TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust reported a net loss in its latest quarter as it wrote down the value of some investments along with its joint venture with HBC, while its core retail portfolio continued to show strong rent growth.
The trust said it lost $120.3 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $96.9 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
The loss came as it recognized $242.8 million in net valuation losses in the quarter, including $148.2 million on investment properties and $94.6 million on its joint venture with HBC.
The investment property writedowns included a $95 million reduction in the value it had on the books for potentially increased density at some sites that it no longer sees adding any time soon.
“Given the stagnant land and development market, it is important to ensure that we are maximizing income from the existing retail on our properties,” said chief financial officer Dennis Blasutti on an earnings call Friday.
“As such, we determined that the redevelopment of properties such as Colossus, Scarborough Centre, and RioCan Hall will not proceed for a number of years.”
A second, $25-million component of the investment writedown was related to lower growth potential at some sites that have fixed renewals associated with anchor tenants like Walmart.
The last $28 million was related to three large Toronto rental buildings as it sees weakness in rent growth and occupancy in some markets.
Blasutti said the valuation losses aren’t reflective of its core commercial real estate portfolio.
The company continues to see strong increases in leasing rates, with new leases up 44.1 per cent from departing tenants, while a blend of new and renewals shows a 20.8 per cent leasing spread.
Higher rental rates helped RioCan hit revenue of $371.2 million, up from $286.3 million in the quarter last year.
Funds from operations per unit was unchanged from last year at 46 cents each.
The company says it continues to work on plans for the locations it used to have in a joint venture with HBC, with plans in place for 12 of the 13 locations.
Blasutti said the company would only participate in assets that it can expect a strong return on capital, and won’t participate in mixed-use redevelopments.
He said the final writedown for assets related to the HBC joint venture, along with provisions related to loan guarantee exposure, covers off its expected losses.
“With the asset plans in place and the financial provisions recorded, this chapter is substantially behind us.”
The company is, however, still working on ways to recover funds, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)
