Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Second Quarter 2014 Results and Renewal of Normal Course Issuer Bid

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 31, 2014) - Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust ("CREIT") (TSX:REF.UN) today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014.

For the three months ended June 30, 2014, CREIT reported Funds from Operations ("FFO") of $0.74 per Unit compared to $0.71 per Unit for the same period in 2013, an increase of 4.2%.

For the six months ended June 30, 2014, CREIT reported FFO of $1.47 per Unit compared to $1.39 per Unit for the same period in 2013, an increase of 5.8%.

Stephen Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our strong financial performance continued in the second quarter, with FFO increasing 4.2% over the comparative period in the prior year. CREIT's portfolio of high-quality real estate assets continued to produce a reliable and growing cash flow. Our investors continue to benefit from our prudent payout ratio, which results in the retention of significant cash flow. This, in itself, is a propellant for future growth, as it is invested in new acquisitions and development properties."

For the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, FFO was as follows:

		Three months ended June 30
						Change
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)		2014		2013		($)		(%)
FFO		$	51,100	$	48,714	$	2,386	4.9	%
FFO per Unit		$	0.74	$	0.71	$	0.03	4.2	%

For the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, FFO was as follows:

		Six months ended June 30
						Change
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)		2014		2013		($)		(%)
FFO		$	101,306	$	95,377	$	5,929	6.2	%
FFO per Unit		$	1.47	$	1.39	$	0.08	5.8	%

The increase in FFO for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, as compared to the same periods in 2013 are a result of transaction activities, improvements in same-asset performance and higher interest income from the mezzanine financing program.

The charts below provide summaries of net income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013.

		Three months ended June 30
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)						Change
		2014		2013		($)
Income before gain on disposition of investment properties, property acquisition costs, foreign currency (loss) gain and income taxes		$	22,950	$	20,905	$	2,045
Net income		$	22,754	$	25,228	$	(2,474	)
Net income per Unit		$	0.33	$	0.37	$	(0.04	)

		Six months ended June 30
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)						Change
		2014		2013		($)
Income before gain on disposition of investment properties, property acquisition costs, foreign currency (loss) gain and income taxes		$	44,266	$	40,523	$	3,743
Net income		$	45,056	$	44,762	$	294
Net income per Unit		$	0.65	$	0.66	$	(0.01	)

Financial Measures and Additional Financial Information

FFO is a generally accepted supplemental measure of operating performance for real estate entities; however, it is not a measure defined by International Financial Reporting Standards. Readers are directed to CREIT's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for a description of the measure and its reconciliation to net income.

CREIT's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 are posted on CREIT's website at www.creit.ca. Readers are directed to these documents for financial details and a fulsome discussion on CREIT's results.

Renewal of Normal Course Issuer Bid

CREIT today also announced that it has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") for the renewal of its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") which will enable it to purchase for cancellation up to 3,464,500 of its outstanding Trust Units ("Units"), representing 5% of its 69,290,000 issued and outstanding Units as at July 31, 2014.

CREIT intends to commence the NCIB on August 13, 2014. The NCIB will expire on August 12, 2015 or such earlier date as CREIT completes its purchases pursuant to the NCIB. All purchases under the NCIB will be made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX, Alpha or alternate trading systems in Canada at market prices prevailing at the time of purchase. In accordance with TSX rules, any daily repurchases will be limited to a maximum of 25% of the average daily trading volume of the Units on the TSX for the six months ended July 31, 2014. Any Units that are repurchased will be cancelled.

The Trustees of CREIT believe that the ongoing purchase by CREIT of certain of its Units will afford additional liquidity for the issued and outstanding Units. It will also benefit all remaining Unitholders by increasing their proportionate equity and voting interests in CREIT.

From time to time, when CREIT does not possess material non-public information about itself or its securities, it will enter into a pre-defined plan with its broker to allow for the repurchase of Units at times when CREIT ordinarily would not be active in the market due to its own internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. Any such plans entered into with CREIT's broker will be adopted in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

CREIT did not make any purchases under its NCIB that began on August 13, 2013.

About CREIT

CREIT is a real estate investment trust focused on accumulating and aggressively managing a portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and delivering the benefits of real estate ownership to Unitholders. The primary benefit is a reliable and, over time, increasing monthly cash distribution. CREIT owns a diversified portfolio of retail, office and industrial properties.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and the environment in which we operate, which are based on our expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any such statement, to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except as required by law.