Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Fourth Quarter and 2010 Annual Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 11, 2011) - Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:REF.UN) ("CREIT") today announced results for the fourth quarter and for the year ended December 31, 2010.

For the three months ended December 31, 2010, CREIT reported Funds from Operations (FFO) of $0.585 per Unit. This represents a 3% improvement over the three months ended December 31, 2009.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, CREIT reported FFO of $2.36 per Unit. This is a $0.05 per-unit increase over the year ended December 31, 2009 and represents a 2% improvement.

Stephen Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of CREIT, said, "We are very pleased with our results for 2010. We generated steady year-over-year income growth, we have a strong balance sheet with significant liquidity and we continue to generate and retain meaningful cash flow from operations."

Mr. Johnson added, "In 2010, we expanded our acquisitions program by adding a limited number of development investments at various stages of development. High quality assets similar to the ones we are now developing are very difficult to acquire in the current competitive environment for property acquisitions. Our risk is managed by the modest size of this program and the fact that all major projects will be jointly developed and co-owned with experienced property developers with whom CREIT has established relationships. Our investment in these projects is now approximately $70 million and is expected to grow to approximately $230 million (CREIT share) upon full development. We expect to continue making development investments in the future on a conservative basis".

For the three months and for the year ended December 31, 2010, FFO and Net Income were as follows:

	Three months ended December 31
					Change
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)	2010		2009		($)		(%)
FFO	$	39.0	$	37.5	$	1.5	4%
FFO per Unit	$	0.585	$	0.566	$	0.019	3%
		Year ended December 31
					Change
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)	2010		2009		($)		(%)
FFO	$	156.8	$	149.7	$	7.1	5%
FFO per Unit	$	2.36	$	2.31	$	0.05	2%
	Three months ended December 31
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)					Change
	2010		2009		($)		(%)
Income from
Continuing operations	$	91.2	$	26.2	$	65.0	N/A
Discontinued operations		5.9		11.2		(5.3)	(47)
Net income	$	97.1	$	37.4	$	59.7	160%
Income from
Continuing operations per Unit	$	1.37	$	0.39	$	0.98	N/A
Discontinued operations per Unit		0.09		0.17		(0.08)	(47)
Net income per Unit	$	1.46	$	0.56	$	0.90	161%
	Year ended December 31
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)					Change
	2010		2009		($)		(%)
Income from
Continuing operations	$	157.3	$	91.2	$	66.1	72%
Discontinued operations		7.6		26.2		(18.6)	(71)
Net income	$	164.9	$	117.4	$	47.5	40%
Income from
Continuing operations per Unit	$	2.37	$	1.41	$	0.96	68%
Discontinued operations per Unit		0.11		0.40		(0.29)	(73)
Net income per Unit	$	2.48	$	1.81	$	0.67	37%

During the fourth quarter of 2010, CREIT became a Qualifying REIT pursuant to the SIFT rules and accordingly, reversed $68.0 million of future income tax expense previously recorded.

FFO is a generally accepted supplemental measure of operating performance for real estate entities; however, it is not a measure defined by Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Readers are directed to Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition (MD&A) for a description of the measure and its reconciliation to Net Income.

CREIT's Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2010 are posted on CREIT's website at www.creit.ca. Readers are directed to these documents for financial details and a fulsome discussion on CREIT's results.

CREIT is a real estate investment trust focused on accumulating a portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and delivering the benefits of real estate ownership to Unitholders. The primary benefit is a reliable and, over time, increasing cash distribution.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and the environment in which we operate, which are based on our expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any such statement, to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except as required by law.