Elme Communities Announces First Quarter 2025 Results

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

Strong Same-store NOI and Occupancy Growth

Operating Initiatives Driving Higher Fee Income

Solid Rental Rate Growth

BETHESDA, Md., May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elme Communities (the "Company” or "Elme”) (NYSE: ELME), a multifamily REIT, reported financial and operating results today for the quarter ended March 31, 2025:

Operational Highlights

• Same-store multifamily NOI increased by 5.5% compared to the prior year quarter
• Same-store Average Effective Monthly Rent Per Home increased 1.7% compared to the prior year quarter
• Effective blended Lease Rate Growth was 1.9% for our Same-Store Portfolio during the quarter, comprised of effective new Lease Rate Growth of (2.0)% and effective renewal Lease Rate Growth of 5.0%
• Retention was 62% during the quarter, in line with expectations
• Same-store multifamily Average Occupancy was 94.8% during the quarter, up 0.5% compared to the prior year quarter

Balance Sheet

• Available liquidity was $324 million as of March 31, 2025, consisting of availability under the Company's revolving credit facility and cash on hand
• Annualized first quarter Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio was 5.6x
• The Company has a strong balance sheet with only $125 million of debt maturing before 2028 and no secured debt

"Our operating business delivered strong results this quarter, and demand trends across our portfolio remain solid as we head into our peak leasing season,” said Paul T. McDermott, President and CEO. "While the effects of federal workforce reductions are still evolving, we believe our emphasis on mid-market rents, which historically outperformed high-end apartments during sequestration, and our strong presence in Northern Virginia, where job growth is leading the region, position us to sustain resilient performance as the effects unfold.”

First Quarter Operating Results

• Multifamily same-store NOI - Same-store NOI increased 5.5% compared to the corresponding prior year period driven primarily by higher rental revenue and successful property tax assessment appeals. Average Occupancy for the quarter increased 0.5% from the prior year period to 94.8%.
• Other same-store NOI - The Other same-store portfolio is comprised of one asset, Watergate 600. Other same-store NOI decreased by 5.5% compared to the corresponding prior year period due to lower occupancy. Watergate 600 was 82.3% occupied and leased at quarter end.

Strategic Review

During the quarter, we announced that our board of trustees had initiated a formal review to evaluate strategic alternatives for Elme in an effort to maximize shareholder value. This review remains ongoing and there is no deadline or definitive timetable set for completion of this review and there can be no assurance that this process will result in Elme pursuing a transaction or any other strategic outcome.

2025 Guidance

"Elme's managed Wi-Fi rollout is going very well and the associated income is ramping up more quickly than anticipated,” said Steven Freishtat, Executive Vice President and CFO. "Additionally, Atlanta bad debt continues to decline year-over-year, and we expect improvement in bad debt to be a larger contributor to revenue growth in 2025 than we had initially anticipated.”

Elme is reiterating its guidance for 2025. Elme expects Core FFO for 2025 to range from $0.91 to $0.97 per fully diluted share. The following assumptions are included in the Core FFO guidance for 2025:

Elme Communities' 2025 Core FFO guidance and outlook are based on a number of factors, many of which are outside the Company's control, including economic factors such as inflation and interest rate changes, and all of which are subject to change. Elme Communities may change the guidance provided during the year as actual and anticipated results vary from these assumptions, but Elme Communities undertakes no obligation to do so.

2025 Guidance Reconciliation Table

A reconciliation of projected net loss per diluted share to projected Core FFO per diluted share for the full year ending December 31, 2025 is as follows:

Dividends

On April 3, 2025, Elme Communities paid a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share.

Elme Communities announced today that its Board of Trustees has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share to be paid on July 3, 2025 to shareholders of record on June 17, 2025.

Presentation Webcast and Conference Call Information

The First Quarter 2025 Earnings Call is scheduled for Friday, May 2, 2025 at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time. There will also be a webcast presentation. Conference Call access information is as follows:

The instant replay of the Earnings Call will be available until Friday, May 16, 2025. Instant replay access information is as follows:

The replay of the call will also be available on the Investors section of Elme Communities' website at www.elmecommunities.com. Online playback of the webcast will be available following the Conference Call.

About Elme Communities

Elme Communities is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Focused on providing quality, affordable homes to a deep, solid, and underserved base of mid-market demand, Elme Communities is building long-term value for shareholders.

Note: Elme Communities' press releases and supplemental financial information are available on the Company website at www.elmecommunities.com or by contacting Investor Relations at (202) 774-3200.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in our earnings release and on our conference call are "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties. 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 "may,” "will,” "should,” "expects,” "intends,” "plans,” "anticipates,” "believes,” "estimates,” "predicts,” or "potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Elme Communities to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Additional factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Elme Communities to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the outcome, objectives and timing of the strategic alternatives review, including the incurrence of costs and expenses and diversion of management's time in connection with such review; whether our focus on mid-market rents and our higher exposure to Northern Virginia will help us maintain resilience and preserve value despite federal workforce reductions; risks related to the timing of our ability to place damaged units back in service; the risks associated with ownership of real estate in general and our real estate assets in particular; our ability to benefit from growth drivers across our Washington Metro region; the economic health of the areas in which our properties are located, particularly with respect to the greater Washington, DC metro and Sunbelt regions; risks associated with our ability to execute on our strategies, including new strategies with respect to our operations and our portfolio, including the acquisition of apartment homes in the Sunbelt markets and our ability to realize any anticipated operational benefits from our internalization of community management functions; the risk of failure to enter into and/or complete acquisitions and dispositions; changes in the composition of our portfolio; reductions in or actual or threatened changes to the timing of federal government spending; the economic health of our residents; the impact from macroeconomic factors (including inflation, increases in interest rates, potential economic slowdowns or recessions, the impact of tariffs and trade barriers, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical conflicts); risks related to our ability to control our expenses if revenues decrease; compliance with applicable laws and corporate social responsibility goals, including those concerning the environment and access by persons with disabilities; risks related to legal proceedings; risks related to not having adequate insurance to cover potential losses; changes in the market value of securities; terrorist attacks or actions and/or cyber-attacks; whether we will succeed in the day-to-day property management and leasing activities that we have previously outsourced; the availability and terms of financing and capital and the general volatility of securities markets; our ability to capture the impacts from normalizing bad debt; the risks related to our organizational structure and limitations of share ownership; failure to qualify and maintain our qualification as a REIT and the risks of changes in laws affecting REITs; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC, including our 2024 Form 10-K filed on February 14, 2025. While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements or risk factors to reflect new information, future events, or otherwise.

This Earnings Release also includes certain forward-looking non-GAAP information. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered along with, but not as alternatives to, net income (loss) as a measure of our operating performance. Please see the following pages for the corresponding definitions and reconciliations of such non-GAAP financial measures.