Press Release

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL):

• Reported FFO per diluted share of $0.60 for the fourth quarter 2011 and $2.22 for the year ended December 31, 2011.
• Same-center net operating income improved 0.6% for the fourth quarter 2011 and 1.4% for the year ended December 31, 2011, over the prior-year periods, excluding lease termination fees.
• Same-store sales per square foot increased 3.3% for mall tenants 10,000 square feet or less for stabilized malls for the year ended December 31, 2011.
• Portfolio occupancy at December 31, 2011, increased 120 basis points from the prior-year period, to 93.6%.
• Positive average leasing spread of 7.6% during the fourth quarter 2011.
• Reduced total debt by $494 million during the fourth quarter 2011.

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011. A description of each non-GAAP financial measure and the related reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measure is located at the end of this news release.

CBL’s President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Lebovitz commented, “We are pleased with our excellent results for the fourth quarter including a 120-basis-point increase in portfolio occupancy, positive leasing spreads and same-center NOI growth. We outperformed our previously increased FFO guidance. The capital provided during the quarter from closing the TIAA-CREF joint venture, community center disposition and financings significantly enhances our liquidity position and contributed to the nearly $500 million in debt reduction during the quarter.

“The strength of our portfolio of market-dominant malls and our capital structure provides a platform for growth in an improving operating, leasing and investment environment. Our team has worked hard and executed well to generate same-center NOI and FFO growth, as well as source attractive new opportunities. Operating from a position of strength, we are capitalizing on this position in 2012 with our mall renovation and redevelopment program, additional outlet center projects, including our recently announced development, The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta and other opportunities that we see in the market.”

FFO allocable to common shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $89,035,000, or $0.60 per diluted share, compared with $86,329,000, or $0.62 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2010.

FFO allocable to common shareholders for 2011 was $329,323,000, or $2.22 per diluted share, compared with $287,563,000, or $2.08 per diluted share, for 2010.

Net income attributable to common shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $72,373,000, or $0.49 per diluted share, compared with net income of $16,266,000, or $0.12 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Net income attributable to common shareholders for 2011 was $91,560,000, or $0.62 per diluted share, compared with net income of $29,532,000, or $0.21 per diluted share for 2010.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Portfolio same-center net operating income (“NOI”), excluding lease termination fees, for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, increased 0.6% compared with a decline of 0.3% for the prior-year period. Same-center NOI, excluding lease terminations fees, for the year ended December 31, 2011, increased 1.4% compared with a decline of 1.3% for the prior year.
• Average gross rent on leases signed during the fourth quarter 2011 for tenants 10,000 square feet or less increased 7.6% over the prior gross rent per square foot.
• Same-store sales per square foot for mall tenants 10,000 square feet or less for stabilized malls for 2011 increased 3.3% to $336 per square foot.
• Consolidated and unconsolidated variable rate debt of $905,445,000 represented 10.3% of the total market capitalization for the Company and 17.2% of the Company’s share of total consolidated and unconsolidated debt as of December 31, 2011. This compares favorably to variable rate debt in the prior-year period of 17.4% of total market capitalization and 29.3% of the Company’s share of total consolidated and unconsolidated debt as of December 31, 2010.

PORTFOLIO OCCUPANCY

JOINT VENTURE ACTIVITY

During the quarter, CBL and TIAA-CREF closed their $1.09 billion real estate joint venture to invest in market-dominant shopping malls. TIAA-CREF received a 50% pari passu interest in three enclosed malls, including Oak Park Mall in Kansas City, KS; West County Center in St. Louis, MO; and CoolSprings Galleria in Nashville, TN, and a 12% interest in Pearland Town Center in Houston, TX. In total, CBL reduced outstanding debt balances by approximately $486 million through TIAA-CREF’s assumption of approximately $267 million of property-specific debt and cash proceeds of approximately $219 million. CBL continues to manage and lease the properties.

