Their focus on major cities will pay off

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $24.48 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 310.5 million; Market cap: $7.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.9%; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 250 shopping centres and other properties across Canada. They include 17 projects now under development. In all, the REIT controls 40.0 million square feet of rentable space. Its overall occupancy rate is a high 96.2%. The trust continues to make progress with its plan to focus on six major urban markets: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. As part of that strategy, RioCan plans to sell 100 properties for $2.0 billion. So far, the trust has sold 65 of its less-important properties. It expects those six cities to supply 90% of its rental revenue when it completes the plan in 2019. Due to property sales, RioCan’s revenue in the quarter fell 2.7%, to $278.9 million from $286.7 million. As well, its cash flow fell 2.4%, to $147.3 million from $151.0 million. However, cash flow per…