Prologis Beats Q4 Consensus; Guidance Ahead Of Forecasts

Logistics real estate investment trust Prologis Inc. PLD reported core funds from operations of 95 cents per share, 3 cents ahead of consensus, for the fourth quarter on Tuesday. Full-year 2020 core FFO was $3.80 per share, almost 15% higher year-over-year and 2 cents above the high end of management's guidance range.

"The work we have done to create the best-in-class portfolio and the most efficient cost structure in the industry is delivering exceptional financial results," said Prologis Chairman and CEO Hamid Moghadam. "The pandemic has pushed global supply chains to their limits. Increased e-commerce adoption and the rebuilding of inventories to meet consumer demand are structural forces in the logistics environment that will take years to play out."

Prologis issued 2021 guidance of $3.88 to $3.98 per share, ahead of the current consensus estimate of $3.83. New development starts are expected to be in a range of $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion for the year.

Occupancy ticked 70 basis points lower to 95.8%, still elevated as most industrial property markets remain extremely tight due to the rise in e-commerce fulfillment needs. The company announced 45 million square feet of leases commenced in the quarter, up 18% year-over-year.

Shares of PLD were flat in premarket trading Tuesday.

The company will host a call at noon to discuss these results with analysts. Stay tuned to FreightWaves for continuing coverage of Prologis' earnings results.