StarBulletin.com

Pacific Office reports net loss


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POSTED: Saturday, February 21, 2009

Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc., which owns seven high-profile Honolulu office buildings, posted a net loss of $1.2 million, or 38 cents a share, in last year's fourth quarter.

The company, an affiliate of Shidler Group, reported total revenue of $19.9 million and expenses of $25.9 million.

This marks the company's third complete fiscal quarter since acquiring last March the Shidler Group's Western U.S. office building portfolio, therefore year-over-year comparison data was not available.

Approximately 81.8 percent of revenues were derived from Honolulu and Southern California, which were among the healthiest office markets in the nation, the company said yesterday.

Honolulu properties comprised about 60 percent of its real estate investment and approximately 70 percent of the company's net operating income of $6.9 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31.

The Honolulu office market vacancy rate is 8.6 percent—and was ranked the second-strongest market among the states by Merrill Lynch Research.

“;We are very pleased to have improved our occupancy rate this quarter despite such as challenging economic environment,”; President and CEO Dallas Lucas said in a press release. Lucas attributed performance in part to the “;attractive positioning of properties in some of the best performing office markets in the United States.”;

The company plans to move forward on its long-term growth strategy, which includes the sale of $350 million in shares, and use sale proceeds to acquire commercial office buildings in targeted markets.

The company's total leased portfolio increased to 85.2 percent at the end of the quarter, up from 84 percent in the preceding quarter. Its total portfolio included 23 office properties consisting of 40 office buildings with 4.3 million leasable square feet.

Pacific Office Properties owns the Bank of Hawaii Waikiki Center, Clifford Center, Davies Pacific Center, First Insurance Center, Pacific Business News Building, Pan Am Building and Waterfront Plaza, which houses the Star-Bulletin offices.