Regency Centers Corporation

Greetings and welcome to the Regency Centers Corporation fourth quarter 2022 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Christy McElroy, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets. Thank you, Christy. You may begin.

Good morning, and welcome to Regency Center's fourth quarter 2022 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Lisa Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Moss, Chief Financial Officer, Alan Roth, Executive Vice President, National Property Operations and East Region President, Nick Wibbenmeyer, Executive Vice President, West Region President, and Chris Levitt, SVP and Treasurer. As a reminder, today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements about the company's views of future business and financial performance, including forward earnings guidance and future market conditions. These are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. It's possible that actual results may differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements we may make. Factors and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements may be included in our presentation today and are described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, specifically in our most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q filings. In our discussion today, we will also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. The comparable GAAP financial measures are included in this quarter's earnings materials, which are posted on our Investor Relations website. Please note that we have also posted a presentation on our website with additional information, including disclosures related to forward earnings guidance. Our caution on forward-looking statements also applies to these presentation materials. Lisa?

Thank you, Christy, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us. 2022 was a really good year for Regency and we ended it on a high note with solid fourth quarter results on all fronts. Our strong performance is a testament to the quality of our shopping centers, the health and resiliency of our tenants, and the hard work of our team. We enter 2023 with great momentum in our leasing pipelines fueled by strong tenant demand as we continue to have success growing rents across our portfolio. This persistent strength in the operating environment also continues to support the economics of our development and redevelopment projects. We look forward to further growing that pipeline over the next several years. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that the challenging macroeconomic backdrop is bringing with it more tenant bankruptcies and early store closures, which have been relatively light for the last couple of years. But importantly, our exposure to at-risk tenants is limited. This is not by accident. It is a product of many years of intentionally cultivating our portfolio of neighborhood centers in strong suburban trade areas. And where we do have exposure, we see upside opportunities in getting spaces back and taking advantage of the strong leasing environment. Additionally, with inflation moderating, along with some stabilization in the capital markets, we believe we have more clarity on the impacts to our business from the economic environment than we did three months ago. These factors underscore our conviction in our 2023 outlook. Shifting to the private transaction markets, we are starting to see increased activity. Transaction volumes remain thin, but with financing markets stabilizing and treasuries reversing course, competitive bidding situations are returning for high-quality grocery anchored centers. We believe this validates our portfolio and our investment strategy as shopping centers with a focus on necessity, convenience, and value are more resistant to impacts from economic cycles. A couple final thoughts before I turn it over to Alan. In addition to the stability and steadiness of grocery-anchored shopping centers, the open-air sector generally has really benefited from structural tailwinds coming out of the pandemic, lifting all boats with the rising tides. While we do expect those tailwinds to continue, we believe that 2023 can really shine a spotlight on Regency's attributes, allowing us to separate from the pack. These attributes include the quality and locations of our real estate, our tenant credit, our balance sheet strength and liquidity, and the hard work and dedication of our amazing team. In our business, you win on the meaningful margin by making solid operating and investment decisions every day that generate steady and sustainable growth. It's how we create value for our shareholders, and this is reflected in Regency's long track record of outperformance in cash flow and dividend growth.