Mack-Cali Nets $23M for Q3

EDISON-Mack-Cali Realty Corp. posted a slight drop in third quarter earnings as compared to Q3 2007. The company saw a similar drop in its nine-month earnings through Sept. 30, 2008, with net income available to common shareholders equaling $55.9 million, or $0.85 per share, versus $92.6 million, or $1.37 per share, for the same period last year. Funds from operations available to common shareholders for Q3 ’08 totaled $82.1 million, or $1.02 per share, versus $77.5 million, or $0.93 per share, for Q3 2007.

Meanwhile, total revenues for Q3 ’08 were $204.4 million as compared to $212.9 million for the same quarter in ’07, while total revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2008 amounted to $591.9 million, compared to $606.7 million for the same period last year. “We are clearly in very challenging economic times,” says Mack-Cali’s president and CEO Mitchell Hersh. “However, I am pleased to report that Mack-Cali had another solid quarter with some significant leasing activity,” including 118 executed leases which totaled more than 1.1 million sf and consisted of 898,037 sf of office space; 210,192 sf of office/flex space and 5,995 sf of industrial/warehouse space.

Despite tough times economically, Mack-Cali picked up $240 million in mortgage financing from the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and New York Life Insurance Co. as co-lenders. The mortgage loan, which is collateralized by its Jersey City-based Harborside Plaza 5 office property, has a 6.8% annual interest rate and carries a 10-year term. Proceeds from the loan were used to bring down outstanding borrowings to $95 million under the company’s $775-million unsecured revolving credit facility.

“Despite the general liquidity in the financial markets, we are extremely pleased that we have secured a $240 million mortgage on one of our trophy properties on the Jersey City waterfront, thereby enhancing our balance sheet liquidity,” says Hersh. “In this environment, in particular, it is a testament to the strength and stability of our company. We’re confident that Mack-Cali remains well-positioned to navigate through this period of economic uncertainty and to capitalize on opportunities going forward.”

As of Sept. 30, Mack-Cali held close to 65.9 million shares of common stock and 10,000 shares of 8% Series C cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred stock ($25,000 liquidation value per share), and had nearly 14.9 million common operating partnerships outstanding and a total of 80.73 million common shares/common units outstanding.