UDR, Inc. quarterly report, Q1 FY2023

UDR, Inc. — Q1 2023 Form 10-Q

Reporting period: Three months ended March 31, 2023. UDR is a multifamily REIT; its consolidated portfolio comprised 166 communities and 55,159 apartment homes across 21 markets. Results are unaudited and compared with Q1 2022 unless noted.

Key financial metrics

MetricQ1 2023Q1 2022 / prior date
Total revenue$399.5 million$357.3 million
Net income attributable to UDR$31.0 million$13.7 million
Net income attributable to common stockholders; diluted EPS$29.8 million; $0.09$12.6 million; $0.04
Same-store NOI; operating margin$265.7 million; 70.0%$242.5 million; 69.1%
FFO / FFO as adjusted / AFFO per diluted share and unit$0.59 / $0.60 / $0.57$0.54 / $0.55 / $0.51
Operating cash flow$168.0 million$161.0 million
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash$29.2 million$30.2 million at Dec. 31, 2022
Total debt, net$5.577 billion$5.487 billion at Dec. 31, 2022
Total assets$10.968 billion$11.038 billion at Dec. 31, 2022

FFO, FFO as adjusted and AFFO are non-GAAP measures; the filing cautions that they are not substitutes for GAAP net income or cash flow.

Performance and changes versus prior year

  • Revenue increased 11.8%; total property NOI increased 12.9%. Same-store rental income rose 8.2% and same-store NOI rose 9.5%.
  • Same-store rental-rate growth of 10.2% drove revenue gains, partly offset by higher bad debt and occupancy loss. Average physical occupancy was 96.6%, down 0.5% as reported; monthly income per occupied home increased 8.9% to $2,464.
  • Same-store operating expenses increased 5.1%, including higher repair and maintenance, utilities, and real estate taxes. Same-store NOI margin improved to 70.0% from 69.1%.
  • Interest expense rose $7.8 million to $43.7 million, primarily from higher debt balances and average interest rates. Depreciation and amortization increased $5.7 million.
  • Income from unconsolidated entities rose to $9.7 million from $5.4 million. Results included investment gains/losses from real-estate technology investments and preferred equity investments; the prior-year period also included $10.6 million of variable upside participation on a community sale.
  • Q1 2023 included $4.2 million of net casualty charges, primarily winter-storm damage, versus $0.8 million of net recoveries in Q1 2022. A reduction in tenant lease-receivable reserves increased rental income by $2.3 million and unconsolidated-entity income by $0.2 million.
  • Operating cash flow increased, while investing cash outflow widened to $117.3 million from $86.8 million, reflecting higher capital expenditures, lower JV distributions and net notes-receivable funding, partly offset by lower development spending and JV investment. Financing cash outflow was $51.7 million.

Debt, liquidity and capital allocation

  • Debt totaled $5.577 billion net, with a weighted-average interest rate of 3.25% and weighted-average maturity of 6.3 years. Secured debt was $1.051 billion; unsecured debt was $4.526 billion. About 89% of real estate was unencumbered by secured debt, based on gross book value.
  • At quarter-end, UDR had no borrowings under its $1.3 billion revolving credit facility, with $1.3 billion of unused capacity, subject to letters of credit. It had $13.8 million outstanding and $61.2 million unused on its $75 million working-capital facility, and $405 million outstanding under a $700 million commercial-paper program.
  • Approximately $406 million of debt was due during the remainder of 2023, comprised of $405 million of commercial paper and about $1 million of secured debt. Management expects to meet liquidity needs through property operations, credit facilities, commercial paper, debt or equity issuance, and/or property dispositions.
  • Unhedged variable-rate debt was $445.8 million. Management estimated a 100-basis-point rate increase would raise quarterly interest expense by $1.5 million, based on the period’s average balance. UDR was in compliance with debt covenants.
  • Operating cash flow funded distributions and investment activity. Common distributions declared were $0.42 per share; $125.1 million was paid to common stockholders during the quarter.

Outlook, risks and unusual items

  • The filing provides no quantified full-year earnings, rent-growth, occupancy or FFO guidance. Management states that short- and long-term liquidity needs are expected to be met through operating cash flows and financing or asset-sale alternatives.
  • UDR had two wholly owned communities under development, totaling 415 homes, with a $187.5 million budget and $76.5 million carrying value; completion was estimated for Q2 2024. No communities were undergoing substantial redevelopment at quarter-end.
  • Principal risks include inflation and operating-cost growth, interest rates and refinancing, capital-market and commercial-paper access, apartment supply and rental demand, rent regulation, geographic concentration, development costs and delays, storm and other uninsured losses, and counterparty/JV performance. Eight major markets generated 72.3% of Q1 NOI.
  • Routine legal proceedings were not expected by management to have a material adverse effect, though the company disclosed class-action litigation involving a vendor among its risk factors. No long-lived-asset or JV investment impairments were recorded in Q1; no significant subsequent events were reported. Disclosure controls were assessed as effective.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether same-store rent growth and occupancy trends persist, and how market-by-market performance changes.
  • Commercial-paper refinancing and repayment of the $405 million due in 2023; available facility capacity, borrowing costs and covenant headroom.
  • How inflation, interest rates, insurance costs and winter-storm or other casualty claims affect NOI and cash generation.
  • Development completion timing, remaining commitments and expected returns, alongside capital expenditures and renovation spending.
  • Underlying drivers and durability of unconsolidated-investment income, including preferred equity and real-estate technology investment valuations.
  • Potential effects of tenant receivable reserves, rent regulation, litigation and other contingencies on reported results and cash flows.