SL Green Realty Corp: The Manhattan net absorption rate remains negative as of first-quarter 2022

Business Strategy and Outlook

SL Green Realty is a real estate investment trust engaged in the acquisition, development, repositioning, ownership, and management of commercial real estate properties, principally office properties. Most of the companies’ properties are in the Manhattan area. The company held interests in approximately 35 million SF, which includes ownership interests in 26.7 million SF in Manhattan buildings and 7.2 million SF securing debt and preferred equity investments. The strategy of the company is to maintain a high-quality portfolio of buildings in desirable locations and focus on creating value through new developments, capital recycling, and joint venture investments. As an instance, SL Green’s $3 billion megaproject One Vanderbilt was completed amidst the pandemic and has already achieved high occupancy rates.

The economic uncertainty emanating from pandemic recovery and the remote work dynamic have created a challenging environment for office owners. Employees are still hesitant in returning to the office as office utilization remains around 45% of the pre-pandemic level. The vacancy rate for office spaces in Manhattan was recorded at 21% in first-quarter 2022, which is roughly 1000 basis points higher than pre-pandemic levels. On the supply side, approximately 17 million SF of office space, which amounts to around 4% of the total inventory is currently under construction in Manhattan and would be added to the market in upcoming years. It is alleged this additional supply to further pressure fundamentals in the market. The Manhattan net absorption rate remains negative as of first-quarter 2022 and rental growth figures are disappointing especially given the highly inflationary environment.

Having said this, an increasing number of companies requiring their employees to return to the office can be seen. In the long run, it is anticipated that remote work and hybrid remote work solutions will gain increasing acceptance, but offices will continue to be the centrepiece of workplace strategy and will play an essential role in facilitating collaboration, harnessing innovation, and maintaining the company culture.

Financial Strength

It is likely, SL Green has relatively more debt compared with other office REITs especially after considering its share of debt in unconsolidated joint ventures. The firm owns a majority of its properties through unconsolidated JVs and these properties are significantly more leveraged than the firm’s balance sheet. However, it is bought to light that the unconsolidated JV debt is secured by the portfolio assets and have limited recourse to the parent company. The company’s share of debt which also includes its share of unconsolidated JV debt was $9.9 billion as of the end of first-quarter 2022, resulting in a debt/EBITDA ratio of 13.1 times. The current debt/EBITDA ratio is also high because of a lower base in the current challenging environment. It is held that, the figure should come down slightly over the next few years as fundamentals recover and EBITDA sees healthy growth. Having said this, it is absorbed that SL Green’s higher leverage implies a higher financial risk for the firm. The weighted average interest rate on the company’s debt was 3.11% and the debt maturity schedule shows that the maturities are adequately spread. Approximately 77% of the total debt is fixed-rate debt with the other 23% being floating rate debt. The debt service coverage ratio which is a ratio of EBITDA divided by interest and principal payments was 2.2 times as of the end of first-quarter 2022. The fixed-charge coverage ratio which is a ratio of EBITDA are divided by all fixed expenses (including interest) was 1.9 times as of the end of first-quarter 2022. The debt and fixed-charge coverage ratios are 3.8 times and 2.9 times, respectively, if only consolidated figures are considered. As a REIT, SL Green is required to pay out at least 90% of its income as dividends to shareholders. The FAD pay-out ratio which is a ratio of dividends to funds available for distribution was reported at 70% for the year 2021. This shows the firm is generating sufficient cash to cover its fixed expenses and pay out dividend.

Bulls Say’s

SL Green’s midtown focus allows it to access one of the most vibrant business districts in the world. In addition to this, the company’s high-quality office buildings with good amenities should benefit from the flight to quality trend.
The development pipeline of the company is poised to drive significant net operating income growth for SL Green.
SL Green attracts the highest-quality tenants with the deepest pockets, greatly reducing risk across its portfolio.

Company Profile

SL Green is one of the largest Manhattan property owner and landlord, with interest in around 35 million square feet of wholly owned and joint venture office space. The company has additional property exposure through its limited portfolio of well-located retail space. It operates as a real estate investment trust

(Source: MorningStar)

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