Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Second Quarter 2015 Results

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - July 30, 2015) - Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: REF.UN) ("CREIT") today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015.

For the three months ended June 30, 2015, CREIT reported Funds from Operations ("FFO") of $0.76 per Unit compared to $0.74 per Unit for the same period in 2014, an increase of 2.7%.

For the six months ended June 30, 2015, CREIT reported FFO of $1.51 per Unit compared to $1.47 per Unit for the same period in 2014, an increase of 2.7%.

Stephen Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our business performed well in the second quarter, reporting stable results or modest growth in many of our key performance measures, including FFO growth within our stated target of 2-3% per annum." Mr. Johnson added, "The current operating environment is more challenging than we've seen in many years. However, the fundamental components of our strategy -- accumulating high-quality assets that are diversified geographically and by product type, a superior operating platform, disciplined financial management with low leverage and a low payout ratio -- have served us well through various economic cycles and should continue to do so over the long term."

FFO for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was $55.1 million, an increase of 7.9% or $4.0 million over the prior year. This increase was driven primarily by a full quarter of NOI contribution from $100 million of new developments completed in the last twelve months, higher interest income from $130 million in incremental mezzanine loan net advances over the prior year and lower interest costs arising from mortgage financings completed since the second quarter of last year at interest cost savings of approximately 2%.

The charts below provide summaries of net income results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.

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, 2015 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.

Conference Call
Interested parties are invited to discuss the financial results on a conference call with senior management. Conference call details are as follows:

Date: Friday, July 31, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. EDT
Dial-in number: (647) 788-4919 or (877) 291-4570
Conference call ID: 81799328

A taped replay of the call will be available until August 31, 2015. To access the replay, please dial (416) 621-4642 or (800) 585-8367.

Webcast:
To access the simultaneous webcast of the conference call, please use the following link available on CREIT's website: http://www.gowebcasting.com/6645.

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.