– Bank Named CIO Awards Canada Winner by IDC and CIO – LONDON, ON, Sept. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - VersaBank has been named a CIO Awards Canada winner by IDC Canada and CIO. VersaBank CIO, Wooi Koay received the award at a CIO Awards Canada gala dinner hosted at The National Club in Toronto on September 25, 2024. CIO Awards Canada recognized VersaBank for its Capital Adequacy Requirement (CAR) project. Canada's banking regulator requires banks to set aside capital amounts for different loan types – known as c ...

China's slow post-Covid recovery could be a lasting headwind for its stock market. With the mainland's two largest indexes — the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite — each negative so far in 2024, KraneShares Chief Investment Officer Brendan Ahern thinks government stimulus is necessary to kick-start the country's stock market performance. "Investors, particularly in mainland China … [are] looking for much, much stronger fiscal support from the government," he told CNBC's "ETF Edge" this week. "Th ...

Key Takeaways Ken Leech, the co-CIO of a Franklin Resources unit, took a leave of absence after receiving a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The departure came as the company and federal regulators have been investigating certain past trade allocations in some Western Asset Management accounts. Western Asset said in light of Leech's exit, it has closed its Macro Opportunities fund in what it called the "best interests" of clients. Franklin Resources (BEN) was the worst-perform ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company's net operating income (NOI) for Q2 2024 was $24.9 million, which is $1.8 million lower than Q1 2024 due to lower occupancy and a $900,000 termination fee recognized in Q1 [13] - Core funds from operations (FFO) were reported at $11.5 million or $0.28 per share, a decrease of $2 million from Q1 2024, primarily driven by the decrease in NOI [13] - Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) for Q2 2024 were $5.3 million or $0.13 per share, with a significant impact from a $1 million tenant improvement deduction related to a new lease [13] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - New leasing activity increased to 162,000 square feet in Q2 2024, while total leasing activity rose to 269,000 square feet, marking the highest quarter of new leasing in the company's history [4] - The largest new lease was a 30,000 square foot lease with a strong credit energy tenant in Orlando, and a 24,000 square foot lease with a co-working operator in Phoenix [7] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The office leasing fundamentals have strengthened across markets, with a nationwide increase in tenant requirements by 28% year-over-year [5] - Sublease space has decreased for four consecutive quarters, indicating a tightening supply of high-quality lease space [5] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on executing strategic property upgrades in key submarkets, with an investment of $9 million planned for four significant renovation projects [9] - There is an ongoing exploration of a mixed-use development opportunity at the City Center property in St. Petersburg, which could enhance shareholder value [11] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management noted that the office market still faces challenges, particularly a lack of liquidity in real estate transactions, but believes the pathway to long-term success is becoming clearer for quality properties [6] - The company reiterated its guidance for the year, expecting occupancy levels to increase in the last two quarters due to a significant number of signed leases [15] Other Important Information - The company has approximately $92 million undrawn and authorized on its credit facility and $43 million in cash and restricted cash as of June 30, 2024 [14] - The company completed the transfer of the Cascade Station property to the lender, reducing overall debt by approximately $21 million [15] Q&A Session Summary Question: Any additional known move-outs of consequence? - Management confirmed that there is only one significant known move-out of 72,000 square feet scheduled for January, which is the only known move-out greater than 30,000 square feet in the coming quarters [18] Question: How is the leasing pipeline looking for the back half of the year? - Management indicated that while there is a natural slowdown over the summer, the overall leasing requirements and discussions remain strong, particularly in Phoenix [19] Question: Thoughts on addressing debt in the current environment? - Management is exploring various options for debt placement and noted that the CMBS market is improving, allowing for more flexibility in financing [21]

