News Release: Ventas Reports 2020 Second Quarter Results

Ventas Reports 2020 Second Quarter Results

August 07, 2020 06:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) (the “Company”) today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. The Company also provided an update regarding how its operations and financial condition have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our second quarter results demonstrate the significant benefit of Ventas’s diversified portfolio. We achieved strong performance in our Office and Triple-Net Lease segments, which partially offset the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our senior housing operating portfolio,” said Debra A. Cafaro, Ventas Chairman and CEO. “During the quarter, we focused on the health and safety of our employees and those individuals using our properties as a first priority. We also took decisive actions to keep Ventas strong and stable and to weather the initial impact of the pandemic. We are also pleased to have reached mutually beneficial agreements with our two largest senior housing tenants, which provide certainty, flexibility and the opportunity for upside participation in the industry’s recovery,” she added.

“Healthcare real estate continues to offer compelling, demographically driven growth potential, and Ventas is well positioned to benefit from these powerful tailwinds. However, the near-term clinical, financial, operational and economic environment remains dynamic and highly uncertain. We are confident that we have the experience, team, operators and diverse portfolio to manage through these uncertainties,” Cafaro concluded.

Justin Hutchens, the Company’s Executive Vice President of Senior Housing, North America, commented, “Second quarter SHOP results were in line with our expectations. Following the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in April, our leading indicators and move-ins showed sustained improvement through the end of the second quarter and into July. Currently, nearly all of our communities are accepting new move-ins and offering a richer living environment for the benefit of seniors and their families. SHOP occupancy in July showed a modest sequential decline, albeit at an improved rate versus the second quarter, because move-ins are still below move-outs. There is resilient demand for senior housing, and we continue to work with our operators to stabilize occupancy and maintain our focus on health and safety.”

Decisive Actions for Strength and Stability

• Mutually Beneficial Arrangements with Two Largest Tenants in Triple Net (“NNN”) Senior Housing:
  • Ventas reached mutually beneficial arrangements with Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (“Brookdale”), the nation’s largest senior housing operator, to proactively address the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These arrangements provide certainty, flexibility and the opportunity for upside, while enhancing Brookdale’s stability. Ventas reset Brookdale’s annual cash rent to $100 million, and received up-front consideration approximating $235 million (including $162 million in cash), representing over two and a half years of the cash rent reduction. Warrants exercisable at $3 per share through December 31, 2025 for eight percent of Brookdale’s fully diluted shares were included in the up-front consideration, providing Ventas shareholders with the opportunity for meaningful upside participation in any industry recovery.
  • The Company effectively converted 26 Holiday-operated independent living communities to a SHOP operating model from a NNN lease, and received $100 million in consideration. This transaction enables Ventas to retain upside in the communities over time, receive significant value from the lease guarantor and preserve operational flexibility.
• Enhancing Ventas Cost Structure, Liquidity and Financial Strength:
  • In mid-June, Ventas adjusted its corporate cost structure in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business and to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. The Company eliminated roles representing over 25 percent of its corporate positions. As a result of these actions and reductions in senior executive compensation for the year, the Company expects that its third quarter 2020 annualized G&A expense will be approximately $25 to $30 million lower than the level reported in FY 2019.
  • The Ventas Board declared a second quarter dividend of $0.45 per share, enabling the Company, as a prudent measure, to conserve approximately $130 million of cash per quarter compared to the prior quarter dividend distribution.
  • Ventas has reduced its planned 2020 capital expenditures by $0.3 billion to approximately $0.5 billion. The Company expects to fund remaining 2020 development and redevelopment capital expenditures through committed financing.
  • The Company took further steps to strengthen its balance sheet and enhance its liquidity position. Ventas raised $0.5 billion through a senior note issuance in March 2020 and paid down substantially all of its borrowings under its $3.0 billion Revolving Credit Facility in June and July 2020. As of August 5, 2020, the Company has ample liquidity of $3.5 billion, including $2.9 billion of undrawn revolver capacity and $0.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand, and no commercial paper outstanding.
  • The Company ended the quarter with an annualized Adjusted Net Debt to EBITDA ratio of 6.3x and Total Indebtedness to Gross Asset Value of 37 percent.

