Prologis Inc PLD

Positive Long-Term Outlook Amid Near-Term Macroeconomic Uncertainty

SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the global leader in logistics real estate, today reported first quarter results for 2024. 

Net earnings per diluted share was $0.63 for the first quarter of 2024 compared with $0.50 for the first quarter of 2023.

Core funds from operations (Core FFO)* per diluted share was $1.28 for the first quarter of 2024, compared with $1.22 for the same period in 2023. Core FFO, excluding Net Promote Income (Expense)* per diluted share for the first quarter of 2024 was $1.31 compared with $1.23 for the first quarter of 2023. 

"While operating conditions are healthy in the majority of our markets, customers remain focused on controlling costs, which is weighing on decision making and the pace of leasing," said Hamid R. Moghadam, co-founder, chairman and CEO, Prologis. "A volatile and persistently high interest rate environment, together with mounting geopolitical concerns, contribute to this indecision and its short-term effect on net absorption. We remain optimistic about the fundamentals of our business, while being prepared for a slower environment in the next quarter or two."

OPERATING PERFORMANCE 

DEPLOYMENT ACTIVITY

BALANCE SHEET STRENGTH & LIQUIDITY
"As always, we maintain a philosophy to build and preserve financial strength for any environment, with liquidity of almost $6 billion at the end of the quarter, low leverage and insulated earnings from foreign exchange movements," said Timothy D. Arndt, chief financial officer, Prologis. "Our capital raising efforts this quarter, across both debt and Strategic Capital, highlight our strength and reputation as an issuer as well as the broad, global access that we have to optimize our capital structure."

During the first quarter, Prologis and its co-investment ventures issued an aggregate of $4.1 billion of debt at a weighted average interest rate of 4.7%, and a weighted average term of 9.5 years. This activity includes an inaugural issuance of a CNH bond, which further diversifies our funding sources in the currencies we operate in. Also, during the quarter, Prologis established a Commercial Paper program permitting issuances of up to $1 billion. The program received A-1/P-2 short-term ratings from S&P and Moody's, respectively.

At March 31, 2024, debt as a percentage of total market capitalization was 21.0%, and the company's weighted average interest rate on its share of total debt was 3.1%, with a weighted average term of 9.3 years and no significant debt maturities until 2026.

FOREIGN CURRENCY STRATEGY
Prologis hedges its exposure to foreign currency fluctuations by borrowing in the currencies in which it invests and using derivative financial instruments. At March 31, 2024, 96.5% of Prologis' equity was in USD and forecasted earnings for 2024, 2025 and 2026 are 98%, 98% and 97%, respectively, in USD or hedged through derivative contracts.

2024 GUIDANCE 
Prologis' guidance for net earnings is included in the table below as well as guidance for Core FFO*, which are reconciled in our supplemental information.

"While we had a successful first quarter, we expect net absorption in the upcoming quarters to be lower than our prior expectations and leasing to stay competitive in a handful of our larger, higher-rent markets," said Arndt. "With that, our current view calls for lower average occupancy in the year. Accordingly, we have reduced full-year guidance ranges for occupancy, same-store growth and earnings, but view the adjustments more as a matter of timing as the outlook on new supply remains very favorable."  

Arndt added: "At the midpoint, we project Core FFO growth, excluding promotes, of nearly 8%, and Cash Same Store NOI growth to be 6.75%. While our Southern California portfolio faces near-term headwinds, we remain very positive about long-term growth and value given the market's supply barriers and secular forces driving future demand."

The earnings guidance described above includes potential gains recognized from real estate transactions but excludes any future or potential foreign currency or derivative gains or losses as our guidance assumes constant foreign currency rates. 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, 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 relates predominantly to these items. Please refer to our quarterly Supplemental Information, which is available on our Investor Relations website at https://ir.prologis.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov for a definition of Core FFO* and other non-GAAP measures used by Prologis, along with reconciliations of these items to the closest GAAP measure for our results and guidance.

APRIL 17, 2024, CALL DETAILS 
The call will take place on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET. To access a live broadcast of the call, please dial +1 (877) 897-2615 (toll-free from the United States and Canada) or +1 (201) 689-8514 (from all other countries). A live webcast can be accessed from the Investor Relations section of www.prologis.com.

