Prologis Marks ‘Unprecedented’ Rise in Rental Growth

COVID-19 helped fuel strong demand for warehousing space, the world’s largest logistics and warehousing landlord said Monday (July 18).

“The pandemic drove record demand for the past two years, which translated into all-time low vacancies and unprecedented rent growth,” Hamid R. Moghadam, CEO and co-founder of Prologis, said in the company’s second-quarter earnings report.

“As conditions normalize, we are still seeing healthy demand that rivals past peak cycles and, informed by our proprietary data insights, we expect strong demand for our properties to continue,” Moghadam added.

The company said its net earnings per diluted share was $0.82 for the quarter up from $0.81 for the second quarter of 2021. Core funds from operations per diluted share was $1.11 for the quarter versus $1.01 for the second quarter of last year.

The report also showed that the company’s average occupancy was at 97.6%, with 51.3 million square feet of space leased.

“We are entering this uncertain economic environment in a position of financial strength, bolstered by our lease mark-to-market of 56 percent, liquidity of over $5 billion, low leverage and insulated earnings from foreign exchange movements through the next four years,” said Timothy D. Arndt, the company’s chief financial officer. “We feel great about our business and are confident in our ability to deliver on the significant organic growth embedded in our portfolio.”

Read more: Global M&As Crushed Under Weight of Inflation, Regulation, War

Earlier this year, Prologis purchased Blackstone’s European warehousing business Mileaway for 21 billion euros in one of the largest deals of the year.

Read more: Soaring Logistics Costs Threaten Main Street Business Profits, Optimism

PYMNTS reported last month that supply chain costs have begun to threaten small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the country.

A recent report from the trade group The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals found that supply chain costs jumped by 22.4% last year, to $1.9 trillion, which is the equivalent of 8% of U.S. GDP.

As the “2022 State of Logistics Report” pointed out, those costs include everything from storing products to financing them.

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