Highlights

• SmartCentres paid twelve monthly distributions of C$0.15417 per unit in the past year, totalling roughly C$1.85.

• Third-quarter AFFO per diluted unit eased to C$0.47, lifting the AFFO Payout Ratio to 96.8 per cent.

• In-place and committed occupancy reached 98.2 per cent across a portfolio of 201 properties at quarter-end.

• Debt to aggregate Assets rose to 45.1 per cent, while interest coverage slipped to 2.5 times from 2.6.

Shopping centres built around Walmart stores keep filling up, yet the cash left over for unitholders is getting tighter. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:SRU.UN) reported in-place and committed occupancy of 98.2% at the end of September, while higher interest costs nudged per-unit Cash Flow lower.

Through all of that, the monthly cheque has not moved. Every distribution with an ex-date in the twelve months to 10 November 2026 was C$0.15417, equal to C$1.85 a year. How thin the cushion beneath that figure has become is the real story of the quarter.

The distribution and its yield basis

Twelve monthly payments fall inside the 11 November 2025 to 10 November 2026 window, from the late-November 2025 ex-date through the October 2026 instalment, which went ex on 30 October. Their sum is C$1.85004 per unit, with no special distribution or return-of-capital component identified.

Against the latest confirmed close of C$26.50, recorded on 2 October 2026, the trailing yield works out at about 6.98%. Because the rate stayed level, the indicated yield is the same. A fresher 10 November close could not be confirmed, so the figure will move with the unit price.

Coverage is close to the line

Third-quarter FFO came in at C$0.54 per diluted unit, against C$0.59 a year earlier, mainly because of higher interest expense and a smaller Fair Value adjustment on a total return swap. FFO with adjustments was C$0.55, compared with C$0.56.

AFFO per diluted unit slipped to C$0.47 from C$0.48, leaving the AFFO payout ratio at 96.8%, up from 95.1%. On the adjusted AFFO measure the ratio improved to 95.8% from 102.2%, and distributions absorbed 92.4% of operating cash flow.

Leasing strength meets a heavier debt load

Same Properties NOI grew 2.5%, or 3.8% excluding anchor tenants, and renewal rents excluding anchors rose 11.8%. Total NOI edged up 0.4% to C$141.8 million.

Leverage is the counterweight. Debt to aggregate assets climbed to 45.1% from 44.4%, adjusted debt to adjusted EBITDA reached 9.9 times, and the weighted average Interest Rate rose to 4.03%. After quarter-end the trust placed C$450 million of unsecured debentures, including a 4.795% series due 2032.

Development beyond the plazas

The trust holds interests in 201 properties: 156 retail, 16 self-storage, three residential, four office, one industrial and 21 under development. Three new Walmart-anchored centres are planned in Kingston, Lindsay and Winnipeg, with Kingston construction expected to begin in the fourth quarter.

In Vaughan, the 340-unit ArtWalk condominium is about 93% pre-sold and targets occupancy in late 2027. Self-storage sites in Burnaby, Victoria and Edmonton are under construction, and the 225,000 sq. ft. Laird retail project in Toronto is slated to open this quarter.

Index position

Holdings of an exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P/TSX Composite index listed SmartCentres on 25 September 2026, and no subsequent change has been identified.