Equity One Income Falls

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FL-Funds from operations for locally based Equity One Inc. rose 17.3% during third quarter to $32.9 million, compared with $28.1 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net income, however, dropped to $28 million in this year’s third quarter, down from $30.7 million in the parallel quarter of 2004.

The $47.9-million investment in acquisitions during this third quarter nearly matched the approximately $45.2 million gained in income from dispositions. The company acquired a 155-acre development parcel in Tampa; the 33-acre Winchester development parcel in Huntsville, AL; the 65,834-sf Young Circle Shopping Center in Hollywood, FL; the 13,000-sf Hairston Center in Decatur, GA; the 32,737-sf Banco Popular building here, and the 11.2-acre River Green land in Canton, GA. It sold North River Village in North Ellenton, FL; Big Curve in Yuma, AZ; Waterlick Plaza in Lynchburg, VA, and Park Northern in Phoenix.

More than 15 development and redevelopment projects are under way or in the planning stage, representing about $103.3 million of asset value. In addition, Chaim Katzman, chairmain and CEO, said during a conference call that approximately $80 million in assets are in the acquisition pipeline to close by first quarter 2006.

These do not include the once-announced acquisition of Port Washington, NY-based Cedar Shopping Centers, which Katzman said, “won’t happen in the foreseeable future,” or the acquisition of Netherlands-based Dim Vastgoed, which owns 17 centers in the US and is still under negotiation. Equity One currently owns approximately 8.5% of that company’s shares and made an offer for the rest on Oct. 13. The period for acceptance of the offer ends Nov. 14, unless Equity One extends it.

Without forecasting the outcome, Howard Sipzner, EVP and CFO, said, “we’re involved in a bit of a tussle to take control of the company.” The offer, he said, “includes a nice premium.”

Katzman said, at the current offer, “the cap rate would be at or above 7%. It’s not a home run or a steal. We know most of the assets, and it fits well with our portfolio.”

Meanwhile, occupancy in Equity One’s stabilized core portfolio, excluding centers under development or redevelopment, is 93.7%, nearly matching occupancy of 93.8% at the same time last year. The average base rent in that portfolio is now $11.05 per sf, an 11.5% increase from $9.91 per sf at the end of September 2004.