Corporate Office Properties Trust President & CEO Stephen Budorick Interviewed by Advisor Access
November 17 2020 - 10:30AM
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) (NYSE:
OFC) is an office REIT headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. As of
Sept. 30, 2020, COPT’s core portfolio of 174 office and data center
properties encompassed 20.2 million square feet and was 94.6%
leased. COPT is differentiated from other office REITs because: 1)
it has a unique franchise of office properties and land positions
that serve priority U.S. Government defense activities, such as
information technology and hyperscale cloud computing, collectively
referred to as Defense/IT Locations, and 2) its impressive track
record of completing an average of 1 million square feet of
developments annually at its Defense/IT Locations, which are highly
leased and create significant shareholder value.
These Defense/IT Locations are adjacent to defense installations
that execute high-tech and research-oriented defense missions
encompassing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR),
research and development (R&D) for unmanned drones, missile
defense, space, and cybersecurity. Accordingly, COPT’s business is
not correlated with the broader economy or traditional office
fundamentals, and the Company has strongly outperformed the REIT
market during the pandemic.
- Healthy defense spending environment in the United States
continues to drive strong demand for COPT’s locations. In 2019 the
Company completed over 2 million square feet of development
leasing—an all-time record. Because demand for COPT locations is
not correlated to the economy, COPT is on track to complete another
1 million square feet of development leasing in 2020. Additionally,
this year’s tenant retention is on track to set a 20-year record of
80%-85%.
- COPT owns and controls over 850 acres of the most relevant land
locations, which limits competing supply and can accommodate over
10 million square feet of future mission growth.
- 1.6 million square feet are under construction; 84% of that
space is pre-leased and should support impressive growth in the
coming quarters.
- A secure common dividend yields 4.8%—an attractive premium to
the yield from 10-year U.S. Treasuries.
- An investment grade-rated balance sheet supports future growth
through development and ensures dividend safety.
- The Company continues to meet or exceed its 2020 plan
objectives and operates largely unimpeded by pandemic-related
restrictions, shutdowns, or tenant credit issues.
Click here to view the COPT Corporate Fact Sheet
Click here to view the COPT Investor Presentation
Advisor Access spoke with Corporate Office Properties’ President
and CEO, Stephen Budorick, about
the trust’s business model and growth strategy.
Advisor Access: COPT fills a unique
niche in the REIT space. Please describe your business
model.
Steve Budorick: As of Sept.
30, 2020, we derived 88% of our business from Defense/IT Locations,
which encompass 20.2 million square feet of office space and more
than 850 acres of strategic developable land…An important
distinction is that the defense and intelligence locations we
support are not involved with weapons manufacturing or in the
training and deployment of troops; rather, the missions involve
high-tech, R&D, cloud computing and cybersecurity aspects of
national defense…
AA: Looking back on 2020, are there
specific properties or innovations you'd like to
highlight?
SB: Our newest and fastest growing park is
Redstone Gateway, which we are developing on a land lease from the
U.S. Government at the main gate of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville,
Alabama. That park consists of nearly 1.2 million square feet of
operating properties that are 100% leased, and we have another
330,000 square feet under development, including 100 Secured
Gateway, a 250,000-square-foot facility and our first project in
the Redstone Gateway’s secure campus behind Redstone Arsenal’s
security fence. 100 Secured Gateway is 84% pre-leased today, and
should be 100% leased when fully operational in 2021.
AA: In November, COPT announced its
92nd consecutive common dividend. Tell us how you've been able to
sustain this remarkable record even in the face of unprecedented
economic, social, and political headwinds. Do you anticipate being
able to continue the run?
SB: One of the main reasons investors buy REIT
shares is for dividend income. We manage our operations to ensure
the safety of our dividend, regardless of economic, social,
political, or capital market trends.
In addition to generating 88% of our revenues from Defense/IT
Locations, where demand for facilities remains solid regardless of
the broader economy, we operate with very conservative levels of
debt, and have been investment grade-rated by all three major
rating agencies since 2013…
AA: The coronavirus pandemic, and the
resulting emphasis on employees working remotely from their homes,
has had a significant effect on office occupancy. How have COPT's
properties—and bottom-line funds from operation (FFO) per share
results—been impacted, and how have you addressed these
impacts?
SB: Throughout this pandemic, our operations
and rent collection rates have been minimally impacted. In strong
contrast to other office REITs…
AA: The pandemic will likely continue
to affect all markets, including
REITs, for
months to come. What steps has COPT taken to weather what
could be a rocky start to 2021, and beyond?
SB: We actually do not expect a rocky start to
2021, and are not making any adjustments to our proven strategy. We
have consistently outperformed on many metrics throughout
2020—bottom-line results, and our stock price, to name two—and are
highly confident in our ability to grow FFO per share growth by
3–6% in 2021.
AA: Thank you, Steve.
Read the complete answers to these questions and the full
interview with COPT HERE.
About Advisor Access:
Advisor-Access LLC brings compelling investment ideas to
investors in the form of in-depth interviews with company
management and the latest fact sheets and corporate
presentations.
DISCLOSURE: COPT has paid Advisor Access a fee to distribute
this press release. Stephen Budorick had final approval of the
content and is wholly responsible for the validity of the
statements and opinions.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Advisor Access
Rick Baggelaar
rick@advisor-access.com
Corporate Office Propert... (NYSE:OFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Corporate Office Propert... (NYSE:OFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024