Creative Media & Community Trust Corp quarterly report, Q2 FY2021

Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation (CIM Commercial Trust Corporation)

Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. The filing identifies the registrant as CIM Commercial Trust Corporation, a REIT focused primarily on office properties, with hotel and SBA lending operations. Unless otherwise noted, amounts are in millions of dollars.

Financial performance and position

MetricQ2 2021Q2 2020Six months 2021Six months 2020
Total revenue$22.7$16.5$41.6$42.0
Net income (loss)$0.5$(4.0)$(3.1)$(5.3)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders$(4.2)$(8.1)$(12.4)$(14.9)
Basic and diluted loss per share$(0.28)$(0.55)$(0.83)$(1.02)
FFO attributable to common stockholders$0.9$(2.9)$(2.3)$(4.5)

Q2 revenue rose 37.3%, while six-month revenue declined 1.2%. Q2 improvement reflected higher lending income and a partial hotel recovery; six-month results also reflected weaker hotel and office revenue. Six-month total expenses fell 9.8% to $43.3 million. For Q2, segment NOI was $7.6 million for office, a $2,000 loss for hotel, and $5.0 million for lending; total segment NOI was $12.6 million.

  • Cash flow: Six-month operating cash flow was $17.8 million, versus $5.2 million in 2020; investing cash use was $4.8 million, versus $23.3 million; financing cash flow was $12.9 million, versus $68.3 million. Cash and restricted cash totaled $69.5 million at period-end, up from $43.6 million at year-end 2020.
  • Balance sheet: Total assets were $704.8 million. Net debt was $260.7 million, down from $324.3 million at December 31, 2020. Total liabilities were $297.8 million; total equity was $364.5 million. Real estate, net, was $498.5 million and loans receivable, net, were $81.9 million.
  • Debt and liquidity: At June 30, $107.0 million was drawn on the secured 2018 revolving facility, with approximately $87.5 million available; the separate unsecured facility had $10.0 million available and no balance drawn. The 2018 facility matures in October 2022, subject to an extension option. A $97.1 million mortgage is fixed-rate at 4.14% and due July 2026. After quarter-end, the company repaid $25.0 million on the 2018 facility; as of August 2, $82.0 million remained drawn.
  • Capital and distributions: A June rights offering issued 8.52 million common shares at $9.25 per share, raising $78.8 million gross before reported offering costs of $1.9 million. Common dividends were $0.075 per share quarterly. Preferred stock dividends are cumulative and carry stated rates of 5.50% for Series A and L and 5.65% for Series D.

Material changes versus prior comparable periods

  • Q2 lending revenue increased to $5.8 million from $1.6 million, primarily from premiums on sales of guaranteed SBA loans and a larger average lending portfolio. Management attributed higher premiums partly to increased SBA guarantee support, which could revert to 75% by congressional action.
  • Q2 hotel revenue rose to $3.5 million from $1.1 million as restrictions eased; however, first-half hotel revenue fell 42.8% to $5.4 million. Six-month hotel occupancy was 38.8%, ADR was $119.99, and RevPAR was $46.52, compared with 39.2%, $159.75, and $62.59, respectively, in 2020.
  • Office revenue declined 3.0% in Q2 and 6.2% for the first half, primarily because of lower occupancy at properties in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Portfolio office occupancy was 78.0% at June 30, versus 80.6% a year earlier; annualized rent per occupied square foot increased to $52.32 from $50.29.
  • Common shares outstanding rose to 23.37 million from 14.83 million at year-end, principally due to the rights offering. Debt repayments and lower revolver borrowings contributed to the decline in debt.

Outlook, risks, contingencies, and unusual items

  • No specific earnings or revenue guidance was provided. Management said business, financial condition, results, and liquidity had been adversely affected by COVID-19 and would likely remain affected for the rest of 2021. It expected hotel NOI in the second half of 2021 to remain below pre-pandemic comparable-period levels.
  • COVID-19-related exposure remains significant for hotel operations, parking, and lending borrowers concentrated in limited-service hospitality. Parking tenants paid 32.3% of contractual rent for Q2, with 67.7% recorded as bad debt. Office and retail collections were generally consistent with pre-pandemic levels, according to management.
  • Management reported that 99.9% of loans subject to credit risk were current at June 30, but 99.7% of that loan exposure was concentrated in hospitality. Loan loss reserves were $0.93 million. The company cautioned that further economic disruption could increase reserves and losses.
  • Outstanding loan funding commitments were $61.1 million; the company said most were prime-based SBA loans, with guaranteed portions intended for sale. Future lease-related tenant improvement and construction obligations totaled $8.0 million.
  • The company is pursuing an $11.8 million refund claim against San Francisco for previously paid transfer-tax penalties, interest, and legal fees. It also disclosed a contractor-injury lawsuit for which it could not estimate potential losses, although it did not expect a material adverse effect. SBA could seek recovery for losses arising from technical deficiencies in loan origination or servicing; management said such a claim was not expected based on historical experience.
  • The filing reported no material pending or threatened legal proceedings beyond ordinary-course matters, no material changes to the risk factors in the 2020 Form 10-K, and effective disclosure controls. No off-balance-sheet arrangements were reported.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether office occupancy, tenant collections, and rent renewals improve, particularly given the 78.0% occupancy rate and the concentration of 31.0% of annualized rental income in one tenant, Kaiser.
  • Whether hotel performance recovers and whether COVID-19 variants or renewed restrictions further affect hotel revenue and cash flow.
  • How SBA guarantee levels, loan-sale premiums, hospitality borrower performance, and PPP forgiveness affect lending income and credit losses.
  • The company’s ability to manage the October 2022 revolver maturity, borrowing-base availability, covenants, and ongoing preferred and common distributions.
  • Whether the San Francisco tax-refund litigation or contractor-injury case produces material costs, and whether the $61.1 million of loan commitments and $8.0 million of property obligations require significant cash funding.