Company Overview - City Office REIT owns a diversified portfolio of premier office properties in high-growth Sun Belt markets[4] - The portfolio comprises 56 buildings with 5567 thousands square feet of NRA[4] - The portfolio's in-place occupancy is 830% with a lease term remaining of 45 years[4] Financial Highlights and Outlook - Q2 2024 Core FFO per share was $028 and AFFO per share was $013[20] - The company executed 269000 square feet of new and renewal leases in Q2 2024[20] - Full year 2024 Net Operating Income is projected between $1015 million and $1035 million[20] - Full year 2024 Core FFO per Share is expected to be between $114 and $118[20] - The company anticipates December 31 2024 Occupancy to be between 835% and 855%[20] Portfolio and Strategy - CIO's 12 dispositions have generated $560 million of gains on sale[6,14] - The company's new leasing pipeline is over 200000 square feet as of August 1 2024[16] - The company has 48000 square feet of completed spec suites with approximately 30000 square feet under construction or planned for 2024[16]

TYSONS CORNER, Va. and PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellebrite (NASDAQ: CLBT), a global leader in premier Digital Investigative solutions for the public and private sectors, today announced the appointment of Sigalit Shavit as Chief Information Officer (CIO) who begins her role today, August 1, 2024. Shavit joins the Company's Leadership Team, bringing with her more than 30 years of experience to Cellebrite's information technology and security team. In this newly established posit ...

City Office REIT (CIO) came out with quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $0.28 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.30 per share. This compares to FFO of $0.35 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an FFO surprise of -6.67%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this real estate investment trust would post FFO of $0.31 per share when it actually produced FFO of $0.33, delivering a surprise of 6.45%. Over the last four q ...

Property Portfolio - As of June 30, 2024, the company owned 23 properties comprising 56 office buildings with a total of approximately 5.6 million square feet of net rentable area, and properties were approximately 83.0% leased[58] - As of June 30, 2024, 12.7% of net rentable area under the company's portfolio was vacant, a slight decrease from 13.0% as of June 30, 2023[61] - Approximately 17.3% of the net rentable area in the company's portfolio is subject to early termination provisions[64] - The overall occupancy rate across properties was 83.0% as of June 30, 2024[70] Financial Performance - For the three months ended June 30, 2024, rental and other revenues decreased by $2.3 million, or 5%, to $42.3 million compared to $44.6 million for the same period in 2023[75] - Rental and other revenues decreased by $3.8 million, or 4%, to $86.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $90.6 million for the same period in 2023[82] - Total operating expenses decreased by $0.7 million, or 2%, to $36.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, from $36.7 million for the same period in 2023[76] - Total operating expenses decreased by $0.9 million, or 1%, to $72.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, from $73.5 million for the same period in 2023[84] - Interest expense increased by $0.3 million, or 2%, to $16.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, from $16.6 million for the same period in 2023[86] - The company recognized a loss on deconsolidation of $1.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to a loss of $0.1 million for the same period in 2023[87] - Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $4.1 million to $31.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $27.6 million for the same period in 2023[90] Leasing Activity - The company recorded a termination fee of $0.9 million during the period ended March 31, 2024, due to WeWork rejecting a lease totaling 46,000 square feet[65] - 3.9% of the company's leases are scheduled to expire over the remainder of the calendar year without regard to renewal options[64] - The average effective rent per square foot for new leasing was $25.95, while for renewal leasing it was $25.52, resulting in a total average of $25.78[68] - The retention rate for tenants was reported at 44%[68] - The company experienced a 4.3% increase in renewal cash rent compared to expiring leases[68] Economic and Industry Challenges - The company expects to face challenges in retaining and attracting new tenants due to potential business layoffs and industry slowdowns[59] - The company has experienced slower new leasing activity and uncertainty over existing tenants' long-term space requirements, which could reduce anticipated rental revenues[62] - The broader economic environment has led to increased levels of inflation and higher interest rates, impacting the company's cost of capital and financing arrangements[59] Debt and Interest Rate Management - The company had approximately $205.0 million outstanding under its Unsecured Credit Facility as of June 30, 2024[92] - Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash were $43.3 million as of June 30, 2024, down from $52.7 million as of June 30, 2023[89] - As of June 30, 2024, approximately $587.4 million, or 90.0%, of the company's debt had fixed interest rates, while $65.0 million, or 10.0%, had variable interest rates[106] - A 1% increase in SOFR would result in a $0.7 million increase in annual interest costs on debt outstanding as of June 30, 2024[106] - A 1% decrease in SOFR would result in a $0.7 million decrease in annual interest costs on debt outstanding as of June 30, 2024[106] - The company uses derivative financial instruments to manage interest rate risks related to borrowings, but does not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes[105] - The fixed rate debt includes loans against which the company has applied interest rate swaps to effectively fix the SOFR component of borrowing rates[106] - The company's interest rate risk estimates are based on its capital structure and hypothetical interest rates, without considering changes in overall economic activity[107] - The company considers its interest rate exposure to be moderate as of June 30, 2024[106] - The fair value of outstanding debt would decrease with a 1% increase in SOFR[106] - The company may take actions to further mitigate exposure to changes in interest rates, but specific actions and their effects are uncertain[107] - The company only enters into contracts with major financial institutions based on their credit rating and other factors[105] Strategic Operations - The company focuses on owning and acquiring office properties in growth markets predominantly in the Sun Belt, which are characterized by growing populations and above-average employment growth forecasts[63] - The company will continue to evaluate business operations and strategies to optimally position itself given current economic and industry conditions[62]

