WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Franklin Street Properties Corp. (“FSP”, “our” or “we”) (NYSE American:
FSP) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a regular
quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share of common stock for the period
January 1, 2018 through March 31, 2018, payable on May 10, 2018 to
stockholders of record as of April 20, 2018.
George J. Carter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FSP, commented
as follows:
"The declared quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share of common stock
represents a $0.10 reduction from the $0.19 per share of common stock
quarterly dividend that FSP has paid since August 2008. As indicated in
our fourth quarter 2017 earnings press release, the transition of FSP’s
property portfolio from a suburban to a primarily urban orientation has
generally resulted in higher leasing costs per square foot but longer
lease terms and higher rental rates. We anticipate that we will have the
opportunity to do significant leasing in the property portfolio during
2018 and 2019 with the objective of achieving 92% to 94% stabilized
occupancy. While some of the leasing to be done is rollover space from
existing tenant lease expirations, a large amount is associated with
value-add opportunities that exist in currently vacant space in many of
our recently acquired urban-infill properties.
"The currently declared dividend of $0.09 per share of common stock has
been set at a level that our Board of Directors believes will better
enable us to fund anticipated capital expenditures and leasing costs
from internal cash flow and that will more closely align our percentage
of AFFO (adjusted funds from operations) payout with other office REITs
(real estate investment trusts).
"We believe that this action, together with the strength of our balance
sheet, which includes over $500 million in available liquidity under our
revolving line of credit, allows us to add value to our property
portfolio through competitive lease deals and targeted capital
improvements, while also enabling us to grow property NOI (net operating
income) over time.”
This press release, along with other news about FSP, is available on the
Internet at www.fspreit.com.
We routinely post information that may be important to investors in the
Investor Relations section of our website. We encourage investors to
consult that section of our website regularly for important information
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information as soon as it is posted, to sign up for E-mail Alerts.
About Franklin Street Properties Corp.
Franklin Street Properties Corp., based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is
focused on investing in institutional-quality office properties in the
U.S. FSP’s strategy is to invest in select urban infill and central
business district (CBD) properties, with primary emphasis on our five
core markets of Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Minneapolis. FSP
seeks value-oriented investments with an eye towards long-term growth
and appreciation, as well as current income. FSP is a Maryland
corporation that operates in a manner intended to qualify as a real
estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. To learn
more about FSP please visit our website at www.fspreit.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release that state FSP’s or management’s
intentions, beliefs, expectations, or predictions for the future may be
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release may also contain
forward-looking statements, such as expectations for dividend levels in
future periods, our ability to lease space in the future, expectations
for property NOI and AFFO levels in future periods, expectations for
growth and leasing activities in future periods, and expectations for
future leasing costs, capital expenditure amounts and rental rates, that
are based on current judgments and current knowledge of management and
are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such
forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Investors are
cautioned that our forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainty, including without limitation, economic conditions in the
United States, changes in interest rates, disruptions in the debt
markets, economic conditions in the markets in which we own properties,
risks of a lessening of demand for the types of real estate owned by us,
changes in government regulations and regulatory uncertainty,
uncertainty about governmental fiscal policy, geopolitical events and
expenditures that cannot be anticipated such as utility rate and usage
increases, delays in construction schedules, unanticipated repairs,
additional staffing, insurance increases and real estate tax valuation
reassessments. See the “Risk Factors” set forth in Part I, Item 1A of
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as
the same may be updated from time to time in subsequent filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe
the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity,
acquisitions, dispositions, performance or achievements. We will not
update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this
press release to conform them to actual results or to changes in our
expectations that occur after such date, other than as required by law.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180406005574/en/
For Franklin Street Properties Corp.
Georgia Touma, 877-686-9496
Source: Franklin Street Properties Corp.