Q1 2024 Camden Property Trust Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Camden Property Trust was recognized as one of the Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For, marking 17 consecutive years on this prestigious list, indicating strong internal company culture and employee satisfaction.
- Apartment demand remains robust with the first quarter seeing the best first quarter demand in 20 years, driven by strong population and employment growth in Camden markets.
- Financial stability is highlighted by a strong balance sheet with net debt-to-EBITDA at 3.9x, and significant liquidity with no amounts outstanding on their $1.2 billion credit facility.
- Camden Property Trust's strategic marketing initiatives have successfully boosted occupancy rates, allowing for increased pricing power going into the peak leasing season.
- The company has effectively managed operating expenses, leading to outperformance in the first quarter, driven by lower levels of bad debt and favorable trends in insurance and property taxes.
- The high supply of apartments, at 30-year highs, is currently limiting rent growth across most markets, posing challenges to revenue growth.
- New lease signings in the first quarter were down by 4.1%, indicating potential difficulties in attracting new tenants at higher rents.
- The company faces ongoing challenges in markets like Nashville and Austin, where conditions have been more challenging than expected, showing slightly negative revenue growth for the quarter.
- Despite a strong balance sheet, Camden Property Trust recognized a non-core charge of approximately $900,000 associated with unamortized loan costs due to the prepayment of a term loan.
- The company's revenue guidance assumes relatively flat occupancy and modest market rental rate growth, reflecting cautious optimism about market conditions.
Good morning, and welcome to Camden Property Trust's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. I'm Kim Callahan, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Joining me today are Ric Campo, Camden's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Keith Oden, Executive Vice Chairman; and Alex Jessett, President and Chief Financial Officer.
Today's event is being webcast through the Investors Section of our website at camdenliving.com, and a replay will be available this afternoon. We will have a slide presentation in conjunction with our prepared remarks and those slides will be available on our website later today or by e-mail upon request.
If you are joining us by phone and need assistance during the call, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key, followed by zero. All participants will be in listen-only mode during the presentation with an opportunity to ask questions afterwards. And please note, this event is being recorded.
Before we begin our prepared remarks, I would like to advise everyone that we
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