MOODY'S INVESTOR SERVICES UPGRADES BRIXMOR PROPERTY GROUP CREDIT RATING TO 'Baa2'

Rhea-AI Summary

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE: BRX) announced that Moody's Investor Services has upgraded its issuer credit rating to 'Baa2' from 'Baa3' with a stable outlook. The upgrade reflects Brixmor's consistently strong operating results, improved leverage ratios, and high-quality portfolio of grocery-anchored open-air shopping centers that generate stable cash flows. The company's CEO highlighted their strong position for continued growth through leasing, reinvestment, and capital recycling efforts.

Positive

• Credit rating upgrade from Baa3 to Baa2 by Moody's
• Consistently strong operating results acknowledged by Moody's
• Improved leverage ratios
• Strong and stable cash flows from grocery-anchored portfolio

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Analyst

The upgrade to Baa2 by Moody's represents a meaningful improvement in Brixmor's credit profile and borrowing capabilities. This rating enhancement typically translates to lower borrowing costs, potentially saving millions annually in interest expenses given BRX's $8.4B market cap. The stable outlook and emphasis on "strong operating results" is particularly noteworthy in the current retail landscape, where grocery-anchored centers have demonstrated resilience against e-commerce pressures. The portfolio's focus on necessity-based retail provides a defensive position during economic uncertainties. Improved leverage ratios suggest enhanced balance sheet strength, which offers greater flexibility for future growth initiatives and potential acquisitions. This upgrade could attract more conservative institutional investors who have strict investment grade requirements, potentially expanding the investor base.

Real Estate Market Analyst

The credit rating upgrade validates Brixmor's strategic positioning in the grocery-anchored retail segment, which has proven to be one of the most resilient subsectors in commercial real estate. Their portfolio composition focusing on necessity-based retail has shown remarkable stability in cash flows, even during market disruptions. The "ongoing transformation" mentioned suggests successful execution of value-add initiatives and strategic repositioning of assets. The stable outlook from Moody's is particularly significant as it indicates confidence in the sustainability of their business model and market position. Their capital recycling strategy, combined with strong leasing momentum, positions them well for continued NOI growth and value creation in their 8.4B portfolio.

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX) ("Brixmor" or the "Company") announced today that Moody's Investor Services ("Moody's") raised its issuer credit ratings on Brixmor Property Group Inc. and the Company's operating partnership, Brixmor Operating Partnership LP, to 'Baa2' from 'Baa3', with a stable outlook.

Moody's indicated in their announcement that this upgrade reflects the Company's consistently strong operating results, strong asset quality, and improved leverage ratios. Moody's also highlighted the Company's high-quality portfolio of predominantly grocery-anchored open-air shopping centers, which generate stable and durable cash flows.

"We are well positioned with excellent visibility on continued growth, reflecting the momentum and durability of our proven plan, the ongoing transformation of our portfolio, and our strong, flexible balance sheet. As we move forward, we are confident our leasing, reinvestment, and capital recycling efforts will continue to deliver strong operating fundamentals and substantial value creation," commented James Taylor, Chief Executive Officer.

ABOUT BRIXMOR PROPERTY GROUP
Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 360 retail centers comprise approximately 63 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision "to be the center of the communities we serve" and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers. Brixmor is a proud real estate partner to over 5,000 retailers including The TJX Companies, The Kroger Co., Publix Super Markets and Ross Stores.

Brixmor announces material information to its investors in SEC filings and press releases and on public conference calls, webcasts and the "Investors" page of its website at https://www.brixmor.com. The Company also uses social media to communicate with its investors and the public, and the information Brixmor posts on social media may be deemed material information. Therefore, Brixmor encourages investors and others interested in the Company to review the information that it posts on its website and on its social media channels.

SAFE HARBOR LANGUAGE
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding the performance of our business, our financial results, our liquidity and capital resources, and other non-historical statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "projects," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include, but are not limited to, those described under the sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are accessible on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov. These factors include (1) changes in national, regional, and local economies, due to global events such as international military conflicts, international trade disputes, a foreign debt crisis, foreign currency volatility, or due to domestic issues, such as government policies and regulations, tariffs, energy prices, market dynamics, general economic contractions, rising interest rates, inflation, unemployment, or limited growth in consumer income or spending; (2) local real estate market conditions, including an oversupply of space in, or a reduction in demand for, properties similar to those in our Portfolio (defined hereafter); (3) competition from other available properties and e-commerce; (4) disruption and/or consolidation in the retail sector, the financial stability of our tenants, and the overall financial condition of large retailing companies, including their ability to pay rent and/or expense reimbursements that are due to us; (5) in the case of percentage rents, the sales volumes of our tenants; (6) increases in property operating expenses, including common area expenses, utilities, insurance, and real estate taxes, which are relatively inflexible and generally do not decrease if revenue or occupancy decrease; (7) increases in the costs to repair, renovate, and re-lease space; (8) earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, damage from rising sea levels due to climate change, other natural disasters, epidemics and/or pandemics, civil unrest, terrorist acts, or acts of war, any of which may result in uninsured or underinsured losses; and (9) changes in laws and governmental regulations, including those governing usage, zoning, the environment, and taxes. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this press release and in our periodic filings. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except to the extent otherwise required by law.

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SOURCE Brixmor Property Group Inc.

FAQ

What is Brixmor's new Moody's credit rating as of December 2024?

Moody's upgraded Brixmor's credit rating to 'Baa2' from 'Baa3' with a stable outlook in December 2024.

Why did Moody's upgrade BRX's credit rating?

Moody's upgraded BRX's rating due to consistently strong operating results, strong asset quality, improved leverage ratios, and stable cash flows from their grocery-anchored shopping centers.

What type of properties make up Brixmor's (BRX) portfolio?

Brixmor's portfolio consists primarily of high-quality, grocery-anchored open-air shopping centers.

What is Brixmor's (BRX) growth strategy following the Moody's upgrade?

Brixmor's growth strategy focuses on leasing, reinvestment, and capital recycling efforts to deliver strong operating fundamentals and value creation.