Stratus Properties Inc. (STRS) on Q1 2021 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Operator: Good day, and welcome to the Stratus Properties’ First Quarter 2021 Conference Call. Yesterday, Stratus issued a press release announcing its first quarter 2021 results. The press release is available on Stratus’ website at stratusproperties.com. Following management’s remarks, we will host a question-and-answer session. Please note this call is being recorded and will be available for replay on Stratus’ website through May 25, 2021. Anyone listening to the replay should note that all information presented is current as of today, May 11, 2021 and should be considered valid only as of this date. As a reminder, yesterday’s press release and certain comments that will be made on this call include forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, expected, projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. Please review the cautionary language included in Stratus’ press release issued yesterday and the risk factors described in Stratus’ 2020 Form 10-K that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by Stratus.
Bill Armstrong: Thank you for joining our first quarter 2021 conference call. Our Chief Financial Officer, Erin Pickens is also here with me today. Before I provide updates on our retail and residential properties, I would like to briefly comment on the COVID-19 pandemic and its continued impact on Stratus. As you know, at the outset of the pandemic last year, we quickly responded by managing our liquidity, taking care of our people and tenants and ensuring our positioning to thrive as businesses reopen and the economy recovered. Our W Austin hotel has remained open, and we have worked closely with our hotel operator to implement prudent cost containment measures. We are now beginning to experience the benefits of these efforts. We are entering a hopeful season. The communities where we operate including Austin in the Houston area continue to grow and thrive with increasingly more job opportunities and activity. The vaccine is becoming more widely available. Capacity restrictions are relaxing in our markets, and the public is becoming more comfortable with travel and venturing out to restaurants in events. According to the Austin Business Journal, Austin’s population average an increase of 146 people per day from 2019 to 2020. And in terms of raw population growth, Austin is the fourth fastest growing city in the country, after Phoenix, Dallas and Houston. So, three of the four of these quickly growing cities are based in Texas. We are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in these growing markets. We are focused on creating and maintaining a portfolio that meets the evolving tastes of our community members, both those who are originally from these areas and newcomers looking for new opportunities for themselves and their families. As we have emphasized before, at Stratus, we aim to manage a diversified regionally focused portfolio, including projects across multiple stages of our full cycle development strategy. From acquiring land, securing and maintaining development entitlements, and designing and developing properties, as we are currently accomplishing with new projects The Saint June and Holden Hills, which I will describe in more detail in a moment.
Erin Pickens: Thank you, Bill. Yesterday we issued our press release announcing our first quarter 2021 results. Stratus consolidated revenues totaled $14.5 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared with $28.1 million in the first quarter of 2020. Net income attributable to common stockholders totaled $8.9 million or $1.08 per share in the first quarter of 2021 compared to a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.13 per share in the first quarter of last year. The recent quarter’s results include the gain on the sale of The Saint Mary of $22.9 million partially offset by operating losses from Stratus’ hotel and entertainment segments resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. EBITDA totaled $15.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, and compared favorably to $4 million in the first quarter of 2020. This increase is also due to the gain on the sale of The Saint Mary. I’ll now provide a brief commentary on our reporting segments. Revenue from our Real Estate Operations segment in the first quarter of 2021 totaled $6.6 million, compared with $12.3 million in the first quarter of 2020. This decrease primarily reflects a decrease in the number of lots and homes sold during the first quarter 2021 as available inventory has decreased. And while revenues decreased, operating income increased moderately from $2.1 million last year to $2.2 million in the first quarter of this year. During the first quarter, we sold two Amarra Drive Phase III lots at five-acre multi-family tract of land and Amarra Drive, and our last condominium unit at the W Austin residences for a total of $6.5 million. As of March 31 2021, we had only three unsold developed lots at Amarra Drive, one of which was under contract and sold for $0.6 million subsequent to the end of the first quarter. As we have mentioned previously, we believe that our real estate operations and our multi-family properties and our leasing operations continue to benefit from pandemic driven home centric trends and from continued recognition of Austin as a desirable place to live. Revenues from our Leasing Operations segment in the first quarter of 2021 totaled $5.4 million, compared to $6 million in the first quarter of last year. This decrease in leasing revenue primarily reflects the sale of The Saint Mary, which reported rental revenue for the first quarter only through the sale on January 11, generating $0.1 million in revenue for the first 11 days in January, compared with $0.7 million in the full first quarter of last year.
Bill Armstrong: Thank you, Erin. I continue to feel encouraged by several important facts as we continue forward into the second quarter. First, the growth of Austin’s population is outstanding and has resulted in a significant demand for housing at a wide range of prices. Second, our company is resilient and operates in strong markets and we are witnessing a steady recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. We are now through with the pandemic yet, but we are experiencing positive improvement. We will continue to prudently manage our costs including cost increases in certain construction materials, particularly lumber that we take advantage of new opportunities. Our retail centers are drawing strong tenant demand; our multi-family property is fully occupied. And we have sold almost all of our single-family lot inventory at Barton Creek at a premium. And Stratus, we’re committed to evaluating all strategic initiatives that could create value for shareholders, including our previously announced evaluation of a potential REIT conversion. As a reminder, if the board recommends a REIT conversion strategy, our shareholders will ultimately decide whether Stratus converts to a REIT or remains the C-corporation. Further, before we open up the call to Q&A, I would like to remind you that the company its directors, and certain of its executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the company shareholders in connection with the company’s 2021 Annual Meeting. On April 12 2021, the company filed a definitive proxy statement and WHITE Proxy Card with the SEC in connection within solicitation proxies for the 2021 Annual Meeting. Shareholders of the company are strongly encouraged to read the proxy statement, the accompanying Proxy Card and all other documents filed with the SEC carefully in their entirety as they contain important information. Information regarding the identity of company participants and their direct or indirect interest by security holdings, or otherwise, is set forth in the proxy statement in other materials filed by the company with the SEC, which can be found for free through the company’s website, www.stratusproperties.com in the section investors or through the SECs website at www.sec.gov. We will not comment on the proxy contest with Oasis on this call. Thank you all for listening. At this time, I’ll ask the operator to open the line for questions.
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