COPT Defense Reports Strong Third Quarter 2024 Results

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EPS of $0.32

FFO per Share, as Adjusted for Comparability, of $0.65

1-cent above the Midpoint of Guidance

Increased Midpoint of 2024 FFO per Share Guidance by 1-cent to $2.57

Implies 6.2% FFO per Share Growth for the Year

Defense/IT Portfolio 95.0% Occupied and 96.5% Leased

Same Property Cash NOI Increased 9.4% in 3Q24 and 8.8% Year-to-Date

Raised Midpoint of Same Property Cash NOI Guidance for the Year by 50 Basis Points to 8.5%

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Strong Leasing Volume and Retention YTD

Total Leasing of 829,000 SF in 3Q24 and 2.5 million SF Year-to-Date

123,000 SF in 3Q24 and 387,000 SF Year-to-Date of Vacancy Leasing Exceeded Annual Target of 400,000 SF, with 4Q24 Progress To-Date

Tenant Retention of 88% in 3Q24 and 84% Year-to-Date Raised Midpoint of Guidance for the Year by 250 Basis Points to 85%

80,000 SF in 3Q24 and 90,000 SF Year-to-Date of Investment Leasing

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Active on External Growth

Acquired 365-acres in Des Moines, Iowa and 80,000 SF building in San Antonio, Texas

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COPT Defense Properties ("COPT Defense" or the "Company") (NYSE:CDP) announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Management Comments

Stephen E. Budorick, COPT Defense's President & Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our Defense/IT investment strategy, which concentrates our portfolio near priority U.S. defense installations, continued to generate strong results during the third quarter. FFO per share exceeded the midpoint of our guidance range and based on this outperformance, and our forecast for the remainder of the year, we increased the midpoint of 2024 FFO per share guidance by $0.01 to $2.57, which implies over 6% year-over-year growth. This marks our third increase for the year and a total of $0.06 of outperformance compared to the midpoint of our initial guidance. Looking forward, we continue to anticipate compound annual FFO per share growth of at least 4% between 2023 and 2026.

We are exceeding our plan in several areas and raised 2024 guidance on a group of key metrics. We increased the midpoint of 2024 guidance for same property cash NOI growth by 50 basis points to 8.5%, and increased tenant retention by 250 basis points to 85%. Based on our updated guidance, same property cash NOI growth would be the highest level in over a decade, and tenant retention would be the highest level in over two decades.

We are especially excited to announce the acquisition of a 365-acre land parcel near Des Moines, Iowa, which is a significant opportunity for us to expand our data center shell program to a new market. Des Moines, the 5^th largest hyperscale market in the country, is home to several of the largest hyperscalers, which are drawn to the market given attractive land values, power availability with abundant access to renewable energy and long-haul fiber lines, and tax incentives enacted by supportive state and local governments. We expect this investment to fuel our development pipeline in the medium to long-term, and result in long-term accretion to FFO, AFFO, and NAV per share. As we build out the parcel in phases, we plan to self-fund development of the site on a leverage-neutral basis.

Additionally, we acquired a vacant office property in San Antonio, then subsequently leased the full building to the U.S. Government. With this transaction, our U.S. Government portfolio, which now includes 35 fully leased buildings and on a pro forma basis as of September 30, 2024, accounts for 36.5% of our annualized rental revenue. This acquisition provides additional operational scale given our nearby campus in San Antonio, will be accretive when rent commences in 2Q25, and reinforces our reputation as a trusted partner in supporting mission critical U.S. Government and defense contractor tenant requirements."

Financial Highlights

3rd Quarter Financial Results:

> Diluted earnings per share ("EPS") was $0.32 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $(1.94) for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

> Diluted funds from operations per share ("FFOPS"), as calculated in accordance with Nareit's definition and as adjusted for comparability, was $0.65 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $0.60 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Operating Performance Highlights

Operating Portfolio Summary:

> At September 30, 2024, the Company's 24.3 million square foot Total Portfolio was 93.1% occupied and 94.8% leased, which includes the 22.2 million square foot Defense/IT Portfolio that was 95.0% occupied and 96.5% leased.

Same Property Performance:

> At September 30, 2024, the Company's 22.2 million square foot same property portfolio was 93.6% occupied and 95.1% leased.

> The Company's same property cash NOI increased 9.4% for the three months ended September 30, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Leasing:

> Total Square Feet Leased: For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the Company leased 829,000 square feet, including 626,000 square feet of renewals, 123,000 square feet of vacancy leasing, and 80,000 square feet of investment leasing. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company executed 2.5 million square feet of total leasing, including 2.1 million square feet of renewals, 387,000 square feet of vacancy leasing, and 90,000 square feet of investment leasing.