FINANCING ACTIVITY

In December 2011, CBL closed four separate loans totaling $383.0 million. After repayment of the existing loan balances, the new financing activity generated excess proceeds of more than $160.0 million. CBL closed a $140.0 million ten-year non-recourse loan secured by Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, NC, with a fixed interest rate of 4.54% and closed a $60.0 million ten-year non-recourse loan secured by The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City in Oklahoma City, OK, bearing a fixed interest rate of 5.73%.

CBL closed a five-year extension and amendment of the existing non-recourse loan secured by St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights (St. Louis, MO), IL, increasing the loan amount to $125.0 million. The interest rate was reduced to LIBOR plus 300 basis points. CBL also closed a recourse loan secured by The Promenade in D’Iberville, MS, with a three-year initial term and two two-year extension options. The loan bears interest of 75% of LIBOR plus 175 basis points.

In total during 2011, CBL completed more than $2.3 billion in financing activity, including the extension and modification of three credit facilities totaling $1.15 billion and property-specific debt totaling $1.18 billion.

DISPOSITIONS

During the fourth quarter, CBL completed the sale of Westridge Square, a community center located in Greensboro, NC. Subsequent to the quarter end, CBL disposed of Oak Hollow Square, a community center located in High Point, NC. The aggregate sales price for the two properties was $40.3 million. Proceeds were used to reduce the outstanding balance of an unsecured term facility that was originally used to acquire the centers.

DEVELOPMENT

In January 2012, CBL announced that it formed a 75/25 joint venture with Horizon Group Properties, Inc. to develop The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta in Atlanta (Woodstock), GA. Once complete, the 370,000-square-foot project will be a premier outlet destination for tourists and residents of this market. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2012, with the grand opening scheduled for late summer 2013. CBL and Horizon are co-developing the project with Horizon responsible for leasing and management.

OUTLOOK AND GUIDANCE

Based on today’s outlook, the Company is providing 2012 FFO guidance of $1.95 - $2.03 per share. The full year guidance assumes $3.0 million to $5.0 million of outparcel sales and same-center NOI growth in the range of 0.0% to 1.0%, excluding applicable lease termination fees. The guidance excludes the impact of any future unannounced acquisitions or dispositions. The Company expects to update its annual guidance after each quarter’s results.

INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL AND SIMULCAST

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. will conduct a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 9, 2012, to discuss its fourth quarter and year end results. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (212) 231-2900. A seven-day replay of the conference call will be available by dialing (402) 977-9140 and entering the passcode 21562439. A transcript of the Company’s prepared remarks will be furnished on a Form 8-K following the conference call.

To receive the CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., fourth quarter earnings release and supplemental information please visit our website at cblproperties.com or contact Investor Relations at 423-490-8312.

The Company will also provide an online web simulcast and rebroadcast of its 2011 fourth quarter and year-end earnings release conference call. The live broadcast of the quarterly conference call will be available online at cblproperties.com on Thursday, February 9, 2012, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue through February 16, 2012.

CBL is one of the largest and most active owners and developers of malls and shopping centers in the United States. CBL owns, holds interests in or manages 157 properties, including 87 regional malls/open-air centers. The properties are located in 26 states and total 85.9 million square feet including 3.4 million square feet of non-owned shopping centers managed for third parties. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, CBL has regional offices in Boston (Waltham), MA, Dallas (Irving), Texas, and St. Louis, MO. Additional information can be found at cblproperties.com.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Funds From Operations

FFO is a widely used measure of the operating performance of real estate companies that supplements net income (loss) determined in accordance with GAAP. The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) defines FFO as net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP) excluding gains or losses on sales of operating properties, plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures and noncontrolling interests. Adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures and noncontrolling interests are calculated on the same basis. In October 2011, NAREIT clarified that FFO should exclude the impact of losses on impairment of depreciable properties. The Company has calculated FFO for all periods presented in accordance with this clarification. The Company defines FFO allocable to its common shareholders as defined above by NAREIT less dividends on preferred stock. The Company’s method of calculating FFO allocable to its common shareholders may be different from methods used by other REITs and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such other REITs.

