Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the BoardWalk Real Estate Investment Trust 4th Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode, but following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. Also note that this call is being recorded on February 25, 2022. And I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Eric Powers. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Sylvie, and welcome to the BoardWalk Crete 2021 Fourth Quarter Results Conference Call. With me here today is Sam Kolias, Chief Executive Officer, Lisa Smendic, Chief Financial Officer, James Haugh, President, and Rick Anda, Head of Acquisitions. Please note that this call is being broadly disseminated by way of webcast. If you have not already done so, please visit bwalk.com slash investors where you will find a link to today's presentation as well as PDF files of the trust's financial statements, MD&A, as well as supplemental information package. Starting on slide two, we would like to remind our listeners that certain statements in this call and presentation may be considered forward-looking statements. Although the expectations set forth in such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, BoardWalk's future operation and its actual performance may differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements. Additional information that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements are detailed in BoardWalk's publicly filed documents. I would like to now turn the call over to Sam Collius.

Thank you, Eric, and welcome everyone to our Q4 conference call. Starting on slide four, our strategy continues to deliver strong results with our FFO, profit per unit, net asset value and unit holder equity, and fair value of investment properties all seeing increases over the last four years. Slide five, our Q4 2021 FFO per unit growth is 11.9%. Our 2021 FFO of $2.94 is up 7.3% versus last year. Our FFO per unit three-year compounded annual growth rate is 10%. Slide six, our strategy to create value for our stakeholders begins with our people. We are positioned and are so grateful for our amazing team who continues to innovate and deliver our places, homes for our resident members. In turn, this leads to leading earnings performance, which we believe will continue to result in strong total returns for our stakeholders. Our strategic focuses are significant organic growth from utilizing our proven platform that focuses on operational excellence to optimize NOI growth. When we pair this with the current improvement in apartment rental fundamentals, we are well positioned to accelerate on our organic growth trend. Accretive capital recycling focuses on opportunistic investment into acquisitions, development, and investment into our high-quality existing portfolio with a tactical unit buyback. These opportunistic investments, combined with our operational optimization, have positioned Boardwalk to increasing asset values within Boardwalk's diversified and high-quality multifamily portfolio. Our solid financial foundation provides flexibility on our balance sheet with our growing free cash flow and with CMHC insurance on 98% of our financings, which provides access to low-cost mortgage capital with reduced renewal risk. Slide seven. We are in the right place at the right time, delivering solid growth. Boardwalk's existing exposure to strong rental demand, unregulated markets with increased immigration, significant organic growth as Alberta and Saskatchewan have some of the most affordable rental rates in the country with limited new supply versus demand in both international and interprovincial migration. Declining inventories of homes, rising home prices, and rising construction costs are all widening the gap between our replacement costs of our assets and our current evaluation. Construction levels remain low relative to historical levels and the stronger demand for housing Interest rates with CMHC insured mortgages continue to be low cost source of capital to pursue accretive opportunities. Slide eight. In addition to the positive impact that higher commodity prices are providing to our Western Canadian markets, there has been a steady stream of investment and job creating announcements from the emerging technology and energy sectors. As of the most recent data, over 88,000 jobs are now vacant and available in Alberta, which is approximately 30% growth in job vacancies since April 2021. Slide 9 shows strong economic momentum with job and wage growth from the most recent Statistics Canada release. Alberta and Saskatchewan remain the only self-regulated markets in Canada. Boardwalks marked to markets which includes the reduction of incentives, averages $147 per month and equates to a significant $55 million revenue opportunity. Slide 10, our markets and portfolio provide some of the most affordable rents in Canada when comparing to average incomes. In addition, average projected population growth in our markets are outpacing new supply leading to strong apartment rental and housing market fundamentals. Our available supply and affordability are a great opportunity for new and existing Canadians looking for a new, affordable place to call home. Slide 11 shows our retention is increasing with decreasing turnovers and a steady occupancy of approximately 96%. As per our appendix slide 35, we are seeing more move-ins from out of town as more Canadians move back to Alberta and Saskatchewan. Slide 12 show our key operational metrics with actual occupancy of approximately 96%. Incentives continue to drop, occupied rent continues to increase, with vacancy loss increasing slightly in the slower winter season, resulting in steady revenues. Slide 13 shows continual improvement in net rental rates. New leases saw slightly higher incentives during our slower winter season, and renewals continue to see an improvement, reflecting an increase of inflation. Our total portfolio new and renewal leases remain steady during the slower winter season and through the fifth COVID wave. Year over year, we have seen a significant improvement. With restrictions easing, we are seeing growing strength in our apartment rental fundamentals, positioning us to capture a significant mark-to-market opportunity. We would like to now pass the call on to Lisa Smandich, who will provide us with an overview of our portfolio performance, operating margins, balance sheet, and repositioning results. Lisa?