economic conditions could adversely affect credit quality and loan originations. RAIT does not undertake to update forward-looking statements in this press release or with respect to matters described herein, except as may be required by law.

RAIT Financial Trust Contact
Andres Viroslav
215-861-7923
aviroslav@raitft.com

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RAIT Financial Trust
Consolidated Income Statements (unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share information)

                                 
    For the three months   For the year
    ended December 31,   ended December 31,
    2006   2005   2006   2005
 
                               
REVENUE:
                               
Investment interest income
  $ 66,865     $ 22,501     $ 138,639     $ 86,174  
Investment interest expense
    (42,317 )     (4,495 )     (61,833 )     (12,933 )
Provision for losses
    (2,499 )           (2,499 )      
Change in fair value of free-standing derivatives
    788             788        
 
                               
Net investment income
    22,837       18,006       75,095       73,241  
Rental income
    3,246       2,988       12,800       12,164  
Fee and other income
    2,685       3,055       14,387       7,043  
 
                               
Total revenue
    28,768       24,049       102,282       92,448  
 
                               
EXPENSES:
                               
Compensation expense
    7,185       1,253       12,736       5,117  
Real estate operating expenses
    2,802       1,886       9,280       7,229  
General and administrative
    2,516       1,169       5,675       4,212  
Depreciation
    537       303       1,454       1,194  
Amortization of intangible assets
    3,175             3,175        
 
                               
Total expenses
    16,215       4,611       32,320       17,752  
 
                               
Income before interest and other income (expense), income taxes and income from discontinued operations
    12,553       19,438       69,962       74,696  
Interest and other income
    1,018       279       1,961       576  
Gain (loss) on sale of assets
    (6 )     (198 )     (6 )     (198 )
Unrealized gain on interest rate hedges
    1,925             1,925        
Equity in loss of equity method investments
    (26 )           (259 )      
Minority interest
    (2,651 )     (11 )     (2,668 )     (33 )
 
                               
Income before taxes and income from discontinued operations
    12,813       19,508       70,915       75,041  
Income tax benefit
    1,183             1,183        
 
                               
Income from continuing operations
    13,996       19,508       72,098       75,041  
Income from discontinued operations
    1,589       1,075       5,820       2,986  
 
                               
Net income
    15,585       20,583       77,918       78,027  
Income allocated to preferred shares
    (2,522 )     (2,519 )     (10,079 )     (10,076 )
 
                               
Net income available to common shares
  $ 13,063     $ 18,064     $ 67,839     $ 67,951  
 
                               
 
                               
Earning per share – Basic:
                               
Continuing operations
  $ 0.34     $ 0.61     $ 2.12     $ 2.48  
Discontinued operations
  $ 0.05     $ 0.04       0.20       0.11  
 
                               
Total earnings per share – Basic
  $ 0.39     $ 0.65     $ 2.32     $ 2.59  
 
                               
Weighted-average shares outstanding – Basic
    33,433,154       27,892,821       29,294,642       26,235,134  
 
                               
Earnings per share – Diluted:
                               
Continuing operations
  $ 0.34     $ 0.60     $ 2.10     $ 2.46  
Discontinued operations
  $ 0.05     $ 0.04       0.20       0.11  
 
                               
Total earnings per share – Diluted
  $ 0.39     $ 0.64     $ 2.30     $ 2.57  
 
                               
Weighted-average shares outstanding – Diluted
    33,689,030       28,068,587       29,550,588       26,419,693  
Distributions declared per common share
  $ 0.75     $ 0.61     $ 2.70     $ 2.43  
 
                               

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RAIT Financial Trust
Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share information)

                 
    December 31, 2006   December 31, 2005
ASSETS
               
 
               
Investments in securities:
               
Available-for-sale securities
  $ 3,978,999     $  
Security-related receivables
    1,159,312        
 
               
Total investment in securities
    5,138,311        
 
               
Investments in mortgages and loans, at amortized cost:
               
Residential mortgages and mortgage-related receivables
    4,676,950        
Commercial mortgages, mezzanine loans and participation interests
    1,250,945       714,654  
Allowance for losses
    (5,345 )     (226 )
 
               
Total investment in loans
    5,922,550       714,428  
Investments in real estate interests
    139,132       85,584  
Real estate interests held for sale
          104,340  
Cash and cash equivalents
    99,367       71,420  
Restricted cash
    292,869       20,892  
Accrued interest receivable
    111,238       13,128  
Warehouse deposits
    44,618        
Other assets
    42,274       10,270  
Deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization of $1,709 and $845, respectively
    16,729       3,636  
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $3,175 in 2006
    121,046        
Goodwill
    132,372       887  
 
