About Louis Haddad
Louis Haddad, president and CEO of Armada Hoffler Properties, discussed the company’s acquisition of the Exelon Building in Baltimore in 2022, describing it as a LEED Platinum building that houses Exelon Constellation and represents a commitment to greener energy. He noted that the company exited the student housing sector by selling assets in Charleston and a Johns Hopkins project, using the proceeds to fund the purchase. Haddad stated that the company has focused on ESG for over 40 years and emphasized transparency and social responsibility in its public-private partnerships with cities and universities. He also said that prior to the pandemic, the company earned $1.17 in normalized FFO with a stock price of $19, and that in 2022 it was on track to earn the same amount with a stronger earnings makeup, while the stock price was around $14.
In earlier interviews, Haddad addressed the company’s response to economic downturns, noting that the management team had navigated five recessions. During the pandemic, he said the company worked with tenants, conserved cash, and suspended its dividend temporarily, while delaying four development projects to wait for clearer economic conditions. He expressed confidence that opportunities would emerge in 2021 and 2022, particularly from tenants in expansion mode and from projects controlled by others that might come back to market. Haddad also highlighted the company’s long-standing business model of manufacturing real estate through development rather than acquisition, and its focus on high-barrier-to-entry markets across multifamily, office, and retail properties.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Louis Haddad's recent appearances.
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Transcript (9 segments)
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Louis Haddad0:00
Prior to the pandemic, we earned a dollar seventeen in normalized FFO. The stock price was at nineteen dollars. This year we're going to earn a dollar seventeen again, only our earnings makeup is much stronger, much higher credit behind it, and much less fee income.
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Interviewer0:21
Joining me today is Lou Haddad, President and CEO of Armada Hoffler Properties. Late last year, Armada Hoffler acquired the Exelon Building in Harbor Point, Baltimore. Can you talk about the importance of and responsibility required with a state-of-the-art building like that and how the acquisition might solidify the company's footprint in Harbor Point as well?
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Louis Haddad0:42
We're extremely proud of that acquisition. We built that building in 2014. It is one of the few LEED Platinum buildings in the country, and it is adjacent to our other four assets at Harbor Point, so it really solidifies our presence at the harbor there, in what we believe is one of the best locations on the East Coast. Responsibility-wise, again, pleased and proud it houses the largest clean energy producer in the country, in Exelon Constellation. And it requires a lot of foresight, a lot of planning, and certainly a commitment to where we all need to go in terms of greener energy.
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Interviewer1:29
In April, Armada Hoffler completed the disposition of two student housing assets in Charleston for $81 million. How do these properties grow your portfolio strategically?
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Louis Haddad1:40
Well, it's very much related to your first question. Those two dispositions, as well as our third disposition of the Johns Hopkins project, which was also another student housing, exited the student housing sector for us. And those properties were disposed of at a very low cap rate, enabling us to purchase the Exelon Building.
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Interviewer2:03
The company recently released its sustainability report. How would you describe the current state of Armada Hoffler's commitment to environmental, workplace health and safety, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, and other sustainability matters?
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Louis Haddad2:19
This is one of our favorite topics. We've been ESG for front for over 40 years, and we're glad that the industry is finally catching up. Let me explain. We do a number of public-private partnerships with cities and universities and have done so since the late 1980s. When you're dealing with cities and universities and you're dealing with public money, it's important to be the good guys in the white hats, if you will. We need to be completely transparent in our governance as we are dealing with public money. We need to be very socially responsible. As the cities or universities partner, their expectation is that we're going to be really good corporate citizens. And as such, it gives our people a sense of pride in what they do and who they work for, which in turn leads to a lot of longevity. We boast extremely long longevity with our employees. We have a number of folks that have spent their entire careers at Armada Hoffler.
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Interviewer3:20
And if you're meeting with investors this week, what are three top reasons that you give them as reasons to invest in Armada Hoffler?
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Louis Haddad3:28
Actually, there's one really, really good reason. Prior to the pandemic, we earned a dollar seventeen in normalized FFO. The stock price was at nineteen. This year we're going to earn a dollar seventeen again, only our earnings makeup is much stronger, much higher credit behind it, and much less fee income. So we're in a much better position than we were in 2019 at a nineteen stock price, and yet our stock price right now is fourteen. So we believe that once the noise clears in the market and people start doing their research again, then we'll go right back to where we were.
