Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust(WHLR) - 2023 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - For the three months ended December 31, 2023, net income attributable to common stockholders was $12,377,000, resulting in a net income per basic share of $0.55[12] - Funds from operations (FFO) available to common stockholders and Operating Partnership unitholders for the same period was $21,026,000, with FFO per common share and OP unit at $0.93[12] - The company experienced a significant improvement in net income per share, from a loss of $(5.97) per share in Q4 2022 to a profit of $0.55 per share in Q4 2023[14] - Total revenue of $26.2 million decreased by 2.7% or $0.7 million, primarily due to a $0.6 million decrease in market lease amortization[17] - Funds from Operations (FFO) for Q4 2023 reached $26,014,000, up from $3,864,000 in Q4 2022, indicating strong operational performance[40] - Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $46,117,000, compared to $39,955,000 for the previous year, reflecting a year-over-year increase of approximately 15.4%[43] - Operating income for the year ended December 31, 2023, increased to $29.4 million from $24.6 million in 2022, a growth of 19.5%[35] Assets and Liabilities - Total assets as of December 31, 2023, amounted to $668,332,000, while total debt was $495,572,000, resulting in a debt to total assets ratio of 74.15%[12] - Total debt increased to $495.6 million from $482.4 million at December 31, 2022, reflecting a rise of 2.8%[9] - The total principal balance of debt as of December 31, 2023, was $495,572,000, an increase from $482,447,000 in 2022[46] - Interest expense was $32.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, representing an increase of 7.3%[26] - The weighted average interest rate on all debt increased to 5.42% with a term of 8.2 years, compared to 4.99% with a term of 7.4 years at December 31, 2022[9] Property and Occupancy - The company reported an occupancy rate of 93.6% and a leased rate of 95.9% for its properties[12] - The Company's real estate portfolio was 91.1% occupied, a 70 basis point increase from 90.4%[17] - Total leasable area (GLA) of the portfolio is 5,309,936 square feet[12] - The total annualized base rent for CDR properties is $25,755,000, with an average annualized base rent per occupied square foot of $10.52[53] - The property with the lowest occupancy is Carll's Corner at 19.4%, with an annualized base rent of $267,000[53] Revenue and Expenses - Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $102.3 million, up 33.5% from $76.6 million in 2022[35] - Total operating expenses of $75.1 million increased by 37.5% or $20.5 million, primarily due to a $9.1 million increase in property operations expense[19] - Same-property net operating income (NOI) increased by 1.6% or $0.2 million, impacted by a $0.1 million increase in rental revenue[17] Leases and Tenant Information - Annualized base rent for the portfolio was $49,819,000, with a total of 40 leases signed or renewed during the quarter[12] - The total number of properties is 75, with 1,011 tenants contributing to 100% of the Annualized Base Rent (ABR)[56] - The top ten tenants account for 23.39% of the total ABR, with Food Lion leading at $4,476,000, representing 5.92% of the total[59] - WHLR renewed a total of 138,049 square feet of leases in Q4 2023, with a weighted average rate increase of 5.53% compared to the previous rates[66] - The company signed 56,926 square feet of new leases in Q4 2023, with a weighted average rate of $11.65 per square foot, up from $9.78 in Q4 2022[66] Strategic Initiatives - The company plans to focus on market expansion and new product development as part of its strategic initiatives moving forward[41] - The company is focused on owning, leasing, and operating income-producing retail properties, primarily grocery-anchored centers[7] - The company is focused on maintaining a diverse tenant mix, with grocery and discount retailers making up a significant portion of the top tenants[59]