Financial Performance - Rental and other revenues for Q2 2024 were $42.3 million, with a GAAP net loss of approximately $5.6 million, or ($0.14) per fully diluted share[2] - Core FFO was approximately $11.5 million, or $0.28 per fully diluted share, while AFFO was approximately $5.3 million, or $0.13 per fully diluted share[2] - Same Store Cash NOI decreased by 2.0% for Q2 2024 compared to the same period in the prior year[4] - The company reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $5,607,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to a net loss of $2,535,000 for the same period in 2023[26] - Funds from operations (FFO) attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended June 30, 2024, were $10,414,000, with an FFO per common share of $0.25[27] - The AFFO attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $5,293,000, with an AFFO per common share of $0.13[27] Occupancy and Leasing Activity - In-place occupancy was 83.0% as of June 30, 2024, or 87.3% including signed leases not yet occupied[2] - Renewal cash rents increased by 4.3% compared to expiring cash rents, with total leasing activity of approximately 269,000 square feet during the quarter[5] - The company executed 162,000 square feet of new leases, representing approximately 3% of the entire portfolio[3] Debt and Assets - Total principal outstanding debt was approximately $652.4 million, with 90.0% of the debt being fixed rate or effectively fixed rate[7] - The company recognized a net loss of $1.5 million on the disposition of its Cascade Station property, reducing total debt outstanding by $20.6 million[8] - The company’s total assets decreased to $1,480,501,000 as of June 30, 2024, from $1,511,376,000 as of December 31, 2023[25] - Total liabilities decreased to $721,405,000 as of June 30, 2024, from $738,743,000 as of December 31, 2023[25] - Cash and cash equivalents were $28,005,000 as of June 30, 2024, down from $30,082,000 as of December 31, 2023[25] Dividends - The company declared a cash dividend of $0.10 per share of common stock and $0.4140625 per share of Series A Preferred Stock, both paid on July 24, 2024[9] - The company declared a dividend distribution of $0.10 per common share for the three months ended June 30, 2024, unchanged from the same period in 2023[26] Guidance - The company reiterated its full year 2024 guidance based on current plans and assumptions[10]

City Office's management will hold a conference call at 11:00 am Eastern Time on August 1, 2024 to discuss the Company's financial results. Additionally, a supplemental financial package to accompany the discussion of the results will be posted on www.cioreit.com. Telephone Conference Call Domestic: 1-866-813-9403 International: 1-929-458-6194 Passcode: 237346 Contact Click on the webcast link under the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at www.cioreit.com. Domestic: 1-833-470-1428 Intern ...