The Company believes that FFO provides an additional indicator of the operating performance of its properties without giving effect to real estate depreciation and amortization, which assumes the value of real estate assets declines predictably over time. Since values of well-maintained real estate assets have historically risen with market conditions, the Company believes that FFO enhances investors’ understanding of its operating performance. The use of FFO as an indicator of financial performance is influenced not only by the operations of the Company’s properties and interest rates, but also by its capital structure. The Company presents both FFO of its operating partnership and FFO allocable to its common shareholders, as it believes that both are useful performance measures. The Company believes FFO of its operating partnership is a useful performance measure since it conducts substantially all of its business through its operating partnership and, therefore, it reflects the performance of the properties in absolute terms regardless of the ratio of ownership interests of the Company’s common shareholders and the noncontrolling interest in the operating partnership. The Company believes FFO allocable to its common shareholders is a useful performance measure because it is the performance measure that is most directly comparable to net income (loss) attributable to its common shareholders.

In the reconciliation of net income attributable to the Company’s common shareholders to FFO allocable to its common shareholders, located in this earnings release, the Company makes an adjustment to add back noncontrolling interest in income (loss) of its operating partnership in order to arrive at FFO of its operating partnership. The Company then applies a percentage to FFO of its operating partnership to arrive at FFO allocable to its common shareholders. The percentage is computed by taking the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period and dividing it by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares and the weighted average number of operating partnership units outstanding during the period.

FFO does not represent cash flows from operations as defined by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund all cash flow needs and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) for purposes of evaluating the Company’s operating performance or to cash flow as a measure of liquidity.

During 2011, the Company recorded a gain on extinguishment of debt from discontinued operations. Considering the significance and nature of this item, the Company believes that it is important to identify the impact of the change on its FFO measures for a reader to have a complete understanding of the Company’s results of operations. Therefore, the Company has also presented its FFO measures excluding this item.

Same-Center Net Operating Income

NOI is a supplemental measure of the operating performance of the Company’s shopping centers. The Company defines NOI as operating revenues (rental revenues, tenant reimbursements and other income) less property operating expenses (property operating, real estate taxes and maintenance and repairs).

Similar to FFO, the Company computes NOI based on its pro rata share of both consolidated and unconsolidated properties. The Company’s definition of NOI may be different than that used by other companies and, accordingly, the Company’s NOI may not be comparable to that of other companies. A reconciliation of same-center NOI to net income is located at the end of this earnings release.

Since NOI includes only those revenues and expenses related to the operations of its shopping center properties, the Company believes that same-center NOI provides a measure that reflects trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs and the impact of those trends on the Company’s results of operations. Additionally, there are instances when tenants terminate their leases prior to the scheduled expiration date and pay the Company one-time, lump-sum termination fees. These one-time lease termination fees may distort same-center NOI trends and may result in same-center NOI that is not indicative of the ongoing operations of the Company’s shopping center properties. Therefore, the Company believes that presenting same-center NOI, excluding lease termination fees, is useful to investors.

Pro Rata Share of Debt

The Company presents debt based on its pro rata ownership share (including the Company’s pro rata share of unconsolidated affiliates and excluding noncontrolling interests’ share of consolidated properties) because it believes this provides investors a clearer understanding of the Company’s total debt obligations which affect the Company’s liquidity. A reconciliation of the Company’s pro rata share of debt to the amount of debt on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet is located at the end of this earnings release.

Information included herein contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws.Such statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy and some of which might not even be anticipated.Future events and actual events, financial and otherwise, may differ materially from the events and results discussed in the forward-looking statements.The reader is directed to the Company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included therein, for a discussion of such risks and uncertainties.

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
Katie Reinsmidt, 423-490-8301
Vice President - Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
katie_reinsmidt@cblproperties.com

Source: CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.