A telephonic replay will be available April 17 – May 1 at +1 (877) 660-6853 (from the United States and Canada) or +1 (201) 612-7415 (from all other countries) using access code 13745294. The webcast replay will be posted in the Investor Relations section of www.prologis.com under "Events & Presentations."

ABOUT PROLOGIS
Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. At March 31, 2024, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 1.2 billion square feet (115 million square meters) in 19 countries. Prologis leases modern logistics facilities to a diverse base of approximately 6,700 customers principally across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment.

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 we operate as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Such statements involve uncertainties that could significantly impact our financial results. Words such as "expects" "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," and "estimates" including 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, acquisition and development activity, contribution and disposition activity, general conditions in the geographic areas where we operate, our debt, capital structure and financial position, our ability to earn revenues from co-investment ventures, 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) international, national, regional and local economic and political climates and conditions; (ii) changes in global 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, including the integration of the operations of significant real estate portfolios; (v) maintenance of Real Estate Investment Trust status, tax structuring and changes in income tax laws and rates; (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, including our ability to establish new co-investment ventures; (viii) risks of doing business internationally, including currency risks; (ix) environmental uncertainties, including risks of natural disasters; (x) risks related to global pandemics; and (xi) those additional factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by us under the heading "Risk Factors." We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this document except as may be required by law.

Adjusted EBITDA. We use Adjusted EBITDA attributable to common stockholders/unitholders ("Adjusted EBITDA"), a non-GAAP financial measure, as a measure of our operating performance. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted EBITDA is net earnings.

We calculate Adjusted EBITDA by beginning with consolidated net earnings attributable to common stockholders and removing the effect of: interest charges, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, gains or losses from the disposition of investments in real estate (excluding development properties and land), gains from the revaluation of equity investments upon acquisition of a controlling interest, gains or losses on early extinguishment of debt and derivative contracts (including cash charges), similar adjustments we make to our FFO measures (see definition below), and other items, such as, amortization of stock based compensation and unrealized gains or losses on foreign currency and derivatives. We also include a pro forma adjustment to reflect a full period of NOI on the operating properties we acquire or stabilize during the quarter and to remove NOI on properties we dispose of during the quarter, assuming all transactions occurred at the beginning of the quarter. For properties we contribute, we make an adjustment to reflect NOI at the new ownership percentage for the full quarter.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides investors relevant and useful information because it permits investors to view our operating performance, analyze our ability to meet interest payment obligations and make quarterly preferred stock dividends on an unleveraged basis before the effects of income tax, depreciation and amortization expense, gains and losses on the disposition of non-development properties and other items (outlined above), that affect comparability. While all items are not infrequent or unusual in nature, these items may result from market fluctuations that can have inconsistent effects on our results of operations. The economics underlying these items reflect market and financing conditions in the short-term but can obscure our performance and the value of our long-term investment decisions and strategies.

We calculate our Adjusted EBITDA, based on our proportionate ownership share of both our unconsolidated and consolidated ventures.  We reflect our share of our Adjusted EBITDA measures for unconsolidated ventures by applying our average ownership percentage for the period to the applicable adjusting 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 Adjusted EBITDA measures to remove the noncontrolling interests share of the applicable adjusting items based on our average ownership percentage for the applicable periods.

While we believe Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure, it should not be used alone because it excludes significant components of net earnings, such as our historical cash expenditures or future cash requirements for working capital, capital expenditures, distribution requirements, contractual commitments or interest and principal payments on our outstanding debt and is therefore limited as an analytical tool.

Our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to EBITDA reported by other companies in both the real estate industry and other industries. We compensate for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA by providing investors with financial statements prepared according to GAAP, along with this detailed discussion of Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA from consolidated net earnings attributable to common stockholders.

Business Line Reporting is a non-GAAP financial measure. Core FFO and development gains are generated by our three lines of business: (i) real estate operations; (ii) strategic capital; and (iii) development.  The real estate operations line of business 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 asset management fees and transactional fees that we earn from our consolidated and unconsolidated co-investment ventures less costs directly associated with our strategic capital group and Net Promote Income (Expense). Realized 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 per share calculation. 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 companies as they may use different methodologies in computing such measures.

Calculation of Per Share Amounts

Development Portfolio includes industrial and non-industrial properties, yards and parking lots that are under development and properties that are developed but have not met Stabilization. At March 31, 2024, total TEI for yards, parking lots and non-industrial assets was $1.3 billion both on an Owned and Managed and Prologis Share basis. We do not disclose square footage for yards and parking lots. 

