2014 FFO, excluding non-recurring items, increased 20% year over year to $2.18 per share

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2015-- CoreSite Realty Corporation (NYSE:COR), a premier provider of secure, reliable, high-performance data center solutions across the US, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014.

Quarterly Highlights

• Reported fourth-quarter funds from operations (“FFO”) of $0.61 per diluted share and unit, representing 24.5% growth year over year
• Reported fourth-quarter total operating revenues of $72.5 million, representing an 18.0% increase year over year; data center revenues increased 18.9% year over year
• Executed 91,662 net rentable square feet of new and expansion turn-key data center leases representing $11.1 million of annualized GAAP rent at a rate of $121 per square foot
• Realized rent growth on signed renewals of 2.6% on a cash basis and 5.2% on a GAAP basis and recorded rental churn of 1.4%
• Commenced 34,009 net rentable square feet of new and expansion leases representing $4.9 million of annualized GAAP rent at a rate of $145 per square foot, increasing stabilized data center occupancy to 87.4%
• Opened VA2 with 100% of the first phase of turn-key capacity leased to a single anchor tenant whose lease commences in April 2015
• Increased quarterly common stock dividend by 20% to $0.42 per share; annual rate of $1.68 per share

Tom Ray, CoreSite’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to report continued execution of our business plan in the fourth quarter, delivering another quarter of solid revenue and earnings growth and finishing out 2014 as a strong year for CoreSite.” Mr. Ray continued, “We finished 2014 and began 2015 with accelerating momentum, upon which we will continue to execute as we focus on capturing opportunities to grow organically in our existing markets.”

Financial Results

CoreSite reported FFO attributable to shares and units of $29.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014, a 25.5% increase year over year and an increase of 11.9% sequentially. On a per diluted share and unit basis, FFO increased 24.5% to $0.61 for the three months ended December 31, 2014, as compared to $0.49 per diluted share and unit for the three months ended December 31, 2013. On a sequential basis, FFO per diluted share increased 10.9%.

Total operating revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2014, were $72.5 million, an 18.0% increase year over year and an increase of 2.8% sequentially. Data center revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2014, were $70.6 million, an 18.9% increase year over year and an increase of 3.1% sequentially. CoreSite reported net income attributable to common shares of $4.7 million, or $0.21 per diluted share.

Sales Activity

CoreSite executed 96 new and expansion turn-key data center leases representing $11.1 million of annualized GAAP rent during the fourth quarter, comprised of 91,662 NRSF at a weighted-average GAAP rate of $121 per NRSF. During the fourth quarter, CoreSite opened VA2 in Reston, Virginia, with the first phase of 44,036 NRSF of turn-key capacity leased to a single anchor tenant.

CoreSite’s renewal leases signed in the fourth quarter totaled $6.7 million in annualized GAAP rent, comprised of 43,863 NRSF at a weighted average GAAP rate of $153 per NRSF, reflecting a 2.6% increase in rent on a cash basis and a 5.2% increase on a GAAP basis. The fourth-quarter rental churn rate was 1.4%.

CoreSite’s fourth-quarter data center lease commencements totaled 34,009 NRSF at a weighted average GAAP rental rate of $145 per NRSF, which represents $4.9 million of annualized GAAP rent.

Development Activity

CoreSite had 92,173 NRSF of data center space under construction at VA2 in Reston, Virginia, at the end of the fourth quarter, comprised of Phase 1 and Phase 2 construction. This amount includes 44,036 NRSF associated with Phase 1 that was 100% leased as of December 31, 2014. As of December 31, 2014, CoreSite had incurred $77.5 million of the estimated $89.4 million required to complete these projects at VA2.

During the fourth quarter, CoreSite began construction on Phase 2 at NY2, comprising 49,050 NRSF expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2015. As of December 31, 2014, CoreSite had incurred $2.3 million of the estimated $21.3 million required to complete this project.

