EX-99 2 w08214exv99.htm PRESS RELEASE exv99
 

Exhibit 99

     
(LIBERTY PROPERTY TRUST LOGO)   Press Release
         
For Immediate Release
  Inquiries:   Jeanne A. Leonard
April 25, 2005
      Liberty Property Trust
      610/648-1704

LIBERTY PROPERTY TRUST
ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Malvern, PA — Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY) reported that net income per common share (diluted) was $.52 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, compared to $.45 per share (diluted) for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. This increase was primarily due to gains on the sale of properties during the quarter.

Funds from operations available to common shareholders (diluted) (“FFO”) for the first quarter of 2005 was $.81 per share, which represents no change from the first quarter of 2004. A reconciliation of GAAP net income to FFO is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

Operating results for the first quarter of 2005 include lease termination fees of $2.0 million, or approximately $.02 per share diluted FFO.

“Real estate conditions are still not optimal, but are improving at a very slow pace, and Liberty’s activity during the first quarter reflected these conditions,” commented Bill Hankowsky, Liberty’s chief executive officer. “Our development pipeline has grown significantly, with the initiation of two large projects, one office and one industrial. We continue to execute our acquisitions strategy according to plan, and our leasing has been steady and on target. The result was a solid quarter.”

Real Estate Investments

Development: During the first quarter, Liberty brought into service one development property totaling 31,000 square feet. The property is 70 percent leased and represents a total investment of $3.7 million.

During the first quarter, Liberty commenced construction on Comcast Center, a 1.2 million square foot office building in Philadelphia. Comcast Center is 43 percent pre-leased to Comcast Corporation, and represents a projected investment of $437 million.

Liberty also began construction on four additional properties, including: 8301 Industrial Boulevard, a one million square foot distribution center in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, 100 percent pre-leased to Wakefern Food Corporation; 16602 Central Green Boulevard, a 118,000 square foot distribution facility in Houston, Texas, 100 percent pre-leased to Enduro Systems, Inc.; 2256 Taft Vineland Road, a 35,000 square foot flex building in Orlando, Florida, 26 percent pre-leased to the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies; and Heron Place at Mendenhall, a 13,000 square foot office building in High Point, North Carolina.

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LRY First Quarter 2005 Results
Page 2

Excluding Comcast Center, Liberty had 2.8 million square feet of space under development as of quarter end, representing a total investment of $212 million. These properties were 53 percent pre-leased as March 31, 2005.

Acquisitions: During the first quarter, Liberty acquired five properties for $64.6 million. These properties, which contain 953,000 square feet, are 98.1 percent leased, with a current yield of 9.2 percent.

Dispositions: During the first quarter, Liberty sold two properties containing 294,000 square feet, for $29.3 million. In addition, an unconsolidated joint venture in which Liberty has a 25 percent interest sold three properties which contained 397,000 square feet, for proceeds to the joint venture of $21.1 million.

Portfolio Performance

Leasing: At March 31, 2005, Liberty’s in-service portfolio of 62 million square feet was 91.3 percent occupied, compared to 91.9 percent occupied at December 31, 2004. During the quarter, Liberty completed lease transactions totaling over 2.3 million square feet of space.

Same Store Performance: Property level operating income for same store properties decreased by 0.4 percent on a cash basis and decreased by 0.9 percent on a straight line basis for the first quarter of 2005 compared to the same quarter in 2004.

Financing Highlights

During the first quarter of 2005, Liberty issued $300 million of ten year 5.125 percent senior unsecured notes. The proceeds were used to repay borrowings under the company’s unsecured credit facility and for other general corporate purposes.

About the Company

Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty’s 62 million square foot portfolio includes more than 700 properties which provide office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 2,100 tenants.

Additional information about the Company, including Liberty’s Quarterly Supplemental Package with detailed financial information is available in the Investor section of the Company’s web site at www.libertyproperty.com. The first quarter supplemental package will be available on-line the evening of April 25, 2005. If you are unable to access the web site, a copy of the supplemental package may be obtained by contacting Liberty by phone at 610-648-1708, or by e-mail to eshoemaker@libertyproperty.com.

