The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Scott Kingsmore: Yes, it depends on the property and whether we’ve got box availability, for example. But I’d say on average, we’re probably 40% on the new uses, 60% on traditional. When I say new uses, they can include things like Pinstripes which is a combination of entertainment as well as food and beverage. Some may think of that as traditional, but we think of that as really kind of the new direction of things. Certainly, the likes of Life Time Fitness we consider to be a non-conventional retail use and that’s part of that 40% as well. So a lot of those uses as well as the medical uses that you referenced fall in the category of nontraditional retail.

Unidentified Analyst: And then just as a follow-up, at a recent conference, you kind of mentioned getting to 94% occupancy by the end of next year and you’re already at 93.4%. So how should we think about kind of the pace of occupancy going forward? And as your occupancy improves, how do you think about rents on the remaining space?

Scott Kingsmore: So, we’re cautiously optimistic. Obviously, the macroeconomic climate is tough right now. The Fed continues to speculation they may bump again this week. Rates are high. There’s a lot of global uncertainty, there’s a lot of political uncertainty. But based on the leasing environment we see today, I do think we’ll get above 94% by the first half of next year, and from there, obviously, that helps with the less capacity, the less availability. And the more capacity we have, the more availability we have, it makes it tougher on leasing spreads. So, as that diminishes when we get back to pre-pandemic levels as we’re approaching right now, it really gives us more leverage on negotiating the rents for that remaining space. So, we were double-digit growth in the second quarter, we were double-digit re-leasing spreads in the third quarter and we’re cautiously optimistic that’s going to continue.

Operator: The next question comes from Ronald Kamdem with Morgan Stanley.

Ronald Kamdem: Just two quick ones. So one on the sort of the leverage targets that you’d sort of put out during the Investor Day, obviously fast forward today rates are much higher, the stock hasn’t really moved to allow for equity issuances and it’s hard to sell. How are you guys thinking about sort of those leverage levels? And is it fair to say that those may be able to sort of push back or delay given sort of the macro? Or, is there more common?

Scott Kingsmore: Scott here. When we talked at Investor Day in November, I think one of the things we had and there was placeholder for equity issuance, as you noted, we don’t have any intention of issuing equity here. So, take that out of the equation, obviously, that influences the leverage targets. But, as we look at NOI growth, we think we’ll continue making progress in the next year and get in the realm of the low 8s by the time we get to the end of next year. That’s net debt to forward EBITDA. So that does take into account some forward NOI element to our redevelopment pipeline, which kind of makes sense given the fact we’re incurring a lot of cost upfront without the benefit of the NOI. So that’s our perspective, low rates by the end of next year.

Ronald Kamdem: And then just on the same store, I mean obviously, you reiterated the guidance. As we’re sort of flipping the calendar, just trying to understand what the puts and takes are, as you’re comping into ’24, any sense of how much sort of the signed lease not commenced is contributing next year in terms of basis points? Any comments on bad debt? Just what are the puts and takes for that organic growth as we’re flipping the calendar? Thanks.

Scott Kingsmore: Yes, we’re, I’m going to give you the pat line that we’re not providing guidance, but I will in terms of the pipeline, Ron. Direct you back to our investor deck from last quarter. There is a disclosure in there about the cadence of our signed but not opened pipeline and as that comes online, what the impact is on ’23, ’24 and 2025. So that should help you out, at least to get started. But we’ll certainly provide you more details at our next call with the typical timing of our guidance issuance in the January, February timeframe.

Operator: I show no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back to Tom for closing remarks.

Tom O’Hern: Well, thank you very much for joining us today. We’re pleased to report continued strength in our operating fundamentals and the leasing demand, and we look forward to seeing many of you in the next couple of weeks at the NAREIT Conference here in Los Angeles.

Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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