Saul Centers (BFS) Declares $0.53 Quarterly Dividend; Provides Business Updates

Saul Centers (NYSE: BFS) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, or $2.12 annualized.

The dividend will be payable on October 30, 2020, to stockholders of record on October 16, 2020, with an ex-dividend date of October 15, 2020.

The annual yield on the dividend is 8.2 percent.

The Company also declared quarterly dividends on (a) its 6.125% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, in the amount of $0.3828125 per depositary share and (b) its 6.000% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, in the amount of $0.3750000 per depositary share. The preferred dividends will be paid on October 15, 2020, to holders of record as of October 1, 2020.

COVID-19 Update (as of September 16, 2020)

• Our portfolio is comprised of 50 shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties, totaling approximately 9.0 million square feet of retail and office gross leasable area (GLA). In addition, our portfolio contains three residential properties, comprising 1,006 luxury apartment units, or approximately 0.9 million square feet.
• Of our 50 shopping centers, 43 are anchored by a grocery store, home improvement store, pharmacy or bank, all of which have remained open during the pandemic due to their "essential business" designations.
• 98% of our tenants are currently open and operating under modified operating protocols in accordance with state and local guidelines.
• 100% of our shopping centers are open.

Collections Update

The following is a summary, as of September 16, 2020, of our consolidated collections of rent billings, including minimum rent, operating expense recoveries, and real estate tax recoveries for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 ("Second Quarter"), July 2020 and August 2020:

Second Quarter 2020

• 81% of Second Quarter 2020 total billings have been paid by our tenants.
  • 76% from retail
  • 94% from office
  • 100% from residential
• Additionally, we have granted rent deferrals comprising approximately 10% of Second Quarter billings (or 51% of the unpaid balance) including 4% with anchor/national tenants. The executed deferrals typically cover three months of rent, and are generally scheduled to be repaid during 2021 and 2022. As a condition to granting rent deferrals, in many cases, we have sought and received extended lease terms, or waivers of certain adjacent use or common area restrictions.

July 2020

• 89% of July 2020 total billings have been paid by our tenants.
  • 86% from retail
  • 94% from office
  • 100% from residential
• Additionally, we have granted rent deferrals comprising approximately 2% of July billings (or 21% of the unpaid balance) including 1% with anchor/national tenants. These deferrals are structured similarly to the Second Quarter deferrals.

August 2020

• 88% of August 2020 total billings have been paid by our tenants.
  • 85% from retail
  • 92% from office
  • 99% from residential
• Additionally, we have granted rent deferrals comprising approximately 1% of August billings (or 11% of the unpaid balance), primarily with anchor/national tenants. These deferrals are structured similarly to the Second Quarter deferrals.

Although we are and will continue to be actively engaged in rent collection efforts related to uncollected rent, and work with certain tenants who have requested rent deferrals, we can provide no assurance that such efforts or our efforts in future periods will be successful, particularly in the event that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and restrictions intended to prevent its spread continue for a prolonged period.

As of September 16, cash collections of September total billings are ahead of cash collections of July and August total billings, as of July 16 and August 16, respectively. However, there can be no assurance that cash collections for the remainder of the month of September or any future period will continue to be paid at or in excess of the current rate.

The Waycroft Update

In the first week of April, we delivered The Waycroft, comprised of 491 apartment units and 60,000 square feet of retail space, on North Glebe Road, in Arlington, Virginia. As of September 16, despite the headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have executed 241 residential leases, totaling approximately 49% of the available units, and 228 units are occupied. The addition of the Waycroft nearly doubles the residential component of our portfolio to 1,006 luxury residential units. The project is anchored by a 41,500 square foot Target store, which commenced operations in August 2020. An additional 5,900 square feet of retail space is expected to become operational during the second half of 2020.

Saul Centers, Inc. is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, which currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio of 60 properties which includes (a) 50 community and neighborhood shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties with approximately 9.9 million square feet of leasable area and (b) three land and development properties. Approximately 85% of the Saul Centers' property operating income is generated by properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.

For a dividend history and other dividend-related data on Saul Centers (BFS) click here.

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