Press Release

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

• FFO per diluted share increased 12.5% to $0.54 for the third quarter 2012, compared with $0.48 for the prior-year period.
• Same-store sales increased 4.2% to $344 per square foot for mall tenants 10,000 square feet or less for stabilized malls for the rolling twelve months ended September 30, 2012.
• Same-center NOI, excluding lease termination fees, increased 1.2% in the third quarter 2012, over the prior-year period.
• Portfolio occupancy at September 30, 2012, increased 170 basis points to 93.0%, from 91.3% for the prior-year period.
• Average gross rent for stabilized mall leases signed in the third quarter 2012 increased 9.2% over the prior gross rent per square foot.
• Increasing the aggregate capacity of two major credit facilities to $1.2 billion and converting the facilities to unsecured.

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012. 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.

“Strong performance from our portfolio of market dominant malls led to another solid quarter of NOI and FFO growth as well as year-over-year improvement in sales, occupancy and rental spreads,” said Stephen Lebovitz, CBL’s president and chief executive officer. “The positive trends we’ve experienced throughout the year show continued retailer demand for space at our properties. We are taking advantage of the improved trends through an active pipeline of new growth opportunities which most recently yielded the grand opening of Waynesville Commons (Waynesville, NC) in October and the second phase of The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City in November. The redevelopments of Southpark Mall (Richmond, VA) and Northgate Mall (Chattanooga, TN) and the construction start of The Crossings at Marshalls Creek (Stroudsburg, PA), will provide a solid foundation for growth in 2013.”

“We are also pleased with the enhancements to our capital structure realized through the successful Series E preferred offering, the Series C preferred redemption and the completion of all our 2012 mortgage maturities. In addition, today we announced the extension, upsizing and conversion of our secured credit facilities into new unsecured lines of credit with aggregate capacity of $1.2 billion at a reduced interest rate, improving our financial flexibility and positioning CBL to pursue additional opportunities to enhance our portfolio’s growth profile.”

FFO allocable to common shareholders for the third quarter of 2012 was $84,957,000, or $0.54 per diluted share, compared with $70,987,000, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2011. FFO of the operating partnership for the third quarter of 2012 was $101,652,000, compared with $91,091,000, for the third quarter 2011.

Third quarter 2012 included a $21,654,000 loss on impairment of real estate from continuing operations and an $8,466,000 loss on impairment of real estate from discontinued operations, related to several properties where a sale is anticipated or has occurred. These dispositions further the Company’s strategy of enhancing the portfolio by selling non-core properties. These properties include Hickory Hollow Mall and The Courtyard at Hickory Hollow in Antioch, TN; Towne Mall in Franklin, OH and Willowbrook Plaza, a community center in Houston, TX. As a result of these impairments, CBL reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders for the third quarter of 2012 of $2,520,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared with net loss of $27,320,000, or $0.18 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2011.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Portfolio same-center net operating income (“NOI”), excluding lease termination fees, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, increased 1.2% compared with an increase of 2.3% for the prior-year period. Same-center NOI, excluding lease terminations fees, for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, increased 2.0% compared with an increase of 1.6% for the prior-year period.
• Average gross rent on stabilized mall leases signed during the third quarter of 2012 for tenants 10,000 square feet or less increased 9.2% 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 the rolling twelve months ended September 30, 2012, increased 4.2% to $344 per square foot compared with $330 per square foot in the prior-year period. Same-store sales per square foot for mall tenants 10,000 square feet or less for stabilized malls year-to-date through September 30, 2012, increased 4.1%.
• Consolidated and unconsolidated variable rate debt of $1,008,815,000, as of September 30, 2012, represented 10.0% of the total market capitalization for the Company, compared with 14.8% in the prior-year period, and 18.6% of the Company’s share of total consolidated and unconsolidated debt, compared with 21.8% in the prior-year period.

PORTFOLIO OCCUPANCY

CAPITAL MARKETS ACTIVITY

On October 5, 2012, CBL closed on an underwritten public offering of 6,900,000 depositary shares, each representing 1/10th of a share of its newly designated 6.625% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (“Series E Shares”) with a liquidation preference of $25.00 per depositary share, including 900,000 depositary shares sold pursuant to the underwriters’ exercise of their option to purchase additional depositary shares. The offering generated net proceeds to the Company of approximately $166.6 million, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses.

On November 5, 2012, CBL completed the redemption of 460,000 outstanding shares of 7.75% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (“Series C Shares”), and all outstanding depositary shares (“Depositary Shares”), each representing 1/10th of a Series C Share (NYSE: CBLPrC - CUSIP No.: 124830-50-6). The aggregate amount paid to effect the redemption of the Series C Shares (including the Depositary Shares) was approximately $115.9 million, which was funded with a portion of the net proceeds from CBL’s recent issuance of Series E Shares. The Company will record a charge of $3.8 million as additional preferred dividends in the fourth quarter 2012 in connection with the redemption of the Series C Shares to write off direct issuance costs that were recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in capital when the Series C Shares were issued.

FINANCING ACTIVITY

On November 6, 2012, CBL announced that it had received fully executed loan commitments to modify and extend its two major credit facilities, increasing the aggregate capacity by $155.0 million to $1.2 billion. CBL will convert both facilities from secured to unsecured, increasing the capacity of each facility to $600 million, extending the terms and reducing the average borrowing rate by 60 basis points. The outstanding balances on the two facilities will bear interest at an annual rate equal to LIBOR plus a range of 155 to 210 basis points, depending on the Company’s leverage ratio. The closing is anticipated in mid-November.

The maturities of both facilities will be extended by three years with the first $600 million facility maturing November 2015, with an option to extend the maturity for one additional year to November 2016 (subject to continued compliance with the terms of the facility). The maturity of the second $600 million facility will be extended to November 2016 with an option to extend the maturity for one additional year to November 2017 (subject to continued compliance with the terms of the facility).

DISPOSITION ACTIVITY

Subsequent to the quarter end, CBL completed the sale of Hickory Hollow Mall in Antioch, TN and Towne Mall in Franklin, OH to two separate buyers, generating aggregate proceeds of $2.0 million.

OUTLOOK AND GUIDANCE

Based on third quarter results and today’s outlook, the Company is providing a 2012 FFO guidance range of $2.00 - $2.10 per share. While the guidance is consistent with the previously issued range, it was effectively increased to offset the $3.8 million preferred redemption charge that will be recorded in the fourth quarter 2012. Full-year guidance assumes same-center NOI growth in a range of 1.0% - 2.0%, $3.0 million to $5.0 million of outparcel sales and a 100 - 150 basis point increase in year-end occupancy as compared with the prior year. 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 Wednesday, November 7, 2012, to discuss its third quarter results. The numbers to call for this interactive teleconference are (800) 734-8592 or (212) 231-2900. A seven-day replay of the conference call will be available by dialing (402) 977-9140 and entering the passcode 21544169. 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., third 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 2012 third quarter earnings release conference call. The live broadcast of the quarterly conference call will be available online at cblproperties.com on Wednesday, November 7, 2012, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue through November 14, 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 163 properties, including 93 regional malls/open-air centers. The properties are located in 28 states and total 91.4 million square feet including 9.4 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), TX, 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
Senior Vice President - Investor Relations/Corporate Investments
katie_reinsmidt@cblproperties.com

Source: CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.