Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Connor Mitchell: Okay. I appreciate that. And then maybe going back to the Land operations and the sale. It sounded like you guys were saying that you’re expecting the majority or all of the remaining Land operations and sales to take place by the end of 2025? But you’re not really making any expected transactions in 2024. Did I get that correct?

Lance Parker: Maybe I can just sort of reiterate some of the bigger picture, more strategic and then have Clayton talk a little bit about specific guidance. So as Clayton mentioned, we had a great — obviously, a great quarter in Land ops in Q1. It really was opportunistic in terms of some land transactions, primarily on Maui, and we will continue to pursue those types of transactions. It is difficult for us from a timing perspective to really forecast what that looks like. And clearly, we sort of blew through our guidance and took advantage of a good buyer relationship that we had on one deal in particular, they were able to move very quickly and we were as well. And so to the extent that those types of transactions come up, we will definitely be ready to execute on them.

Clayton Chun: Then with respect to the guidance portion of your question, I think it’s important to note that the land sale that we were talking about that really moved the needle for the segment, FFO for the quarter. That was not factored into our 2024 guidance because that was assumed to occur at a later period. So, 2025 time frame. That is not to say that we expect to have everything monetized by 2025. As Lance indicated, we’re prioritizing the non-core land sales and are going to continue to pursue every opportunity to monetize and simplify the non-core aspects of the business. But with respect to that specific question, we did not have that factored into our 2024 guidance. I hope that helps.

Connor Mitchell: Yes. Yes. I appreciate the clarification. And then maybe one more just on the land sales as well. We talked about in the past, the overhead expense attached to the Land operations. Could you just provide an update on maybe how that was affected with this Land sale that took place for the quarter? And maybe how much more there is attached to the remaining Land operations?

Clayton Chun: So as we have mentioned in the past, as we’re able to monetize this non-core portion of our business. It also provides us an opportunity to simplify overall. And so in the case of this quarter’s land sales, we’re expecting that there will be approximately a few hundred thousand dollars of carrying costs that will be eliminated as part of the simplification that comes along with that sale. And so as I said before, we’re going to continue to opportunistically jump on any other monetization opportunities that come about. But with respect to that particular transaction, you can expect about a few hundred thousand dollars for annualized run rate purposes.

Operator: And your next question comes from the line of Mitch Germain from Citizens JMP. Please go ahead.

Mitch Germain : Thanks for taking my question. It seems like same-store, it sounds like ground lease in office is going to be a bit of a drag here in the back part of the year, which is why the 4% is going to be closer to a 2% number. Is that the way to think about it here?

Lance Parker: Yes. So what we were indicating in the scripted remarks is that there’s a couple of factors in play here with respect to the same-store NOI guidance. So in the case of the ground leases, you may recall that in the second quarter of last year, we had a large rent step-up with Windward City Shopping Center. And so that amounted to approximately $1.1 million in ABR increase that came about with that renewal. And so we’re not expecting any significant fair market value resets to occur in 2024. And so that is factoring into the guidance and probably what you’re seeing with respect to your question. The other thing that we wanted to point out was on the office side of things, although it’s a smaller portion of our overall portfolio, we do have some — some move-outs that are occurring that frankly, are allowing us to reposition those assets. And so that’s also weighing into our overall guidance for the Commercial Real Estate results.

Mitch Germain: Okay. That’s helpful. Just overall balance sheet. Some of the language around your swaps. I didn’t fully hear it. So maybe if you can just talk about, specifically, you said around 10 or 15 basis points, I believe, on the credit facility. Maybe just talk about that strategy and the recent notes offering that you did. And how that is versus your expectations?

Kit Millan: Yes. So we have a mortgage note related to the Laulani Village asset that is maturing in May. And so what we did during the quarter was we entered into a $60 million private placement note that has a duration for 8 years, comes with a 6.09 coupon. And so what we did in addition to that was utilized 1 of the 2 forward starting interest rate swaps that we have. And so what we’re doing with respect to that is applying it against to our variable rate debt on the revolver. So the swap itself is for $57 million and between the two — so the private placement as well as the utilization of the swap in total, our overall cost of debt for — across the board is going to be impacted by the 10 to 15 basis points.

Mitch Germain: Higher or lower?

Kit Millan: Higher.

Mitch Germain: Higher. Okay. That’s what I thought. And then if I’m not mistaken, you have another slug of debt coming due later on this year, correct?

Lance Parker: We do. Yes, that’s related to our Pro Highland mortgage, which is coming due in December.

Mitch Germain: Got you. So do you have a — you don’t have a swap that’s currently in place for that mortgage, correct?