Additionally, CoreSite had 28,587 NRSF of turn-key data center capacity under construction at three locations as of December 31, 2014, across the Company’s existing facilities at BO1 (Boston), DE1 (Denver), and CH1 (Chicago). As of December 31, 2014, CoreSite had incurred $1.4 million of the estimated $18.0 million required to complete these projects.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of December 31, 2014, CoreSite had $318.5 million of total long-term debt, correlating to 2.2 times fourth-quarter annualized adjusted EBITDA, and $433.5 million of long-term debt and preferred stock, correlating to 3.0 times fourth-quarter annualized adjusted EBITDA.

At quarter end, CoreSite had $10.7 million of cash available on its balance sheet and $179.2 million of capacity available under its revolving credit facility.

Dividend

On December 8, 2014, CoreSite announced a 20% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share of common stock and common stock equivalents for the fourth quarter of 2014. The increased dividend reflects an annualized dividend rate of $1.68 per share, compared to the prior annualized dividend rate of $1.40 per share. The fourth-quarter common stock dividend was paid on January 15, 2015, to shareholders of record on December 31, 2014.

CoreSite also announced on December 8, 2014, a dividend of $0.4531 per share of Series A preferred stock for the period October 15, 2014, to January 14, 2015. The preferred dividend was paid on January 15, 2015, to shareholders of record on December 31, 2014.

2015 Guidance

CoreSite is introducing its 2015 guidance of FFO per diluted share and unit in the range of $2.55 to $2.65. More detail regarding the assumptions underpinning the 2015 annual guidance can be found on page 24 of the fourth-quarter 2014 earnings supplemental.

In addition, the company’s estimate of 2015 net income attributable to common shares is $0.75 to $0.85 per diluted share, with the difference between FFO and net income being real estate depreciation and amortization.

This outlook is predicated on current economic conditions, internal assumptions about CoreSite’s customer base, and the supply and demand dynamics of the markets in which CoreSite operates. The guidance does not include the impact of any future financing, investment or disposition activities, beyond what has already been disclosed.

Upcoming Conferences and Events

CoreSite will participate in Citi’s 2015 Global Property CEO Conference on March 2, 2015, at The Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida.

Conference Call Details

CoreSite will host a conference call on February 12, 2015, at 12:00 p.m., Eastern time (10:00 a.m., Mountain Time), to discuss its financial results, current business trends and market conditions.

The call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 877-407-3982 for domestic callers or 201-493-6780 for international callers. A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing 877-870-5176 for domestic callers or 858-384-5517 for international callers. The passcode for the replay is 13598544. The replay will be available until February 19, 2015.

Interested parties may also listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging on to CoreSite’s website at www.CoreSite.com and clicking on the “Investors” link. The on-line replay will be available for a limited time beginning immediately following the call.

About CoreSite

CoreSite Realty Corporation (NYSE:COR) delivers secure, reliable, high-performance data center solutions across eight key North American markets. More than 800 of the world’s leading enterprises, network operators, cloud providers, and supporting service providers choose CoreSite to connect, protect and optimize their performance-sensitive data, applications and computing workloads. Our scalable, flexible solutions and 350+ dedicated employees consistently deliver unmatched data center options -- all of which leads to a best-in-class customer experience and lasting relationships. For more information, visit www.CoreSite.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This earnings release and accompanying supplemental information may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “pro forma,” “estimates” or “anticipates” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond CoreSite’s control, that may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. These risks include, without limitation: the geographic concentration of the company’s data centers in certain markets and any adverse developments in local economic conditions or the demand for data center space in these markets; fluctuations in interest rates and increased operating costs; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; significant industry competition; the company’s failure to obtain necessary outside financing; the company’s failure to qualify or maintain its status as a REIT; financial market fluctuations; changes in real estate and zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates; and other factors affecting the real estate industry generally. All forward-looking statements reflect the company’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. Furthermore, the company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the company’s future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.