               
Total assets
  $ 12,060,506     $ 1,024,585  
 
               
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
               
 
               
Indebtedness:
               
Repurchase agreements and other indebtedness
  $ 1,255,518     $ 329,859  
Mortgage-backed securities issued
    3,697,291        
Trust preferred obligations
    643,639        
CDO notes payable
    4,855,743        
 
               
Total indebtedness
    10,452,191       329,859  
Accrued interest payable
    67,393       2,178  
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
    22,930       3,226  
Distributions payable
    39,118        
Liabilities related to real estate interests held for sale
          63,641  
Deferred taxes, borrowers’ escrows and other liabilities
    158,197       15,986  
 
               
Total Liabilities
    10,739,829       414,890  
Minority interest
    124,273       460  
 
               
Shareholders’ equity:
               
Preferred shares, $0.01 par value per share; 25,000,000 shares authorized;
               
7.75% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred shares, liquidation preference $25.00 per share; 2,760,000 issued and outstanding
    28       28  
8.375% Series B cumulative redeemable preferred shares, liquidation preference $25.00 per share; 2,258,300 issued and outstanding
    23       23  
Common shares, $.01 par value per share; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 52,151,412 and 27,899,065 issued and outstanding
    517       279  
Additional paid in capital
    1,218,667       602,655  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
    (3,085 )      
Retained earnings (deficit)
    (19,746 )     6,250  
 
               
Total shareholders’ equity
    1,196,404       609,235  
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
  $ 12,060,506     $ 1,024,585  
 
               

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Schedule I
RAIT Financial Trust
Reconciliation of Reported GAAP Net Income Available to Common Shares to Estimated Total Taxable
Income and Estimated REIT Taxable Income (unaudited) (1)
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

                 
    For the three    
    months ended   For the year ended
    December 31, 2006   December 31, 2006
 
               
REIT Taxable Income Reconciliation:
               
Net income available to common shares, as reported
  $ 13,063     $ 67,839  
 
               
Add (deduct):
               
Provision for losses
    2,499       2,499  
Tax gains on sales in excess of reported gains
    460       8,643  
 
               
Domestic TRS book-to-taxable income differences:
               
Income tax benefit
    (1,183 )     (1,183 )
Origination fees eliminated in consolidation
    3,099       3,099  
Stock compensation and other temporary tax differences
    2,487       (1,466 )
CDO investments aggregate book-to-taxable income differences
    (2,346 )     (2,346 )
Other book to tax differences
    5,801       8,019  
Taberna’s 2006 undistributed earnings pre-merger
    9,201       9,201  
 
               
Estimated total taxable income
    33,081       94,305  
Taxable income attributable to domestic TRS entities
    (4,236 )     (4,236 )
Dividends paid by domestic TRS entities
    2,000       2,000  
 
               
Estimated REIT taxable income (prior to deduction for dividends paid)
  $ 30,845     $ 92,069  
 
               
Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted
    33,689,030       29,550,588  
 
               
Estimated REIT taxable income, per share
  $ 0.92     $ 3.12  
 
               

(1) Estimated total taxable income and estimated REIT taxable income are non-GAAP financial measurements and do not purport to be an alternative to net income determined in accordance with GAAP as a measure of operating performance or to cash flows from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP as a measure of liquidity. Total taxable income is the aggregate amount of taxable income generated by RAIT and by its domestic and foreign taxable REIT subsidiaries. REIT taxable income excludes the undistributed taxable income of RAIT’s domestic taxable REIT subsidiaries, which is not included in estimated REIT taxable income until distributed to RAIT. There is no requirement that RAIT’s domestic taxable REIT subsidiaries distribute their earnings to RAIT. Estimated REIT taxable income, however, includes the taxable income of RAIT’s foreign taxable REIT subsidiaries because RAIT will generally be required to recognize and report such taxable income as earned on an accrual basis. These non-GAAP financial measurements are important to RAIT, since we are a real estate investment trust and are required to pay substantially all of our REIT taxable income in the form of distributions to our shareholders. Because not all REITs use identical calculations, this presentation of estimated total taxable income and estimated REIT taxable income may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures prepared and reported by other companies.

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