InvenTrust Properties Corp.

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Inventrust second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. My name is Carla and I will be your conference call operator today. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that today's presentation is being recorded and a replay will be available on the investors section of the company website at inventrustproperties.com. If you would like to register a question for the Q&A portion of today's call, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. When asking your question, please ensure your telephone is unmuted locally. To revoke a question, you can press star followed by two. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Dan Lombardo, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for attending our call today. Joining me from the Inventrust team is DJ Bush, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mike Phillips, Chief Financial Officer, Christy David, Chief Operating Officer, and Dave Heimberger, Chief Investment Officer. Following the team's prepared remarks, we will open the lines for questions. As a reminder, some of today's comments may contain forward-looking statements about the company's views on the future of our business and financial performance, including forward-looking earnings guidance and future market conditions. These are based on management's current beliefs, and expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of today's date and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made on today's call or that are in the quarterly financial supplemental or press release. In addition, we will also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. The comparable GAAP financial measures are included in this quarterly's earnings materials which are posted on our investor relations website. With that, I will turn the call over to DJ.

Thanks, Dan, and good morning, everyone. The Inventor's portfolio continues to deliver solid operating results highlighted by strong leasing activity and record occupancy. Our consistent performance is indicative of our simple and focused strategy, owning and operating premier necessity-based shopping centers in growing Sunbelt markets. Significant demographic trends continue to be an important tailwind in the Sun Belt, which is experiencing some of the healthiest market rent growth across the U.S. A major catalyst is the lack of institutional quality retail space across the sector and the absence of meaningful new development. Inflated construction and labor costs continue to be a hurdle to any new projects, creating a compelling backdrop for our business. Our strong internal growth prospects are complemented by our low-levered balance sheet, which allows us to look for external growth opportunities without having to access the capital markets. We are comfortable with our capital position to support future acquisitions while still maintaining a prudent and low-levered balance sheet with a net debt to EBITDA target of around six times on a forward-looking basis and net leverage ratio around 35%. That said, an uncertain rate environment continues to keep deal volume relatively low and will remain disciplined and patient in our capital allocation plan. Inventress closed on one acquisition in the quarter, the shops at Davis Lake, located in our target MSA of Charlotte, which is approximately 90,000 square feet anchored by Harris Teeter in a strong retail corridor, experiencing population and income growth with significant residential development in the immediate area. Finally, Inventress published its annual ESG report in June. We have set five-year energy, greenhouse gas, waste, and water reduction goals for areas under our operational control and are working with our tenants to optimize operations through our green leases. Investing in our properties is a fundamental part of our business plan as we strive to create best-in-class shopping experiences and improve our communities. We believe that our investment in sustainability will continue to provide appropriate returns and position our company and assets for the future. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Mike to walk everyone through our financials and guidance for the quarter. Mike?