Veris Residential (VRE) Q4 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Completed transition to a pure-play multifamily REIT after more than $660M of 2023 non-strategic asset sales; FY 2023 Core FFO per share rose 20% to $0.53.

• FY 2023 same-store NOI grew 17.6%, exceeding adjusted guidance of 14–15%; NOI margin reached 64%, up from 62% in 2022.

• Strategic priorities include value creation through capital allocation, operating and portfolio optimization, and balance-sheet improvement.

Financial highlights

• FY 2023 revenue was $279.9M versus $233.4M in 2022; net loss was $107.3M, or $1.22 per diluted share, versus $52.1M, or $0.63 per share.

• FY Core FFO was $53.9M, or $0.53 per diluted share, versus $44.3M, or $0.44, in 2022; Q4 Core FFO per share was $0.12 versus $0.05.

• FY same-store revenue grew 11.0%, expenses 0.4%, and NOI 17.6%; Q4 same-store NOI increased 15.7% year over year.

• Same-store blended rental growth was 9.3% for FY 2023; Jersey City Waterfront rents averaged $4,247 per home versus $3,995 market rent, a $252 premium.

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2024 guidance: same-store revenue growth of 4–5%, expense growth of 5–6%, and NOI growth of 2.5–5%.

• FY 2024 Core FFO guidance is $0.48–$0.53 per share; net loss guidance is $0.35–$0.40 per share, with depreciation add-back of $0.88 per share.

• Haus25 and The James are scheduled to enter the same-store pool in Q1 2024; together they contributed more than $8M of Q4 NOI.

• Core-market rent growth forecasts: Tri-State 3.4%, Jersey City Waterfront 2.6%, and Boston Metro 3.7%.