Paramount Group, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Paramount Group Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, July 28, 2021. I will now turn the call over to Sumit Sharma, Vice President of Business Development and Investment Relations.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Before we begin, I would like to point everyone to our second quarter 2021 earnings release and the supplemental information which were released yesterday. Both can be found under the heading Financial Information-Quarterly Results in the Investors section of the Paramount Group website at www.paramount-group.com. Some of our comments will be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as will, expect, should, or other similar phrases are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect, including, without limitation, the negative impact of the coronavirus, COVID-19, on the U.S. regional and global economies and our tenants' financial condition and results of operation. Therefore, you should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on them. We refer you to our SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and the financial condition. During the call, we will discuss our non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's operating performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable gap measure is available in our second quarter 2021 earnings release and our supplemental information. Hosting our call today, we will have Mr. Albert Baylor, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of the company, Wilbur Pace, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and Peter Brindley, Executive Vice President, Head of Real Estate. Management will provide some opening remarks and then we will open the call to questions. With that, I will turn the call over to Albert.

Thank you, Sumit, and thank you, everyone, for joining this morning. We delivered a quarter with strong operating performance as we continue to experience a steady return to normalcy. For the second quarter of 2021, we reported core FFO of 22 cents per share, which beats consensus estimates by two cents per share. Our same-store cash NOI grew 3% year-over-year despite headwinds from our recent vacancies at 1301 Avenue of the Americas and 31 West 52nd Street. I'm extremely proud of the team's focused work as we have already backfilled over 62% of the recent vacancy at 31 West 52nd Street. This comprised of the previously announced lease with Bracewell and a new lease with Centerview Partners. As we head into the second half of the year, we are increasing the midpoint of our earnings guidance by three cents per diluted share, driven by better than expected portfolio operations and higher gap rent income. Wilbur will provide additional details. During the first half of 2021, as our markets have been recovering gradually, we have leased over 435,000 square feet, capturing more than our fair share of deal flow in the market. In the second quarter, we leased a total of approximately 247,000 square feet, including approximately 81,500 square feet at 31 West 52nd Street, where, as I mentioned earlier, We backfilled more than 62 percent of the space formerly leased to TD Bank at a positive cash mark-to-market gain of 11 percent. Peter will go into greater detail on what we are seeing on the leasing front, but let me spend a minute sharing some observations. Activity is accelerating, and our leasing team is quite busy in both of our markets, New York and San Francisco. The pipeline of activity continues to recover, but is still below 2019 levels. We are not seeing major declines in asking rents in New York City, which speaks to our high-quality portfolio, and it continues to command premium rents. Our tenants appreciate the quality of our space at premier locations that feature attractive amenities that support the employees' health and wellness. Within our New York portfolio, the Barclays space at 1301 Avenue of the Americas remains our primary focus. We believe Sixth Avenue is one of the most desirable submarkets in the city. Our space is centrally located in that submarket in a high-quality building with large and efficient floor plates, which remains very attractive to prospective tenants over the long term. In San Francisco, Offices fully reopened on June 15th, and tenants are taking a measured approach to returning to offices. Our leasing activity still favors renewals over new leases. However, the market improved modestly during the second quarter, gaining strong momentum throughout the period. Every day, we see more reasons for optimism in our markets. as more and more companies continue to plan for a return to the office. As I highlighted last quarter, based on ongoing conversations with our tenants, we continue to expect to see a meaningful uptick in space utilization beginning in the fall. We look forward to welcoming more of our tenants back to the office and are ready to accommodate the evolving space needs. Turning to the transaction market, Overall deal volumes during the first half of the year have been muted compared to 2019 levels, though there has been a small uptick in volume quarter-over-quarter in New York. Pricing continues to hold steady since last year. Poor assets that are bell-leased with a blue-chip tenant roster and longer-weighted average lease terms continue to command strong pricing. Recent transactions in New York and San Francisco highlight opportunities for well-capitalized buyers for assets in need of modest stabilization spent. We remain interested, yet disciplined. To conclude, our long-term strategy remains on track to manage our portfolio to the highest standards and allocate shareholder capital in a prudent manner to achieve the highest risk-adjusted returns with an eye towards creating long-term value for our shareholders. Our priority remains the lease-up of our availabilities, as well as the reintegration of our current talents in a safe and healthy manner. As has been the case for the past year, we continue to maintain sufficient liquidity, which amounts to $1.5 billion at the end of the quarter. With our portfolio of stable trophy assets and our historical ability to allocate capital, we remain well positioned for the long term. With that, I will turn the call to Peter.