Topic: How To Invest

PRIMARIS RETAIL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $22.79 – Toronto symbol PMZ.UN

PRIMARIS RETAIL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $22.79 (Toronto symbol PMZ.UN; Units outstanding: 87.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.4%; www.primarisreit.com) owns large malls in medium-sized Canadian cities and suburban areas. In all, it owns 33 properties that contain 13.7 million square feet of leasable area.

Primaris has 43% of its properties in Ontario, followed by Alberta, 16%; B.C., 14%; Quebec, 14%; Saskatchewan, 9%; Manitoba, 3% and New Brunswick, 1%. Primaris has a 96.7% occupancy rate.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2012, acquisitions pushed up Primaris’s revenue by 22.6%, to $100.4 million from $81.9 million a year earlier. Cash flow rose 30.8%, to $32.7 million from $25.0 million. Cash flow per unit rose 8.3%, to $0.393 from $0.363, on more units outstanding. The trust yields 5.4%.

Primaris aims to keep growing by acquisition, but it takes a cautious approach. For example, in June 2011, it raised $260.6 million in a unit issue to help pay for five malls it bought from Ivanhoe Cambridge. The $572-million deal was Primaris’s largest purchase to date, but the malls are spread out across the country: three are in Ontario, one is in Alberta and one is in Quebec. That lowered Primaris’s risk.

The trust’s strong cash flow and high-quality tenants could make it a takeover candidate. That’s not reason enough on its own to buy the units, but it adds to their appeal.

Primaris Retail REIT is a buy.

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