CINCINNATI, Sept. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: PECO) (“PECO” or the “Company”), one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored omni-channel neighborhood shopping centers, today announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved a 3.7% increase to the monthly distributions payable October 3, 2022 and November 1, 2022 to stockholders of record at the close of business on September 16, 2022 and October 17, 2022, respectively.
The Board approved the distribution at a rate of $0.0933 per share of the Company’s common stock and per operating partnership unit. When annualized, this is equal to a rate of $1.12 per share, representing an increase of 3.7% over the previous annualized rate of $1.08 per share.
“The strength of our operating fundamentals and growth in our cash flows allow us to increase our monthly distribution to our shareholders. Our continued focus is to grow our distribution rate as we grow the cash flows in our grocery-anchored portfolio,” said Jeff Edison, chairman and chief executive officer of PECO. “This increase is a reflection of the success of our focused and differentiated strategy of owning and operating small-format, neighborhood centers anchored by the #1 or #2 grocer in a market which continues to drive high-recurring foot traffic and Neighbor demand, resulting in superior financial and operating performance.
“We recognize that distributions are an important component of an investment in PECO, and we believe our increased dividend yield of approximately 3.4% achieves the right balance between current returns to our shareholders and funding the growth opportunities available to us through acquisitions and outparcel redevelopment.”
About Phillips Edison & Company
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (“PECO”), an internally-managed REIT, is one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of grocery-anchored shopping centers. Founded in 1991, PECO has generated strong results through its vertically-integrated operating platform and national footprint of well-occupied shopping centers. PECO’s centers feature a mix of national and regional retailers providing necessity-based goods and services in fundamentally strong markets throughout the United States. PECO’s top grocery anchors include Kroger, Publix, Ahold Delhaize, and Albertsons. As of June 30, 2022, PECO manages 289 shopping centers, including 269 wholly-owned centers comprising 30.9 million square feet across 31 states, and 20 shopping centers owned in one institutional joint venture. PECO is exclusively focused on creating great omni-channel, grocery-anchored shopping experiences and improving communities, one neighborhood shopping center at a time.
PECO uses, and intends to continue to use, its Investors website, which can be found at https://investors.phillipsedison.com, as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (the “Company”) intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and includes this statement for purposes of complying with the safe harbor provisions. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the Company’s use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “continue,” “seek,” “objective,” “goal,” “strategy,” “plan,” “focus,” “priority,” “should,” “could,” “potential,” “possible,” “look forward,” “optimistic,” or other similar words. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this earnings release. Such statements include, but are not limited to: (a) statements about the Company’s plans, strategies, initiatives, and prospects; (b) statements about the Company’s underwritten incremental yields; and (c) statements about the Company’s future results of operations, capital expenditures, and liquidity. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated, including, without limitation: (i) changes in national, regional, or local economic climates; (ii) local market conditions, including an oversupply of space in, or a reduction in demand for, properties similar to those in the Company’s portfolio; (iii) vacancies, changes in market rental rates, and the need to periodically repair, renovate, and re-let space; (iv) competition from other available shopping centers and the attractiveness of properties in the Company’s portfolio to its tenants; (v) the financial stability of the Company’s tenants, including, without limitation, their ability to pay rent; (vi) the Company’s ability to pay down, refinance, restructure, or extend its indebtedness as it becomes due; (vii) increases in the Company’s borrowing costs as a result of changes in interest rates and other factors; (viii) potential liability for environmental matters; (ix) damage to the Company’s properties from catastrophic weather and other natural events, and the physical effects of climate change; (x) the Company’s ability and willingness to maintain its qualification as a REIT in light of economic, market, legal, tax, and other considerations; (xi) changes in tax, real estate, environmental, and zoning laws; (xii) information technology security breaches; (xiii) the Company’s corporate responsibility initiatives; (xiv) loss of key executives; (xv) the concentration of the Company’s portfolio in a limited number of industries, geographies, or investments; (xvi) the economic, political, and social impact of, and uncertainty relating to, the COVID-19 pandemic; (xvii) the Company’s ability to re-lease its properties on the same or better terms, or at all, in the event of non-renewal or in the event the Company exercises its right to replace an existing tenant; (xviii) the loss or bankruptcy of the Company’s tenants; (xix) to the extent the Company is seeking to dispose of properties, the Company’s ability to do so at attractive prices or at all; and (xx) the impact of inflation on the Company and on its tenants. Additional important factors that could cause actual results to differ are described in the filings made from time to time by the Company with the SEC and include the risk factors and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 16, 2022, as updated from time to time in the Company’s periodic and/or current reports filed with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Therefore, such statements are not intended to be a guarantee of the Company’s performance in future periods.
Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Investors:
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.
Kimberly Green, Vice President of Investor Relations
(513) 692-3399
kgreen@phillipsedison.com
Stephanie Hout, Director of Investor Relations
(513) 746-2594
shout@phillipsedison.com
Source: Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.
