NEW YORK CITY—By several measures, Lexington Realty Trust appears to have had a successful third quarter. The firm, which reported its earnings for July to September on Tuesday, increased its quarterly common share dividend by 10% to $0.165 per share for the quarter ended December 31and itexecuted 2.7 million square feet of new and extended leases, raising its renewal rents by 4.3% and overall portfolio occupancy to 98.1%.
The company's adjusted FFO hit $56.1 million, or $0.25 per diluted common share, it invested $46.5 million in current build-to-suit projects and other investments and entered into an agreement to fund a new build-to-suit project of $98.6 million. KAIM Produced $22.4 million of gross proceeds from disposition
T. Wilson Eglin, president and CEO of Lexington, said, "Our portfolio continues to perform well, as evidenced by our robust leasing volume and high occupancy. Recent investment activity, together with year-to-date leasing progress and refinancing activity, have created good visibility with respect to projected growth in funds from operations per share for the year ahead.”
So good, in fact, that subsequent to quarter end, Lexington declared a regular quarterly dividend/distribution for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, of $0.165 per common share/unit, a 10% increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.15 per common share.
During the third quarter of 2013, Lexington executed 11 new and extended leases for 2.7 million square feet and ended the quarter with overall portfolio occupancy of 98.1%. It also disposed of its interests in four properties to unrelated third parties for a gross sales price of $22.4 million.
Lexington entered into a build-to-suit arrangement to acquire and construct a 279,000 square foot, 16-floor office building and a parking garage in Richmond, VA. The maximum construction loan amount is $98.6 million and the purchase price is $94 million, creating an 8% initial cap rate. Upon completion of construction, a 15-year net lease with a single tenant for approximately 78% of the office building will start. The balance of the office building is subject to a master lease with the developer.
In terms of investment, Lexington acquired the remaining interest in its Long Island City, New York industrial property for $8.9 million and it put $5 million in a joint venture, which acquired the fee interest and the related office building improvements of a property in Baltimore.
On the capital markets side during the third quarter, Lexington repaid $8.6 million of secured debt, which had an interest rate of 5.3%. Among other highlights, the company borrowed $67 million on its unsecured revolving credit facility.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
