Slate Office REIT Reports Strong First Quarter 2016 Results

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 06, 2016) -  Slate Office REIT (TSX: SOT.UN) (the "REIT"), a leading owner of office properties in Canada, today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Senior management is hosting a conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET Friday, May 6, 2016 to discuss the results and ongoing business initiatives of the REIT.

Reflecting on the opportunities that exist in the Canadian office market, Scott Antoniak, the REIT's Chief Executive Officer, said in a letter to unitholders:

"From the outset, Slate Office REIT was created to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the Canadian office market. We believe that these opportunities are now coming to the fore and that Slate Office REIT is uniquely positioned to continue the aggressive growth of our portfolio."

Read the full letter to unitholders here

Quarterly Highlights

• Completed lease transactions for 211,272 square feet during the quarter, highlighted by the renewal of The Minacs Group, a 103,179 square foot tenant in the GTA that renewed for an additional five years
• Same-property NOI was $11.5 million representing a 0.7% increase, Core-FFO was up 1.7% to $0.25 per unit and AFFO remained consistent at $0.21 per unit, all compared to Q4 2015
• The REIT's AFFO payout ratio was 90.3% for the three months ended March 31, 2016, compared to a payout ratio of 89.7% for the previous quarter
• The REIT won "Office Lease of the Year" at the 2016 REX Awards for the Sheridan Park revitalization with SNC-Lavalin

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended (thousands of dollars, except per March 31, December 31, March 31, unit amounts) 2016 2015 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue $ 27,569 $ 29,939 $ 14,082 Net operating income 11,774 12,326 7,126 Net income and comprehensive income 3,621 13,201 (1,230) Funds from operations ("FFO") 8,173 7,513 4,530 Core FFO 8,676 8,528 4,530 Adjusted FFO $ 7,338 $ 7,409 $ 3,339 Weighted average number of trust units (000s) 35,334 35,519 20,016 FFO per unit $ 0.23 $ 0.21 $ 0.23 Core FFO per unit 0.25 0.24 0.23 AFFO per unit 0.21 0.21 0.17 Distributions per unit $ 0.1875 $ 0.1875 $ 0.1875 AFFO payout 90.3% 89.7% 112.4% Occupancy(1) 89.4% 89.7% 91.7% Occupancy - portfolio 85.0% 85.4% 91.7% Interest coverage 3.2x 3.0x 2.5x Net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage 9.7x 9.4x 10.2x ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 (1) Excluding redevelopment properties. 

Distributions and Fully-Covered Payout Ratio
During the quarter the REIT paid monthly distributions of $0.1875 per unit, or $0.75 per unit on an annualized basis. Distributions paid to unitholders are paid at the same rate to holders of the REIT's Class B LP units and are paid on or about the 15th day of the month following declaration.

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, the AFFO payout ratio was 90.3%, compared to the pay-out ratio of 89.7% for the last quarter.

Conference Call and Webcast
Senior management will host a live conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 6, 2016 to discuss the results and ongoing business initiatives of the REIT.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing (647) 788-4919 or 1 (877) 291-4570. Additionally, the conference call will be available via simultaneous audio found at http://www.gowebcasting.com/7448. A replay will be accessible until May 20, 2016 via the REIT's website or by dialing (416) 621-4642 or 1 (800) 585-8367 (access code 85582418) approximately two hours after the live event.

About Slate Office REIT (TSX: SOT.UN)
Slate Office REIT is an open-ended real estate investment trust. The REIT's portfolio currently comprises 34 strategic and well-located real estate assets located primarily across Canada's major population centres. The REIT is focused on maximizing value through internal organic rental and occupancy growth and strategic acquisitions. Visit slateam.com/SOT to learn more.

About Slate Asset Management L.P.
Slate Asset Management L.P. is a leading real estate investment platform with over $3 billion in assets under management. Slate is a value-oriented company and a significant sponsor of all its private and publicly-traded investment vehicles, which are tailored to the unique goals and objectives of its investors. The firm's careful and selective investment approach creates long term value with an emphasis on capital preservation and outsized returns. Slate is supported by exceptional people, flexible capital and a proven ability to originate and execute on a wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Visit slateam.com to learn more.

Supplemental Information
All interested parties can access the REIT's supplemental information online at slateam.com/SOT in the Investors section. Materials are also available on SEDAR at sedar.com or upon request to the REIT at ir@slateam.com or (416) 644-4264.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements herein may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements reflect management's expectations regarding objectives, plans, goals, strategies, future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities of the REIT including expectations for the current financial year, and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to management's beliefs, plans, estimates and intentions, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Statements that contain words such as "could", "should", "would", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", "plan", "intend", "will", "may", "might" and similar expressions or statements relating to matters that are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance and, by their nature, are based on the REIT's current estimates and assumptions, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as the date hereof and accordingly are subject to change after such date. The REIT does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein except as expressly required by applicable securities laws.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures
We disclose a number of financial measures in this news release that are not measures used under IFRS, including NOI, same property net operating income, FFO, AFFO, AFFO payout ratio, adjusted EBITDA and the interest coverage ratio, in addition to certain measures on a per unit basis. We utilize these measures for a variety of reasons, including measuring performance, managing the business, capital allocation and the assessment of risk. Descriptions of why these non-IFRS measures are useful to investors and how management uses each measure are included in the management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2016 of the REIT. We believe that providing these performance measures on a supplemental basis to our IFRS results is helpful to investors in assessing the overall performance of our businesses in a manner similar to management. These financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for similar financial measures calculated in accordance with IFRS. We caution readers that these non-IFRS financial measures may differ from the calculations disclosed by other businesses, and as a result, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by others.

For Further Information
Slate Office REIT
121 King Street West, Suite 200
Toronto, ON M5H 3T9
Tel: +1 416 644 4264
Fax: +1 416 947 9366
E-mail: ir@slateam.com