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LRY First Quarter 2005 Results
Page 3

Liberty will host a conference call during which management will discuss first quarter results, on Tuesday, April 26, 2005, at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. To access the conference call in the United States or Canada, please dial 1-888-870-2815. For international access, dial 706-643-7691. No password or code is needed. A replay of the call will be available by dialing 1-800-642-1687 for US/Canada participants or 706-645-9291 for international participants. A passcode is needed for the replay: 4978494. The call can also be accessed live via the Internet on the Investor Relations page of Liberty’s web site at www.libertyproperty.com for one week following the call.

The statements contained in this press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities law. Although Liberty believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. As forward-looking statements, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expected results. These factors include, without limitation, the uncertainties affecting real estate businesses generally (such as entry into new leases, renewals of leases and dependence on tenants’ business operations), risks relating to our ability to maintain and increase property occupancy and rental rates, the financial condition of tenants, the uncertainties of real estate development and construction activity, the costs and availability of financing, the effects of local economic and market conditions, regulatory changes, potential liability relative to environmental matters and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

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Liberty Property Trust
Statement of Operations
March 31, 2005
(In thousands, except per share amounts)

                 
    Quarter Ended  
    March 31, 2005     March 31, 2004  
    (Unaudited)  
Operating Revenue
               
Rental
  $ 121,819     $ 114,610  
Operating expense reimbursement
    49,581       45,552  
 
           
Total operating revenue
    171,400       160,162  
 
           
 
               
Operating Expenses
               
Rental property
    38,259       34,292  
Real estate taxes
    15,960       15,557  
General and administrative
    8,313       8,482  
Depreciation and amortization
    35,100       32,298  
 
           
Total operating expenses
    97,632       90,629  
 
           
 
               
Operating Income
    73,768       69,533  
 
               
Other Income/Expense
               
Interest and other
    1,451       2,717  
Interest
    (33,188 )     (30,252 )
 
           
Total other income/expense
    (31,737 )     (27,535 )
 
           
 
               
Income before property dispositions, income taxes, minority interest and equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures
    42,031       41,998  
Loss on property dispositions, including impairment
    (280 )     (330 )
Income taxes
    (534 )     (389 )
Minority interest
    (4,249 )     (4,563 )
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures
    2,020       (405 )
 
           
 
               
Income from continuing operations
    38,988       36,311  
 
               
Discontinued operations net of minority interest (including net gain on property dispositions of $7,051 and $2,097 for the quarters ended March 31, 2005 and 2004)
    6,613       2,360  
 
           
Net Income
  $ 45,601     $ 38,671  
 
           
 
               
Basic income per common share
               
Continuing operations
  $ 0.45     $ 0.43  
 
           
Discontinued operations
  $ 0.08     $ 0.03  
 
           
Total basic income per common share
  $ 0.53     $ 0.46  
 
           
 
               
Diluted income per common share
               
Continuing operations
  $ 0.45     $ 0.42  
 
           
Discontinued operations
  $ 0.07     $ 0.03  
 
           
Total diluted income per common share
  $ 0.52     $ 0.45  
 
           
 
               
Weighted average shares
               
Basic
    85,867       83,480  
 
           
Diluted
    87,274       85,102  
 
           

 


 

Liberty Property Trust
Statement of Funds From Operations
March 31, 2005
(Unaudited and in thousands, except per share amounts)

                                 
    Quarter Ended  
    March 31, 2005     March 31, 2004  
            Per             Per  
            Weighted             Weighted  
            Average             Average  
    Dollars     Share     Dollars     Share  
 
Reconciliation of net income to FFO — basic:
                               
Basic — income available to common shareholders
  $ 45,601     $ 0.53     $ 38,671     $ 0.46  
 
                           
 
                               
Adjustments:
                               
Depreciation and amortization of unconsolidated joint ventures
    366               886          
Depreciation and amortization
    34,698               32,012          
Gain on property dispositions
    (8,867 )             (1,767 )        
Minority interest share in addback for depreciation and amortization, and gain on property dispositions
    (1,024 )             (1,311 )        
         
Funds from operations available to common shareholders — basic
  $ 70,774     $ 0.82     $ 68,491     $ 0.82  
         
 
                               
Reconciliation of net income to FFO — diluted:
                               
Diluted — income available to common shareholders
  $ 45,601     $ 0.52     $ 38,671     $ 0.45  
 
                           
 
                               
Adjustments:
                               
