Corporate Office Properties reports Q1 FFO 59c, consensus 60c

Stephen Budorick, COPT’s President & Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our Defense/IT investment strategy, which has concentrated our portfolio near priority U.S. defense installations, continues to produce solid results, as evidenced by the 96.7% leased rate in our Defense / IT segment, which accounts for 90% of our core portfolio annualized rental revenue. Our first quarter results were strong as FFO per share exceeded the midpoint of our guidance range by $0.02, though given the uncertain interest rate environment, we are maintaining the midpoint of our full year guidance at $2.38 per share. Same property Cash NOI increased 8.3% year over year, which led us to increase our full year guidance by 100 basis points. We raised our full year retention rate by 250 basis points, which reflects our tenant’s need to execute their missions at our strategic locations. Leasing overall is off to a great start, having already achieved roughly 70% of our full year development leasing goal, while vacancy leasing is right on track with our 400,000 square foot goal. Our investment grade rated balance sheet is well positioned to navigate the challenging capital markets environment as we have no significant debt maturities until 2026."