RioCan swings to $350.8-million loss in Q2 amid rent deferrals caused by COVID-19

TORONTO — RioCan REIT swung to a large loss in its latest quarter amid rent deferrals resulting from COVID-19 lockdowns.

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it collected about 73 per cent of rent due in April, May and June, calling the period “the most challenging quarter ever” for many tenants.

RioCan — which owns, manages and develops properties and counts major retailers among its tenants — said in a statement it expects rent collection to improve as businesses reopen, and that it collected 85 per cent of rent in July.

The company posted a net loss of $350.8 million or $1.10 per diluted unit for the three-month period that June 30, down from a net income of $253 million or 83 cents per unit a year earlier.

Funds from operations were slightly softer than analyst expectations. Per unit, funds from operations hit 35 cents per diluted unit, compared with 48 cents per diluted unit a year ago and 38 cents per unit expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Chief executive Edward Sonshine said in a letter to shareholders that while the COVID-19 health crisis was unexpected, the changes to the retail landscape did not come as a surprise, as the company has been shifting its holdings over time away from malls and toward necessity retailers such as grocers and pharmacies in urban areas.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2020

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN).

The Canadian Press