Depreciation and amortization of unconsolidated joint ventures
    366               886          
Depreciation and amortization
    34,698               32,012          
Gain on property dispositions
    (8,867 )             (1,767 )        
Minority interest excluding preferred unit distributions
    1,855               1,694          
         
Funds from operations available to common shareholders — diluted
  $ 73,653     $ 0.81     $ 71,496     $ 0.81  
         
 
                               
Reconciliation of weighted average shares:
                               
Weighted average common shares — all basic calculations
    85,867               83,480          
Dilutive shares for long term compensation plans
    1,407               1,622          
 
                           
Diluted shares for net income calculations
    87,274               85,102          
Weighted average common units
    3,666               3,698          
 
                           
Diluted shares for funds from operations calculations
    90,940               88,800          
 
                           

The Company believes that the calculation of Funds from operations is helpful to investors and management as it is a measure of the Company’s operating performance that excludes depreciation and amortization and gains and losses from property dispositions. As a result, year over year comparison of Funds from operations reflects the impact on operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates, operating costs, development activities, general and administrative expenses, and interest costs, providing perspective not immediately apparent from net income. In addition, management believes that Funds from operations provides useful information to the investment community about the Company’s financial performance when compared to other REIT’s since Funds from operations is generally recognized as the standard for reporting the operating performance of a REIT. Funds from operations available to common shareholders is defined by NAREIT as net income (computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”)), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of property, plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Funds from operations available to common shareholders does not represent net income or cash flows from operations as defined by GAAP and does not necessarily indicate that cash flows will be sufficient to fund cash needs. It should not be considered as an alternative to net income as an indicator of the Company’s operating performance or to cash flows as a measure of liquidity. Funds from operations available to common shareholders also does not represent cash flows generated from operating, investing or financing activities as defined by GAAP.

 


 

Liberty Property Trust
Balance Sheet
March 31, 2005
(In thousands, except share amounts)

                 
    March 31, 2005     December 31, 2004  
    (Unaudited)          
Assets
               
Real estate:
               
Land and land improvements
  $ 631,989     $ 625,035  
Building and improvements
    3,660,806       3,629,508  
Less: accumulated depreciation
    (713,406 )     (695,410 )
 
           
 
               
Operating real estate
    3,579,389       3,559,133  
 
               
Development in progress
    184,209       81,099  
Land held for development
    169,397       171,122  
 
           
 
               
Net real estate
    3,932,995       3,811,354  
 
               
Cash and cash equivalents
    36,783       33,667  
Restricted cash
    17,932       34,626  
Accounts receivable
    16,042       21,502  
Deferred rent receivable
    68,594       66,528  
Deferred financing and leasing costs, net of accumulated amortization (2005, $97,675; 2004, $91,117)
    118,197       107,148  
Investment in unconsolidated joint ventures
    33,284       24,372  
Prepaid expenses and other assets
    52,652       63,630  
 
           
 
               
Total assets
  $ 4,276,479     $ 4,162,827  
 
           
 
               
Liabilities
               
Mortgage loans
  $ 372,660     $ 366,171  
Unsecured notes
    1,755,000       1,455,000  
Credit facility
    125,000       312,000  
Accounts payable
    21,822       24,288  
Accrued interest
    22,661       34,994  
Dividend payable
    54,933       54,485  
Other liabilities
    106,138       111,764  
 
           
 
               
Total liabilities
    2,458,214       2,358,702  
 
           
 
               
Minority interest
    205,165       207,866  
 
Shareholders’ Equity
               
Common shares of beneficial interest, $.001 par value, 191,200,000 shares authorized, 86,604,902 (includes 59,100 in treasury) and 85,734,136 (includes 59,100 in treasury) shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively
    86       86  
Additional paid-in capital
    1,742,972       1,708,573  
Accumulated other comprehensive income
    22,869       25,105  
Unearned compensation
    (10,796 )     (6,846 )
Distributions in excess of net income
    (140,704 )     (129,332 )
Common shares in treasury, at cost, 59,100 shares as of March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively
    (1,327 )     (1,327 )
 
           
Total shareholders’ equity
    1,613,100       1,596,259  
 
               
Total liabilities & shareholders’ equity
  $ 4,276,479     $ 4,162,827