Estimated Build Out (TEI and sq ft) represents the estimated TEI and finished square feet available for lease upon completion of an industrial building on existing parcels of land.

Estimated Value Creation represents the value that we expect to create through our development and leasing activities. We calculate Estimated Value Creation by estimating the Stabilized NOI that the property will generate and applying a stabilized capitalization rate applicable to that property. Estimated Value Creation is calculated as the amount by which the value exceeds our TEI, including closing costs and taxes, if any, and does not include any fees or promotes we may earn.

Estimated Weighted Average Margin is calculated on development properties as Estimated Value Creation, less estimated closing costs and taxes, if any, on properties expected to be sold or contributed, divided by TEI.

Estimated Weighted Average Stabilized Yield is calculated on the properties in the Development Portfolio as Stabilized NOI divided by TEI. The yields on a Prologis Share basis were as follows:

FFO, as modified by Prologis attributable to common stockholders/unitholders ("FFO, as modified by Prologis"); Core FFO attributable to common stockholders/unitholders ("Core FFO"); AFFO attributable to common stockholders/unitholders ("AFFO"); (collectively referred to as "FFO"). FFO is a non-GAAP financial measure that is commonly used in the real estate industry. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to FFO is net earnings.

The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") defines FFO as earnings computed under GAAP to exclude historical cost depreciation and gains and losses from sales net of any related tax, along with impairment charges, of previously depreciated properties. We also exclude the gains on revaluation of equity investments upon acquisition of a controlling interest and the gain recognized from a partial sale of our investment, as these are similar to gains from the sales of previously depreciated properties. We exclude similar adjustments from our unconsolidated entities and the third parties' share of our consolidated co-investment ventures.

Our FFO Measures

Our FFO measures begin with NAREIT's definition and we make certain adjustments to reflect our business and the way that management plans and executes our business strategy.  While not infrequent or unusual, the additional items we adjust for in calculating FFO, as modified by Prologis, Core FFO and AFFO, as defined below, are subject to significant fluctuations from period to period. Although these items may have 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.  These items have 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 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 adjusting 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 noncontrolling interests share of the applicable adjusting items based on our average ownership percentage for the applicable periods.

These FFO measures are used by management as supplemental financial measures of operating performance and we believe that it is important that stockholders, potential investors and financial analysts understand the measures management uses. 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.

We analyze our operating performance principally by the rental revenues of our real estate and the revenues from 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. 

FFO, as modified by Prologis 

To arrive at FFO, as modified by Prologis, we adjust the NAREIT defined FFO measure to exclude the impact of foreign currency related items and deferred tax, specifically:

We use FFO, as modified by Prologis, so that management, analysts and investors are able to evaluate our performance against other REITs that do not have similar operations or operations in jurisdictions outside the U.S.

Core FFO 

In addition to FFO, as modified by Prologis, we also use Core FFO. To arrive at Core FFO, we adjust FFO, as modified by Prologis, to exclude the following recurring and nonrecurring items that we recognize directly in FFO, as modified by Prologis:

We use Core FFO, including by segment and region, to: (i) assess our operating performance as compared to other real estate companies; (ii) evaluate our performance and the performance of our properties in comparison with expected results and results of previous periods; (iii) evaluate the performance of our management; (iv) budget and forecast future results to assist in the allocation of resources; (v) provide guidance to the financial markets to understand our expected operating performance; and (vi) evaluate how a specific potential investment will impact our future results.

AFFO

To arrive at AFFO, we adjust Core FFO to include realized gains from the disposition of land and development properties, net of current tax expense, and recurring capital expenditures and exclude the following items that we recognize directly in Core FFO:

We use AFFO to (i) assess our operating performance as compared to other real estate companies; (ii) evaluate our performance and the performance of our properties in comparison with expected results and results of previous periods; (iii) evaluate the performance of our management; (iv) budget and forecast future results to assist in the allocation of resources; and (v) evaluate how a specific potential investment will impact our future results.

