Liberty REIT: Q1 'Extremely Solid'

MALVERN, PA-Coming off what CEO Bill Hankowsky called “an extremely solid quarter” in a Q1 conference call Tuesday, Liberty Property Trust is anticipating positive results for calendar 2008. However, the locally-based REIT is also sticking by a scaled-back development guidance it announced during its last conference call, with a projected investment of $300 million to $400 million for ’08.

Hankowsky said the guidance had been reduced from the previously announced range of between $400 million and $500 million after Liberty decided to put some projects on hold. “I am pleased with Liberty’s results in the first quarter, which reflected solid leasing velocity and our ability to secure opportunities for selective development,” Hankowsky says in a prepared statement. “However, the prolonged stagnation of the credit markets and the increasing economic slowdown is slowing our tenants’ decisions and thinning market demand, meaning we are working harder for every piece of business. Given the environment, I am very glad we are a defensively-positioned company with a strong balance sheet, minimal lease rollover, and no need to access the capital markets this year.”

The quarter ended with the closing of $324 million in permanent financing $324 million permanent financing for Comcast Center, a development property in Philadelphia which was transferred from Liberty to an unconsolidated joint venture in which Liberty has a 20% interest. That capped a six-month period in which Liberty secured more than $1 billion, “a noteworthy achievement given the significant challenges in the capital markets,” said Hankowsky during the conference call.