Granite Real Estate Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us and welcome to Granite REIT's third quarter 2026 results conference call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Teresa Netto, Chief Financial Officer. Teresa, please go ahead. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. Before we begin today's call, I would like to remind you that statements and information made in today's discussion may constitute forward-looking information and that actual results could differ materially from any conclusion, forecast, or projection. These statements and information are based on certain material factors or assumptions, reflect management's current expectations, and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties and material factors and assumptions applied in making forward-look information are discussed in Granite's material filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators from time to time, including the risk factors section of its annual information form for 2025, and Granite's management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed on February 25, 2026, and for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, filed on May 6, 2026. As usual, I'll commit the call with financial highlights and followed by Kevin with operational and strategy update. Granted delivered Q1 2026 results in line with management's annual forecast and guidance, driven primarily by strong NOI growth, partially offset by unfavorable foreign exchange. Starting with FFO performance, FFO per unit in Q1 was $1.57, down 2 cents sequentially, and up 11 cents or 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. In Q4 2025, FFO included a favorable non-recurring reversal of tax provisions of $1.6 million. Excluding this item, FFO per unit would have been $1.56, resulting in Q126 FFO per unit being one cent higher on a normalized sequential basis. NOI growth in the first quarter was primarily driven by strong same-property performance, supported by leasing spreads of 23%, and the lease-up of previously completed development vacancies in the United States, partially offset by unfavorable foreign exchange as the U.S. dollar and euro weakened by 1.6% and 1.1% respectively. AFF re-uniting Q1 26 was $1.41, up 11 cents sequentially and flat year over year, and with the increase from Q4 primarily driven by lower maintenance capital expenditures, leasing costs, and tenant allowances incurred, partially offset by lower FFO per unit. AFFO-related capital expenditures incurred in the quarter totaled $6.9 million, which is a decrease of $8 million over Q4 and an increase of $6.2 million over the same quarter last year. For 2026, we continue to expect AFFO-related capital expenditures to come in at approximately $40 million, and that is unchanged from our estimate provided previously. Before going over some further details of the first quarter, I do want to advise that Granite will be recognizing two income statement items of a non-recurring nature in the second quarter that will impact FFO and AFFO. Granite will be recognizing approximately $1.3 million in termination and closeout fee revenue relating to the termination of a magna lease at one of Granite's bond properties in April. More than offsetting this amount will be a $2.4 million provision relating to a five-year HST audit at Granite's operating subsidiary, where the CRA has assessed Granite with denied input tax credits, interest and penalties that will impact G&A and interest expenses by approximately $1.6 million and $0.8 million, respectively. Although Granite fully intends to file notices of objection with the CRA and to dispute the CRA's assessments, granted Dean DePruden to recognize such provision at this time. The net negative impact of these two non-recurring items will be minus $1.1 million or approximately $0.02 to FFO and AFFO per unit for the quarter. Going back to the first quarter, same property NOI delivered strong growth, increasing 8.3% on a constant currency basis and up 8%, including the impact of foreign exchange. The continued momentum in SP&OI growth is a reflection of the successful execution on leasing, achievement on leasing spreads, and the 270 basis point improvement in occupancy year over year. For 2026, continued strong organic growth from our same property portfolio and has maintained an unchanged outlook for the four-quarter average constant currency same property NOI growth to a range of 5.5% to 6.5%. G&A for the quarter was $11.7 million, which was $3.2 million higher than the same quarter last year and $1.6 million lower than Q4. The sequential decrease was primarily driven by $2.1 million lower fair value adjustment on non-cash compensation liabilities, which does not impact Granite's FFO and AFFO metrics. The remainder of the variance reflects normal quarterly fluctuations around other G&A expense categories. For 2026, We continue to expect G&A expenses that impact SFO and ASFO specifically to average approximately $11.5 million per quarter or roughly 7% of revenues. For Q2 2026, all else remaining equal, G&A will be elevated due to the incremental HST expense provision of $1.6 million discussed earlier and to be recognized in that quarter. Interest expense decreased modestly in the first quarter, down 0.2 million compared to Q4, while interest income remained flat, primarily driven by full repayment of our September 26 term loan in February and the impact of a weaker US dollar and euro on Granite's foreign denominated debt. Partially offset