Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi, Pat. What do you think of True North Commercial REIT (TNT-UN.TO)? Thanks!

Article Excerpt

A: True North Commercial REIT, $6.98, symbol TNT.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 57.7 million; Market cap: $489.6 million; www.truenorthreit.com), owns and operates a portfolio of 46 office properties. They make up about 3.9 million square feet, in urban centres and what the REIT sees as Canada’s select secondary markets. True North aims to focus on long-term leases with government tenants (currently accounting for 38.0% its revenue) and high-credit-rated tenants (41.4%). Its overall occupancy rate is a high 97%. The REIT has 58.7% of its leasable area in Ontario, 12.9% in New Brunswick, 11.6% in Nova Scotia, 10.8% in Alberta, and 6.0% in B.C. True North began operations in late 2012. Since then, its revenue has jumped 406.2%, from $17.2 million in 2013 to $87.1 million in 2018. Cash flow, too, has soared, rising from $5.1 million to $31.6 million. That’s a gain of 519.6%. However, due to more units outstanding as part of its acquisition strategy, cash flow per unit gained just 16.3%, to…