Second Quarter 2020 Results

Second quarter 2020 financial results for the Company were materially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company recorded $260 million in non-cash items as a result of its evaluation of the value of certain of its assets and the go forward collectability of certain of its future rents as a result of the pandemic’s impact primarily on senior housing. Results per share are as follows:

The following table compares the Company’s actual results for Net Income (Loss), Nareit FFO and Normalized FFO per share for second quarter 2020 to second quarter 2019:

See page 35 of the second quarter 2020 supplemental for additional information.

Second Quarter Property Results, SHOP Clinical Results and Third Quarter Information

Property Performance: For the second quarter 2020, as expected, the Company’s reported year-over-year same-store total property portfolio (1,074 assets, representing 92 percent of the Company’s cash net operating income (“NOI”)) declined compared to the same period in 2019 driven primarily by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. All COVID-19 impacts, including testing, labor, cleaning and supplies, have been reflected in property operating results. The Company’s sequential same-store total property portfolio (1,128 assets, representing 97 percent of the Company’s cash NOI) declined in the second quarter 2020 versus the first quarter 2020 for the same reason.

For the second quarter 2020:

• NNN Portfolio (39 percent of NOI): Same-store cash NOI growth was due to the receipt of substantially all expected rent from the Company’s NNN tenants, including in-place lease escalations. Sequential performance was negatively impacted by a $3 million cash fee received from Capital Senior Living in the NNN senior housing portfolio in the first quarter. The Company has also received substantially all July rents in this portfolio.

• SHOP Portfolio (27 percent of NOI): For the sequential same-store pool (390 assets), cash NOI totaled $106 million, and declined $59 million, in line with the Company’s expectations regarding impact from COVID-19. Compared to the first quarter, second quarter average occupancy declined 470 basis points, from 86.9 percent to 82.2 percent, and operating costs increased.
  • Leading Indicators: Within the quarter, leading indicators and move-ins improved from April through the end of June on a sustained basis. In June, leads and move-ins were 77 percent and 70 percent, respectively, as compared to prior year.
  • Occupancy: Occupancy loss was most concentrated in April, and declined at an improving rate intra quarter through the end of June. New resident move-ins continued to be lower than move-outs in each month, at a narrowing gap, which resulted in continued occupancy loss. At the end of the second quarter, occupancy stood at approximately 80.6 percent.
  • Rate: Revenue per occupied room (“RevPOR”) declined minimally year-over-year and 290 basis points sequentially, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused disproportionately large occupancy loss concentrated in higher rate New York and New Jersey markets.
  • Operating Expenses: Operating expenses increased by 3.4 percent sequentially. The quarter included $42 million of COVID-19 related expenses, partially offset by lower non-COVID-19 operating and management fee expenses. COVID-19 operating expense increases trended more favorably intra-quarter as labor hours were reduced and supply costs eased.
  • SHOP Clinical Results and Third Quarter Trends:
    • In July, leads and move-ins continued to improve sequentially, and point-to-point occupancy declined approximately 50 basis points, or about one third the average rate per month experienced in the second quarter.
    • 96 percent of our communities are currently open to new resident move-ins.
    • Our operators have administered COVID-19 tests for over 69,000 front line caregivers and residents.
    • Despite the increase in testing, confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst SHOP residents has continued to improve, from 26 residents per day in April to five per day currently. There are approximately 40,000 SHOP residents in our portfolio.
    • 89 percent of our communities have either never had a confirmed COVID-19 resident case or have not had a confirmed COVID-19 resident case in the last 14 days.

• Office Portfolio (30 percent of NOI): The Office portfolio showed outstanding performance in the second quarter, delivering strong year-over-year same-store cash NOI growth led by the Company’s university-based Research & Innovation portfolio and stable performance from the Medical Office Building business. The Company received 99 percent of second quarter contractual rent. The Company has already received 97 percent of July Office rents.

Other Recent Highlights & Developments

• Marguerite M. Nader Appointed to Board of Directors:Marguerite M. Nader, President and Chief Executive Officer, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., has been appointed as an independent member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Nader is a seasoned real estate executive with deep real estate and financial experience and an outstanding record of shareholder value creation.

• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Recognition: Ventas was named as the top real estate company, and #32 overall, in 3BL Media’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2020.

Second Quarter 2020 Conference Call and Investor Presentation

Ventas will hold a conference call to discuss this earnings release today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Central Time). The dial-in number for the conference call is (844) 776-7841 (or +1 (661) 378-9542 for international callers), and the participant passcode is “Ventas.” The call will also be webcast live by Intrado DM and can be accessed at the Company’s website at www.ventasreit.com. A replay of the call will be available at the Company’s website, or by calling (855) 859-2056 (or +1 (404) 537-3406 for international callers), passcode 5654536, beginning on August 7, 2020, at approximately 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will remain available for 30 days.

A presentation outlining the Company’s second quarter results and recent trends is posted to the “Investor Presentations” section of Ventas’s website at https://www.ventasreit.com/investor-presentations.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, unless otherwise expressly noted), an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust with a highly diversified portfolio of senior housing, research and innovation, and healthcare properties located throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. As of March 31, 2020, Ventas owned or managed through unconsolidated joint ventures approximately 1,200 properties (including properties classified as held for sale), consisting of senior housing communities, medical office buildings, research and innovation centers, inpatient rehabilitation and long-term acute care facilities, and health systems. Through its Lillibridge subsidiary, Ventas provides management, leasing, marketing, facility development and advisory services to highly rated hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. More information about Ventas and Lillibridge can be found at www.ventasreit.com and www.lillibridge.com.

The Company routinely announces material information to investors and the marketplace using press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, public conference calls, webcasts and the Company’s website at www.ventasreit.com/investor-relations. The information that the Company posts to its website may be deemed to be material. Accordingly, the Company encourages investors and others interested in the Company to routinely monitor and review the information that the Company posts on its website, in addition to following the Company’s press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. Supplemental information regarding the Company can be found on the Company’s website under the “Investor Relations” section or at www.ventasreit.com/investor-relations/annual-reports—supplemental-information. A comprehensive listing of the Company’s properties is available at www.ventasreit.com/our-portfolio/properties-by-stateprovince.

Certain of the information contained herein, including intra-quarter operating information and number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, has been provided by our operators and we have not verified this information through an independent investigation or otherwise. We have no reason to believe that this information is inaccurate in any material respect, but we cannot assure you of its accuracy.

This press release also includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding the Company’s or its tenants’, operators’, borrowers’ or managers’ expected future financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, funds from operations, dividends and dividend plans, financing opportunities and plans, capital markets transactions, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, operating metrics, capital expenditures, competitive positions, acquisitions, investment opportunities, dispositions, merger or acquisition integration, growth opportunities, expected lease income, continued qualification as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), plans and objectives of management for future operations and statements that include words such as “anticipate,” “if,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will” and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and actual results may differ from the Company’s expectations. The Company does not undertake a duty to update these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.