Limitations on the use of our FFO measures

While we believe our modified 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 the limitations are:

• The current income tax expenses that are excluded from our modified FFO measures represent the taxes 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. Furthermore, the amortization of capital expenditures and leasing costs necessary to maintain the operating performance of logistics facilities are not reflected in FFO.
• Gains or losses from property dispositions and 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 disposed properties arising from changes in market conditions.
• The deferred income tax benefits and expenses that are excluded from our modified 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 modified 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 modified 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 or preferred stock that we exclude from our Core FFO, may provide a benefit or cost to us as we may be settling our obligation at less or more than our future obligation.

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 modified FFO measures to our net earnings computed under GAAP.

Guidance. The following is a reconciliation of our annual guided Net Earnings per share to our guided Core FFO per share:

Market Capitalization equals Market Equity, less liquidation preference of the preferred shares/units, plus our share of total debt.

Market Equity equals outstanding shares of common stock and units multiplied by the closing stock price plus the liquidation preference of the preferred shares/units.

Net Promote Income (Expense) is promote revenue earned from third-party investors during the period, net of related cash and stock compensation expenses, and taxes and foreign currency derivative gains and losses, if applicable.

Operating Portfolio represents industrial properties in our Owned and Managed portfolio that have reached Stabilization. Assets held for sale, Non-Strategic Assets and non-industrial assets are excluded from the portfolio. Prologis Share of NOI excludes termination fees and adjustments and includes NOI for the properties contributed to or acquired from co-investment ventures at our actual share prior to and subsequent to change in ownership.

Owned and Managed represents the consolidated properties as well as properties owned by our unconsolidated co-investment ventures, which we manage.

Prologis Share represents our proportionate economic ownership of each entity, or property included in our total Owned and Managed portfolio, whether consolidated or unconsolidated.

Rent Change (Cash) represents the percentage change in starting rental rates per the lease agreement, on new and renewed leases, commenced during the period compared with the previous ending rental rates in that same space. This measure excludes any short-term leases of less than one-year, holdover payments, free rent periods and introductory (teaser rates) defined as 50% or less of the stabilized rate.

Rent Change (Net Effective) represents the percentage change in net effective rental rates (average rate over the lease term), on new and renewed leases, commenced during the period compared with the previous net effective rental rates in that same space. This measure excludes any short-term leases of less than one year and holdover payments.

Retention is the square footage of all leases commenced during the period that are rented by existing tenants divided by the square footage of all expiring and in-place leases during the reporting period. The square footage of tenants that default or buy-out prior to expiration of their lease and short-term leases of less than one year, are not included in the calculation.

Same Store. Our same store metrics are non-GAAP financial measures, which are commonly used in the real estate industry and expected from the financial community, on both a net effective and cash basis. We evaluate the 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, which allows us and investors to analyze our ongoing business operations. We determine our same store metrics on property NOI, which is calculated as rental revenue less rental expense for the applicable properties in the same store population for both consolidated and unconsolidated properties based on our ownership interest, as further defined below.

We define our same store population for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as the properties in our Owned and Managed Operating Portfolio, including the property NOI for both consolidated properties and properties owned by the unconsolidated co-investment ventures at January 1, 2023 and owned throughout the same three-month period in both 2023 and 2024.

We believe the drivers of property NOI for the consolidated portfolio are generally the same for the properties owned by the ventures in which we invest and therefore we evaluate the same store metrics of the Owned and Managed portfolio based on Prologis' ownership in the properties ("Prologis Share").

The same store population excludes properties held for sale to third parties, along with development properties that were not stabilized at the beginning of the period (January 1, 2023) and properties acquired or disposed of to third parties during the period. To derive an appropriate measure of period-to-period operating performance, we remove the effects of foreign currency exchange rate movements by using the reported period-end exchange rate to translate from local currency into the U.S. dollar, for both periods.

As non-GAAP financial measures, the same store metrics have certain limitations as an analytical tool and may vary among real estate companies. As a result, we provide a reconciliation of Rental Revenues less Rental Expenses ("Property NOI") (from our Consolidated Financial Statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP) to our Same Store Property NOI measures, as follows:

Stabilization is defined as the earlier of when a property that was developed has been completed for one year, is contributed to a co-investment venture following completion or is 90% occupied. Upon Stabilization, a property is moved into our Operating Portfolio.

Weighted Average Interest Rate is based on the effective rate, which includes the amortization of related premiums and discounts and finance costs. 

Weighted Average Stabilized Capitalization ("Cap") Rate is calculated as Stabilized NOI divided by the Acquisition Price. 

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SOURCE Prologis, Inc.