Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Page 3 of 15

Heath Fear: Craig, I think the debt market and our indicative spreads is really a function of just the uncertainty in the fixed income space and where rates are headed. And so, I think €“ and it’s particularly exacerbated for KRG because a lot of times €“ not a lot of times, but your existing issuances act as a marker and you can only go so far away from those existing debt coupons and where they’re trading right now. And we just don’t have a lot of bonds in the market right now, so they are fairly illiquid. So I think that the answer to that is if we do have proceeds from a disposition, we will look to see where we are at the time. And if I can issue debt at the right particular rate at that time, we will go ahead and do an acquisition or if I don’t have use for it, I will pay debt down and I’ll re-lever later.

So I think that relationship that you are discussing, it’s working itself out now. And so I think it’s a matter for us just to be patient and wait and see. And the good news is we have the ability to be patient.

John Kite: Yes, I guess the only thing I’d add to that, Craig, is that we don’t €“ when we are looking at opportunities, it’s not exactly linear between what long-term rates are and what an IRR is in a particular acquisition. So there might be opportunities for us to get into something that on a going-in yield is lower than what it would normally need to be where the cost of capital was but that the IRR had enough juice in it, that it all works out, right? So you €“ that’s why we’re pretty calm on that front right now. That’s why there’s not a lot going on, on that front. And that it really needs to stabilize a little bit before you would see more of it. But I think the point we were trying to make is that the balance sheet is so strong that we’re able to kind of wait and see how that works its way through, but at the same time, we are looking at opportunities, and we are always underwriting things and trying to figure out where do those €“ where will that come together where it makes sense for us.

So it’s not only about where medium-term and long-term rates are at any one point in time.

Craig Mailman: That’s helpful. And Heath just the magnitude of what you could put on from a mortgage debt perspective in the JVs from the agencies kind of dollar volume potential?

Heath Fear: The one that we’re looking at right now, Craig, is it would result in about $90 million of proceeds to KRG. We’ve got other projects, some of them are in various stages of construction, so it’s a little less clear what we could produce out of those particular assets. But that’s the large one we’re looking at. That’s $90 million against $285 million, that’s taking out a very good chunk of our maturities for 2023.

Craig Mailman: Helpful. And then, John, you had mentioned you’re still 150 basis points below kind of where you were pre-COVID leased occupancy. Is that the legacy type portfolio or is that kind of marrying RPAI and Kite and coming up with that number?

Page 3 of 15