Minto Apartment REIT’s revenues rose in 2023 as rents increased and more of its suites were occupied in a tight rental market, the Ottawa-based firm said Thursday.
The Ottawa-based REIT said its revenue from investment properties jumped 9.8 per cent last year compared with 2022 to $157.9 million. Fourth-quarter revenues were up 6.3 per cent to $40.3 million.
Minto’s funds from operations were $55.3 million in 2023, up two per cent from the previous year. In the fourth quarter, funds from operations rose 24.5 per cent to $16 million.
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Minto posted a net loss of $116.7 million compared with a profit of $225.4 million in 2022. The REIT reported a net loss of $77.2 million in the fourth quarter, up from $32.4-million loss in the same quarter a year earlier, a difference Minto attributed primarily to larger non-cash, fair value losses on investment properties and Class B limited-partership units in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the previous year.
Minto’s unfurnished suites had an average occupancy rate of 97.1 per cent in 2023, up from 95.6 per cent in 2022. Average monthly rents rose to $1,877 at the end of December 2023 from $1,732 a year earlier.
While Minto posted gains in most key financial metrics, CEO Jonathan Li acknowledged that 2023 was a challenging year as the REIT grappled with rising interest rates and construction costs that caused it to put projects on hold and take a pass on purchasing a major rental property in the Glebe.
“Looking back, we made many disciplined capital allocation decisions throughout the year, including waiving on an acquisition, deferring a major intensification project, waiving on opportunities presented to the REIT, securing upward refinancings and successfully executing on our capital recycling program,” Li said in a statement.
“At times, these decisions were difficult. But they were necessary, as they have best-positioned the REIT to become a growth story once again.”
Founded in 2018, Minto Apartment REIT owns and manages 29 multi-residential properties in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary with a total of about 8,000 suites.
The REIT recently sold two properties in Nepean for $86 million and exited the Edmonton market late last year in an ongoing bid to pay down its debt.