The Company’s actual future results and trends may differ materially from expectations depending on a variety of factors discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC. These factors include without limitation: (a) the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures intended to prevent its spread on the Company’s business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, including declines in revenues and increases in operating costs in the Company’s senior housing operating portfolio, deterioration in the financial conditions of the Company’s tenants and their ability to satisfy their payment obligations to the Company, constraints in the Company’s ability to access capital and other sources of funding; increased risk of claims, litigation and regulatory proceedings and uncertainty that may adversely affect the Company; and the ability of federal, state and local governments to respond to and manage the COVID-19 pandemic successfully; (b) the ability and willingness of the Company’s tenants, operators, borrowers, managers and other third parties to satisfy their obligations under their respective contractual arrangements with the Company, including, in some cases, their obligations to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company from and against various claims, litigation and liabilities; (c) the ability of the Company’s tenants, operators, borrowers and managers to maintain the financial strength and liquidity necessary to satisfy their respective obligations and liabilities to third parties, including without limitation obligations under their existing credit facilities and other indebtedness; (d) the Company’s success in implementing its business strategy and the Company’s ability to identify, underwrite, finance, consummate and integrate diversifying acquisitions and investments; (e) macroeconomic conditions such as a disruption of or lack of access to the capital markets, changes in the debt rating on U.S. government securities, default or delay in payment by the United States of its obligations, and changes in the federal or state budgets resulting in the reduction or nonpayment of Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement rates; (f) the nature and extent of future competition, including new construction in the markets in which the Company’s senior housing communities and office buildings are located; (g) the extent and effect of future or pending healthcare reform and regulation, including cost containment measures and changes in reimbursement policies, procedures and rates; (h) increases in the Company’s borrowing costs as a result of changes in interest rates and other factors, including the potential phasing out of the London Inter-bank Offered Rate after 2021; (i) the ability of the Company’s tenants, operators and managers, as applicable, to comply with laws, rules and regulations in the operation of the Company’s properties, to deliver high-quality services, to attract and retain qualified personnel and to attract residents and patients; (j) changes in general economic conditions or economic conditions in the markets in which the Company may, from time to time, compete, and the effect of those changes on the Company’s revenues, earnings and funding sources; (k) the Company’s ability to pay down, refinance, restructure or extend its indebtedness as it becomes due; (l) the Company’s ability and willingness to maintain its qualification as a REIT in light of economic, market, legal, tax and other considerations; (m) final determination of the Company’s taxable net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 and for the year ending December 31, 2020; (n) the ability and willingness of the Company’s tenants to renew their leases with the Company upon expiration of the leases, the Company’s ability to reposition its properties on the same or better terms in the event of nonrenewal or in the event the Company exercises its right to replace an existing tenant, and obligations, including indemnification obligations, the Company may incur in connection with the replacement of an existing tenant; (o) risks associated with the Company’s senior living operating portfolio, such as factors that can cause volatility in the Company’s operating income and earnings generated by those properties, including without limitation national and regional economic conditions, costs of food, materials, energy, labor and services, employee benefit costs, insurance costs and professional and general liability claims, and the timely delivery of accurate property-level financial results for those properties; (p) changes in exchange rates for any foreign currency in which the Company may, from time to time, conduct business; (q) year-over-year changes in the Consumer Price Index or the UK Retail Price Index and the effect of those changes on the rent escalators contained in the Company’s leases and the Company’s earnings; (r) the Company’s ability and the ability of its tenants, operators, borrowers and managers to obtain and maintain adequate property, liability and other insurance from reputable, financially stable providers; (s) the impact of damage to the Company’s properties from catastrophic weather and other natural events and the physical effects of climate change; (t) the impact of increased operating costs and uninsured professional liability claims on the Company’s liquidity, financial condition and results of operations or that of the Company’s tenants, operators, borrowers and managers, and the ability of the Company and the Company’s tenants, operators, borrowers and managers to accurately estimate the magnitude of those claims; (u) risks associated with the Company’s office building portfolio and operations, including the Company’s ability to successfully design, develop and manage office buildings and to retain key personnel; (v) the ability of the hospitals on or near whose campuses the Company’s medical office buildings are located and their affiliated health systems to remain competitive and financially viable and to attract physicians and physician groups; (w) risks associated with the Company’s investments in joint ventures and unconsolidated entities, including its lack of sole decision-making authority and its reliance on its joint venture partners’ financial condition; (x) the Company’s ability to obtain the financial results expected from its development and redevelopment projects; (y) the impact of market or issuer events on the liquidity or value of the Company’s investments in marketable securities; (z) consolidation activity in the senior housing and healthcare industries resulting in a change of control of, or a competitor’s investment in, one or more of the Company’s tenants, operators, borrowers or managers or significant changes in the senior management of the Company’s tenants, operators, borrowers or managers; (aa) the impact of litigation or any financial, accounting, legal or regulatory issues that may affect the Company or its tenants, operators, borrowers or managers; and (bb) changes in accounting principles, or their application or interpretation, and the Company’s ability to make estimates and the assumptions underlying the estimates, which could have an effect on the Company’s earnings.

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Contacts
Sarah Whitford
(877) 4-VENTAS