by a higher average balance outstanding on the credit facility throughout the quarter due to the interim funding of acquisitions in December, in advance of the disposition in the United States that closed in March of 26. Granite's weighted average cost of debt is currently 2.63%, and the weighted average debt term of maturity is 3.2 years. With Granite's next debt maturity not until December 26, we continue to expect interest expense to remain stable and declining over the next couple of quarters to around $23.5 million per quarter, assuming no additional transactions. For Q2, as mentioned earlier, interest expense will be impacted by this non-recurring $0.8 million provision for the HST audit assessed interest and penalties. Q1 26 current income tax was $3.1 million, up $0.6 million year over year, and $1.7 million from Q4. The sequential increase primarily reflects the $1.6 million tax provision reversal recorded in Q4 25. The year-over-year increase is primarily due to the release of a withholding tax reserve in the prior year of 0.2 million, an increase in rental revenues in Europe, and the impact of a stronger Euro on Granite's primarily Euro-denominated tax expenses. For 2026, we continue to expect current income tax expense to remain at approximately 3.1 to 3.2 million per quarter. Looking out to our estimates, Granite is keeping its guidance unchanged. Our current outlook reflects no material changes in assumptions related to leasing activity, operations, asset dispositions and acquisitions, capital expenditures or financing plans. We continue to forecast FFO per unit in the region 625 to 640, 6 to 8% growth over 25. For FFO per unit, we expect a range of 540 to 555, reflecting growth of 4 to 7% year over year. The SFO outlook assumes the disposition of assets currently held for sale, totaling approximately $57.7 million, is fully completed by early Q4 and does not assume any unidentified acquisitions. AFFO-related capital expenditures, as discussed earlier, are expected to remain around $50 million for the year, compared to $34 million incurred in 2025. And our guidance range on FX remains unchanged at 134 to 140 for the US dollar, 158 to 1.62 for the Euro, and 180 to 186 for the British pound. As usual, we will continue to provide updates on guidance each quarter as appropriate. Granite's balance sheet remains strong and its debt metrics have shown notable strength from last quarter. Investment properties totaled 9.5 billion at the end of the quarter, broadly unchanged from the prior quarter. and excludes the approximately $58 million related to two assets held for sale. During the quarter, movements in investment properties reflected disposition of an income-reducing property in Palmetto, Georgia, in the United States, for about $105 million, and the classification of an asset held for sale in Canada for $16 million, partially offset by foreign exchange gains of $81 million, driven primarily by the strengthening of the US dollar against the Canadian dollar over the period. Additional move-ins included development spend primarily on our Houston construction site, maintenance capital projects and leasing activity-related costs, and net fair value gains driven by higher market rents, partially offset by discount and cap rate expansion at select U.S. properties. Our overall weighted average cap rate of 5.6% on in-place NOI remains stable relative to Q4 and has increased 23 basis points since the same quarter last year. Our net leverage ratio at the end of the quarter was 33%, which is an improvement from 35% at Q4. Debt to EBITDA was 6.8 times, also improved from 7.3 in Q4 and 7.1 times in Q125, primarily due to lower unsecured debt following the full repayment of our September 26th term loan and lower outstanding balance on the credit facility due to the net proceeds from the completion of the disposition of two income-producing properties in the Netherlands and the United States during the quarter. All ratios remain relatively favorable and provide financial flexibility for our future growth. As a result of Grant's continued commitment to maintaining its strong balance sheet, its stable and strong operating performance, and its improved asset quality, as evidenced by its recent improvement in occupancy, Morningstar DVRS recently has taken rating action on Granite. On March 24, Morningstar DVRS confirmed Granite REIT holding LP's issuer rating and debenture rating at BBB high and changed the trends to positive from stable. And then finally, on February 25, Granite reestablished its at-the-market equity program through the filing of a prospectus supplement to our base shelf prospectus. The program allows Granite the issuance of up to $250 million of units from Treasury to the public from time to time at Granite's discretion at prevailing market prices. And subsequent to the quarter, Granite issued 65,100 units under the program at an average price of $93.67 for gross proceeds of approximately $6.1 million excluding issuance costs. Granite's liquidity is currently approximately $1 billion representing cash on hand of about $119 million and the undrawn operating line of approximately $892 million. As of today, Granite has $105 million drawn on the credit facility and $2.8 million in letters of credit outstanding. We expect to reduce the outstanding balance on the credit facilities throughout 26 with free cash flow from operations and with proceeds from the disposition of properties. barring any other major transactions. I'll now turn over the call to Kevin.

