Mack-Cali Stays Solid in Q2

EDISON, NJ-Despite a difficult economic climate, Mack-Cali Realty Corp. executed 140 leases totaling 825,605 square feet in Q2–596,640 square feet of which was office space, with the balance coming from office/flex (217,165 square feet) and industrial/warehouse (11,800 square feet).

Of these totals, 365,898 square feet were for new leases and 459,707 square feet were for lease renewals and other tenant retention transactions. The locally based REIT also revealed its second-quarter financial results during a conference call yesterday.

For the quarter, FFO available to common shareholders amounted to $76.5 million, or 87 cents per share, versus $75.2 million, or 93 cents per share, for that same period a year earlier. Total revenues for the second quarter 2009 were $189.3 million as compared to $192.8 million for Q2 2008.

In June, the company’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of 45 cents per common share for the second quarter 2009, which was then paid to shareholders in July.

As of June, Mack-Cali’s portfolio was 90.6% leased, a nominal decrease from three months earlier when occupancy stood at 90.7%. In the conference call, Mitchell E. Hersh, president and CEO of Mack-Cali, said that he’s pleased with the renewal activity. However, many tenants continue to delaying decision-making.

In general, Hersh said that sublease space in most of Mack-Cali’s markets “is not as extreme,” with the exception of Morristown/Parsippany where sublease space accounts for 25% of total availability. “Around 4% to 5% of our portfolio is available so the total sublease space on a direct basis is slightly more than one million square feet,” he added.

Utility costs were perhaps one of the more problematic issues, which Hersh said is largely due to pressure being placed on the cost of oil. But he noted that it’s too early to do much hedging here.

During the conference call, the company also discussed its April acquisition of the remaining interests in the Mack-Green-Gale LLC and 55 Corporate Partners, LLC joint ventures for $5 million. As a result, the company now owns 100% of Mack-Green-Gale and 55 Corporate and has consolidated 11 office properties, aggregating approximately 1.5 million square feet, owned by Mack-Green-Gale, as well as a pre-leased 205,000-square-foot build-to-suit office development project owned by 55 Corporate.

In May, the company completed a public offering of 11.5 million shares of common stock at a price per share of $25. Merrill Lynch & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities and JP Morgan acted as the joint managers, while BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC, Citi, Comerica Securities, PNC Capital Markets LLC, Scotia Capital, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Wachovia Securities acted as co-managers.

The net proceeds to the company from the offering after deducting underwriting commissions and discounts and offering expenses were approximately $275 million, which were used to repay borrowings under its unsecured revolving credit facility.