American Assets Trust, Inc.

Welcome to the Quarter 2 2022 American Assets Trust, Inc. Earnings Conference Call. My name is Jenny, and I'll be your operator for today's call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. During the question and answer session, if you have a question, please press 01 on your touchtone phone. I will now turn the call over to Adam Weil, President and COO. You may begin.

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to American Asset Trust's second quarter 2022 earnings call. Yesterday afternoon, our earnings release and supplemental information were furnished to the SEC in Form 8K. Both are now available in the Investors section of our website, AmericanAssetsTrust.com. During this call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which are reconciled to our GAAP financial results in our earnings release and supplemental information. We will also be making forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, which statements are subject to risks and uncertainties discussed in our SEC filings. Your caution not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as actual events could cause our results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. And with that, I'll turn it over to Ernest Rady, our chairman and CEO, to begin the discussion of our second quarter 2022 results.

Ernest? Thanks, Adam. Well done, and good morning, everyone. As we've shared in the past, with each business decision that we make, we take the path that we believe will optimize the long-term growth of our earnings and net asset value as we work hard to create shareholder value. That includes remaining disciplined with respect to our strong balance sheet and continuing to invest in and improve our irreplaceable properties to remain among the best in our markets for each of our asset classes, particularly as we see an ongoing flight to quality based on location, amenities, asset quality, public transportation, and capital requirements, which are factors we believe will contribute to our outperformance in the long term. In Q2 2022, we were encouraged by our operating fundamentals, despite volatility in capital markets and general economic uncertainty, as we build upon our great progress from Q1. We're pleased to see better-than-budgeted financial results in our portfolio in Q2, driven primarily by better-than-expected performance out of our multifamily properties and Waikiki Beachwalk Embassy Suites. We continue to believe there is meaningful growth potential for our Embassy Suites, particularly as Asian travels return to Oahu. As we've mentioned previously, Asian travels have historically represented approximately 40% of all tourists vacationing in Oahu, but remain a small fraction of that at this point in time. We expect that to change over the next year or two. Meanwhile, though we believe that our earnings trajectory looks steady and promising, we understand the challenges presented by inflationary, recessionary forces and the potential for a slower economic growth period ahead. So we remain vigilant and focused on being prepared for any scenario to the best of our capabilities. Yet, as you will hear shortly, we are increasing our guidance for the rest of the year based on our optimism for continued near-term growth across our assets. I also want to mention that the Board of Directors has approved the quarterly dividends of 32 cents for the third quarter, which is supported by our financial results and is an expression of our board's confidence in the impeded growth of our portfolio this year and beyond. The dividend will be paid on September 22 through shareholders of record on September 8. Finally, on the development front, both La Jolla Comm 3 and 1 Beach Street remain on time and on budget. and we continue to remain very optimistic about the leasing prospects. But we do not have any specific news to share on that front at this time. Adam, Bob, and Steve will go into more detail on our various asset segments, financial results, and guidance updates, and I will be available for any questions you may have at the conclusion of the repair remarks. On behalf of all of us at American Assets Trust, we thank you. for your confidence in allowing us to manage your company and for your continued support. I'm now going to turn the call back over to Adam. Adam, please. Thank you, Ernest.