While some people worry about a slowdown in consumer spending as interest rates rise, Regency Centers Corp. officials said it’s not evident at the company’s shopping centers.
“As we all know, there is still uncertainty in the macroeconomic landscape but at Regency, we’ve not seen any signs of softening,” CEO Lisa Palmer said in Regency’s quarterly conference call with analysts Aug. 4.
“As evidenced by our results, the fundamentals of our business remain very healthy and operating trends are strong,” she said.
Regency reported second-quarter core operating earnings of 96 cents a share, 2 cents higher than last year.
The Jacksonville-based company’s portfolio of 406 properties across the country, mainly grocery-anchored shopping centers, was 94.6% leased as of June 30.
“From a leasing perspective, tenant demand is robust and the second quarter was one of our strongest quarters ever,” Palmer said.
“Tenant bankruptcies are playing out as we expected but importantly, our exposure to these retailers is limited,” she said.
Regency continues to expand its portfolio with about $175 million in development and redevelopment projects started in the second quarter, while it completed $68 million in projects.
One of the new projects is a $15 million redevelopment of its Whole Foods-anchored Mandarin Landing shopping center at 10601 San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville, north of Interstate 295.
That project includes a 25,000-square-foot Baptist Health Medical Center in a former Office Depot store.
Regency is also expanding with a $1.4 billion agreement in May to acquire Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc., which will add 77 properties mainly in the New York metropolitan area.
“These centers align so well with our own and meaningfully expand our presence in these strong trade areas in the Northeast. The teams on both sides are working hard to affect an efficient and timely merger close,” Palmer said.
Regency expects to complete the acquisition in mid-to-late August.
Another Jacksonville-based company closing in on completion of a merger, Black Knight Inc., reported lower second-quarter earnings as a weaker mortgage market affected its mortgage technology business.
Black Knight reported revenue fell 7% to $368.2 million and adjusted earnings fell 31% to $69.2 million, or 44 cents a share.
“Our second quarter results were solid in the face of a very challenging operating environment. As we look ahead to the balance of the year, we remain focused on executing our strategic initiatives and improving the company’s performance, yet we acknowledge that market conditions remain uncertain,” Executive Chairman Anthony Jabbour said in an Aug. 3 news release.
The report could be Black Knight’s last as an independent company, with Intercontinental Exchange Inc. poised to complete its $11.7 billion acquisition of Black Knight.
The deal first agreed to in May 2022 has been held up by Federal Trade Commission antitrust concerns that the merger will give ICE too much control over the U.S. mortgage technology market.
However, the FTC dropped a federal lawsuit Aug. 7 seeking to stop the merger as the parties seemed close to an agreement resolving the agency’s concerns.
Jabbour is also CEO of Jacksonville-based Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc., which reported slightly lower second-quarter earnings despite higher revenue.
Adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share were a penny lower than last year, but Jabbour said in an Aug. 3 news release the business data company is making progress on its goals.
“Organic revenue growth of 3.9% during the second quarter was ahead of our expectations, driven by increased demand in both our North America and International business segments,” he said.
Total revenue rose 3.2% to $554.7 million.
As Fidelity National Information Services Inc., or FIS, prepares to sell off a majority interest in its Worldpay merchant payment unit, CEO Stephanie Ferris said the company’s clients are supportive of its plans.
Worldpay has produced disappointing results since Jacksonville-based FIS acquired it in 2019. The company said in February it would spin off Worldpay as a separate company but on July 6, it announced an agreement to sell 55% of that business to private equity firm GTCR for $11.7 billion.
“We believe the transaction represents a superior outcome for FIS shareholders relative to pursuing a spinoff of Worldpay into the public markets,” Ferris said.
The sale will leave FIS with its core business of banking technology plus a capital markets technology unit.
In an Aug. 2 conference call to discuss earnings, Ferris said FIS hosted an industry conference in May for about 4,000 clients.
“The overarching takeaway from the conference was that clients are excited about our path forward and are looking for their trusted technology partners like FIS to better help them navigate the evolving landscape,” she said.
“FIS is well positioned to serve our clients on several market trends that are top of mind across their C-suites.”
FIS reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.55 a share, 18 cents lower than last year. Revenue rose 1% to $3.75 billion.
The Worldpay business produced $1.31 billion of that revenue.
Dream Finders Homes Inc. reported higher second-quarter earnings and increased its forecast for home closings as demand for new homes remains strong.
The Jacksonville-based homebuilder said revenue rose 19% to $945.3 million and earnings rose 10% to $68.8 million, or 70 cents a share.
Home closings rose 12% to 1,846 and Dream Finders raised its forecast for the full year from 6,000 to 6,500 home closings.
“The ongoing housing supply shortage, coupled with increased demand as the housing market continues to normalize, has resulted in better-than-expected sales activity and operating results across our segments,” CEO Patrick Zalupski said in an Aug. 3 news release.
Dream Finders said the average sales price of its homes rose 9% to $504,683 but in the Jacksonville market, the average sales price dropped from $472,065 in the second quarter of 2022 to $405,617 this year.
Rayonier Inc. reported second-quarter revenue fell 15% to $208.9 million and adjusted earnings fell to 5 cents a share, from 16 cents the previous year.
“While overall market sentiment has improved versus the first quarter of this year, our second quarter results reflect ongoing macroeconomic challenges and weaker end-market demand as compared to the prior year,” CEO David Nunes said in an Aug. 2 news release.
Rayonier, headquartered in Wildlight in Nassau County, reported lower revenue in both its timber and real estate businesses.
The company is projecting adjusted earnings of 30 cents to 40 cents a share for the full year, compared with 62 cents in 2022.
Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. reported earnings of 33 cents a share for its third quarter ended June 30, up from 22 cents the previous year.
Revenue rose 3% to $24.25 million. The Jacksonville-based trucking company said higher miles, rate increases and an improved business mix contributed to the higher revenue.
“While summer petroleum and cement volume have been softer than expected, we are confident that our current partnerships will allow continued growth into the future with our efforts to expand our customer base,” CEO Rob Sandlin said in an Aug. 3 conference call.