PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.— Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. announced plan to mitigate COVID-19 impact by reducing capital expenditures and increasing liquidity by $75 million.
The Company has taken the following steps:
- Increased liquidity by $75 million. Out of an abundance of caution, the Company has drawn $75 million on its revolving credit facility to preserve financial flexibility. After giving effect to this borrowing, the Company has approximately $20 million in remaining borrowing capacity under this facility. The Company’s bank group continues to be highly supportive and the Company has no debt maturities until February 2021.
- Reduction of regular quarterly common dividend to $0.01 per share. Beginning with Q2 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors plans on reducing the quarterly common dividend to $0.01 per share, which will preserve $3.6 million of cash per quarter. The Board of Directors will monitor the Company’s financial performance and adjust the regular quarterly common dividend at a future time when it is determined to be prudent.
- Reducing capital expenditures. The Company has begun taking action to dramatically reduce near-term redevelopment and other non-essential capital expenditures. In addition, construction has been halted in Philadelphia at the direction of the local government. Accordingly, the Company currently expects that its estimated capital spend in 2020 for its three ongoing mixed-use urban redevelopment projects will be approximately $15 million.
- Withdrawing 2020 Earnings Guidance. Given the uncertainty of the economic impact of the pandemic to businesses, the Company is withdrawing its previously issued 2020 earnings guidance.
“The Company will carefully monitor this situation and continue to take thoughtful and appropriate steps as it evolves,” said Bruce Schanzer, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust which focuses on the ownership, operation and redevelopment of grocery-anchored shopping centers in high-density urban markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston. The Company’s portfolio (excluding properties treated as “held for sale”) comprises 56 properties, with approximately 8.3 million square feet of gross leasable area.