> Tenant Retention Rates: During the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the Company renewed 87.6% of expiring square feet in its Total Portfolio and 89.6% in its Defense/IT Portfolio. During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company renewed 84.3% of expiring square feet in its Total Portfolio and 86.9% in its Defense/IT Portfolio.

> Rent Spreads & Average Escalations on Renewing Leases: For the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2024, straight-line rents on renewals increased 17.2% and 9.3%, respectively, and cash rents on renewed space increased 4.1% and 0.8%, respectively, while annual escalations on renewing leases averaged 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively.

> Lease Terms: In the quarter ended September 30, 2024, lease terms averaged 4.1 years on renewing leases, 7.1 years on vacancy leasing, and 9.5 years on investment leasing. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, lease terms averaged 4.0 years on renewing leases, 7.8 years on vacancy leasing, and 9.0 years on investment leasing.

Investment Activity Highlights

> Development Pipeline: The Company's development pipeline consists of five properties totaling 831,000 square feet that were 79% leased as of September 30, 2024. These projects represent a total estimated investment of $335.4 million, of which $108.1 million has been spent.

> Acquisitions:

During the quarter, the Company acquired:

> A 365-acre land parcel near Des Moines, Iowa for $32 million that we plan to develop into approximately 3.3 million square feet of data center shell space.

> An 80,000 square foot Class A office building at 3900 Rogers Road in San Antonio, Texas for $17 million. The building was vacant upon acquisition, and the Company subsequently executed two leases with the U.S. Government to occupy the entire building.

> Please see the Company's acquisition press release dated October 28, 2024 and pages 8-22 of the Company's 3Q24 Results Presentation (refer to the ‘Associated Supplemental Presentation' section below).

Balance Sheet and Capital Transaction Highlights

> For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the Company's adjusted EBITDA fixed charge coverage ratio was 4.8x.

> At September 30, 2024, the Company's net debt to in-place adjusted EBITDA ratio was 6.1x and its net debt adjusted for fully-leased investment properties to in-place adjusted EBITDA ratio was 5.9x.

> At September 30, 2024, and including the effect of interest rate swaps, the Company's weighted average effective interest rate on its consolidated debt portfolio was 3.3% with a weighted average maturity of 5 years, and 100% of the Company's debt was subject to fixed interest rates.

Associated Supplemental Presentation

Prior to the call, the Company will post a slide presentation to accompany management's prepared remarks for its third quarter 2024 conference call; the presentation can be viewed and downloaded from the ‘Financial Info – Financial Results' section of COPT Defense's Investors website: https://investors.copt.com/financial-information/financial-results

2024 Guidance

Management is revising its full-year guidance for diluted EPS and diluted FFOPS, per Nareit and as adjusted for comparability, from the prior range of $1.22-$1.26, and $2.54-$2.58, respectively, to new ranges of $1.24-$1.26, and $2.56-$2.58, respectively. Management is establishing fourth quarter guidance for diluted EPS and diluted FFOPS per Nareit and as adjusted for comparability at $0.31-$0.33 and $0.64-$0.66, respectively. Reconciliations of projected diluted EPS to projected diluted FFOPS, in accordance with Nareit and as adjusted for comparability are as follows:

Conference Call Information

Management will discuss third quarter 2024 results on its conference call tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, details of which are listed below:

Conference Call Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Time: 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Participants must register for the conference call at the link below to receive the dial-in number and personal pin. Registering only takes a few moments and provides direct access to the conference call without waiting for an operator. You may register at any time, including up to and after the call start time:

https://register.vevent.com/register/BI9796486f46f6424aa012b44d48ca9ae6

The conference call will also be available via live webcast in the ‘News & Events – IR Calendar' section of COPT Defense's Investors website: https://investors.copt.com/news-events/ir-calendar

Replay Information

A replay of the conference call will be immediately available via webcast only on COPT Defense's Investors website and will be maintained on the website for approximately 90 days after the conference call.

Definitions

For definitions of certain terms used in this press release, please refer to the information furnished in the Company's Supplemental Information Package furnished on a Form 8-K which can be found on its website (www.copt.com). Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the attached tables.

About COPT Defense

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government ("USG") defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements. As of September 30, 2024, the Company's Defense/IT Portfolio of 194 properties, including 24 owned through unconsolidated joint ventures, encompassed 22.2 million square feet and was 96.5% leased.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain "forward-looking" statements, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "plan" or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate. Although the Company believes that the expectations, estimates and projections reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time made, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements.

The areas of risk that may affect these expectations, estimates and projections include, but are not limited to, those risks described in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Source: COPT Defense Properties

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