Thanks, Teresa. Q3 results, as Teresa mentioned, were in line with management's expectations. Higher NOI and acquisitions and stronger same property NOI was partially offset by a number of minor one-time items and unfavorable FX move-in from the fourth quarter. FFO per unit Year-over-year growth in the quarter, as reported, was 7.5%, but translates to almost 9% on a constant currency basis. To begin, the team renewed 730,000 square feet of leases in the quarter, a portion of which is related to expiries later in the year, with a weighted average increase of 48%, and closed on a new lease, as disclosed, totaling 250,000 square feet in Ohio, Subsequent to the quarter end, the team also executed on a 225,000 square foot lease at the same property. Accounting for the new commitments and a new 200,000 square foot vacancy in Vaughan as at April 30th, our committed occupancy currently sits at slightly under 98%, still among if not the highest in the sector. To date, We have so far renewed roughly 65% of our 2026 expiries by GLA at an average increase of 21%. And we expect to achieve an average increase of between 20 and 25% on our overall expiries for the year, which is in line with our average increase for 2024. Same property in Hawaii and a quarter was led by the GTA and US portfolios at 22% and 8.8% respectively, offset by muted growth from our European portfolio, particularly in Germany and Austria, at negative 1% and 1% respectively. Staying on leasing, a few comments regarding relevant market data. Leasing momentum continues to grow across the bulk of the sector, with vacancy stabilizing or declining in 13 of our 15 markets in North America, the strongest improvement in three years. led by declines in Savannah, Memphis, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. Our portfolio markets once again represented the top three markets and eight of the top 10 markets in the US for net absorption, and notably represented a staggering 75% of the total net absorption nationally. Also of note is the bottom five markets for net absorption in the quarter were all located in California. Asking rents once again rose year over year across the majority of our markets, led by Columbus, Louisville, and Indianapolis, ranging from 6% to 12%. Our weakest market once again was the GTA and the UK, with asking rents down just under 5%. Market rent growth in the Netherlands was more or less flat year over year, and Germany posted a strong increase of just over 7%. Overall, the 5% average year-over-year increase in rate was the first increase nationally in the U.S. since the fourth quarter of 2024. So in summary, I would characterize the tone in the leasing market as continuing to improve with an element of cost sensitivity to be sure and a clear bias in occupier demand for larger, modern, and well-located space. As we saw in the second half of 2025 and so far this year, The bulk, no pun intended, of the leasing activity throughout our portfolio has occurred in availabilities exceeding 300,000 square feet. According to CBRE, leasing activity comprised of renewals and new leases increased by 14% year over year in the first quarter and is projected to reach a record level in 2026. With leases over 700,000 feet increasing by almost 300% year over year, and conversely leases below 700,000 square feet, increasing by just over 1%. Additionally, vacancy on newly constructed space decreased by almost 500 basis points year over year, while increasing roughly 70 basis points in older buildings. So demand for larger modern space is clearly driving the increase in leasing activity in the US and globally, as occupiers are prioritizing properties that can accommodate higher levels of automation and power requirements. To punctuate this dynamic with a granite-specific data point, consider that at the end of the first quarter of 2025, we had five availabilities exceeding 250,000 square feet, compared with zero at the end of this quarter. As we sit today, we have 14 availabilities totaling 1.27 million square feet across our portfolio, ranging from 20 to 237,000 square feet for an average size of 90,000 square feet. So while we're seeing strength in demand for larger base space, activity has been slower in small to mid-day segments recently. I'll comment briefly on the changes to our IFRS value. As you can see, we recognize a modest gain in the quarter, primarily from increases in market rent in a few of our U.S. markets and a positive impact, as Theresa mentioned, of the favorable movement in the USD versus CAD at the end of the quarter, offset by the disposition of an asset in the U.S. Although the asset was high quality and well located in one of our key markets, the growth profile was limited and we were able to repatriate capital in attractive yields for accretive redeployment. Moving on to strategy and capital allocation, as outlined in the MD&A, we currently have two assets totaling just under $60 million in value listed as assets held for sale as of March 31st. We expect to close on both dispositions in the second or third quarter of this year, and we continue to identify target disposition assets to help fund our acquisition and rebalancing programs. Consistent with that approach, we are currently pursuing roughly $125 million in new acquisitions in our target markets in the US and Europe. And as an update on our development program, our Build-A-Sue project in Houston continues to progress on budget and schedule for completion at the end of the third quarter. As disclosed and as mentioned, we utilize our ATM program to a small degree since our last call. and we hope, if the price is supportive, unit price is supportive, to utilize the ADM prudently to augment our disposition program and free cash flow as a source of capital for near-term accretive deployment on new bill-to-suit developments and selective strategic acquisitions. As a general comment on the investment market, cap rates appear to be holding across our portfolio markets, and although the positive momentum we observed heading into 2026 could understandably be tempered by recent headwinds related to the conflict in the Middle East and correspondingly higher inflation concerns and bond yields, our recent experience on the ground appears to suggest that investor demand consistent with occupier demand in our portfolio markets remains resilient, particularly for modern product and key location. In summary, I would characterize the quarter as positive led by strong operating results and sound, deliberate execution of our investment strategy, with our full-year guidance firmly intact. Looking forward, we remain encouraged by the continued, steady improvement in leasing activity across our portfolio markets, particularly in the newer segment. As I stated, while higher energy prices and instability may impair this momentum if the conflict is prolonged, The data continue to suggest the trade policy shifts and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty appear to support the continued expansion of inland supply chains, benefiting markets such as Dallas, Indianapolis, and Atlanta, while negatively impacting demand in higher cost West Coast markets. In closing, we are well positioned to deliver strong financial results and execute on all of our corporate objectives for the year, And our focus remains on active asset management and effective capital allocation, which we believe will deliver attractive income and asset value growth for our unit holders. So on behalf of the management team at Granite, I'd like to open up the floor for questions, please.