Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Fourth Quarter and 2012 Annual Results, an Increase in Distributions and Appointment of New Chief Financial Officer

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 15, 2013) - Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust ("CREIT") (TSX:REF.UN) today announced results for the fourth quarter and for the year ended December 31, 2012.

For the three months ended December 31, 2012, CREIT reported Funds from Operations (FFO) of $0.67 per Unit compared to $0.62 per Unit for the same period in 2011, an increase of 8%. For the year ended December 31, 2012, CREIT reported FFO of $2.63 per Unit compared to $2.36 per Unit in 2011, representing an increase of 11%.

Stephen Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "CREIT's financial performance for the year was very solid. There were three significant performance drivers in 2012.

"First, our existing real estate portfolio performed well and continued again to provide reliable and strong financial results.

"Second, we added $357.2 million of high-quality income producing real estate to our portfolio, through selective property acquisitions and the successful completion of several development projects.

"And third, we reduced our weighted average cost of debt by 41 basis points."

Mr. Johnson added, "I am also pleased to announce that, based upon the very solid performance of our business, we will again increase the distribution paid to our Unitholders. The distribution will increase to $1.55 per Unit per annum (from $1.49 currently) effective for the March 2013 distribution (payable in April). This is the 12^th consecutive year that CREIT has increased its distributions."

For the three months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, FFO was as follows:

	Three months ended December 31
					Change
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)	2012		2011		($)		(%)
FFO	$	45,786	$	41,628	$	4,158	10	%
FFO per Unit	$	0.67	$	0.62	$	0.05	8	%

FFO for the three months ended December 31, 2012 increased over the same period in 2011 for the same reasons outlined above for the full year.

For the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, FFO was as follows:

	Year ended December 31
					Change
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)	2012		2011		($)		(%)
FFO	$	178,351	$	158,226	$	20,125	13	%
FFO per Unit	$	2.63	$	2.36	$	0.27	11	%

The charts below provide a summary of net income for the three months and the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.

	Three months ended December 31
					Change
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)	2012		2011		($)
Income before the disposition of investment properties, property acquisition costs, foreign currency translation and income tax	$	18,335	$	13,330	$	5,005
Net income	$	21,641	$	11,967	$	9,674
Net Income per Unit	$	0.32	$	0.18	$	0.14
	Year ended December 31
					Change
($ thousands, except per Unit amounts)	2012		2011		($)
Income before the disposition of investment properties, property acquisition costs, foreign currency translation and income tax	$	70,482	$	49,673	$	20,809
Net income	$	80,094	$	45,802	$	34,292
Net Income per Unit	$	1.18	$	0.68	$	0.50

FFO is a generally accepted supplemental measure of operating performance for real estate entities; however, it is not a measure defined by IFRS. Readers are directed to MD&A for a description of the measure and its reconciliation to Net Income.

CREIT's Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2012 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.

As announced in December 2011, CREIT's current Chief Financial Officer, Tim McSorley, decided to step down from his position, and he allowed for a transition period that could extend to November 30, 2013. CREIT is now pleased to announce that Rael Diamond will be appointed Chief Financial Officer and this will be effective as of March 31, 2013.

Mr. Diamond has been with CREIT since October 2012. Prior to joining CREIT he was with the Brookfield group of companies, where he served as a Chief Financial Officer of several of Brookfield's subsidiary public companies including Rouse Properties, Brookfield Office Properties Canada and Howard Hughes Corporation.

Stephen Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Tim has made a significant contribution to CREIT through the many stages of our growth over a 21-year period. Most notably, and something we are very proud of, is that CREIT has earned a reputation for a very high standard of comprehensive financial reporting and disclosure under Tim's guidance and leadership."

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.