Glenn Gary Cohen
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer at Kimco Realty
Thanks, Ross, and good morning. We are pleased to report very strong third-quarter results. Overall, the portfolio continues to produce improving results, including record quarterly revenue, increased occupancy, positive leasing spreads, strong same-site NOI growth, increased collections, and lower credit loss. Our balance sheet metrics are also at the strongest levels ever. As you might expect, the completion of the $5.9 billion Weingarten merger, which closed in early August was a key contributor. While we did not have a full quarter of contribution from the addition of the Weingarten portfolio, the benefits are clearly apparent. Our team has put in enormous effort to accomplish the successful integration of Weingarten in a very short period of time. Many thanks to our highly motivated and skilled team. We couldn't be prouder. Now for some details on our third-quarter results. NAREIT FFO was $173.7 million or $0.32 per diluted share and includes $47 million or $0.08 per diluted share of merger-related expenses. This compares to the third quarter 2020 NAREIT FFO of $106.7 million or $0.25 per diluted share, which includes aggregate charges of $16.1 million or $0.04 per diluted share related to severance for our voluntary early retirement program and early redemption of $485 million of unsecured bonds. The increase in FFO was primarily driven by higher NOI of $98.7 million, of which the Weingarten merger contributed $62.6 million. In addition, NOI benefited from lower credit loss of $30.7 million and higher straight-line rent of $14.5 million, including $2 million from the Weingarten portfolio. Improvements in collections and new leases commencing during the quarter were the major contributors. Specifically, during the third quarter, we collected approximately 98 percent of base rents. We also collected 80 percent of rents due from cash basis tenants, up from 77 percent last quarter. Furthermore, collections of prior period amounts from cash basis tenants totaled $8 million during the third quarter of 2021. Our cash basis tenants comprise 9.1 percent of pro-rata annualized base rents. If we excluded the addition of the Weingarten cash basis tenants, this amount would have been 7.3 percent, which compares favorably to the 8.8 percent level reported last quarter. In connection with the preliminary purchase price allocation for the Weingarten transaction, the debt we assumed was recorded at a fair value, which was $107 million higher than the face amount. This resulted in $6.2 million of fair market value amortization for the third quarter, which reduces interest expense and is also part of the FFO improvement.
We expect to finalize our purchase price allocation by year-end. During the third quarter, FFO also included approximately $6 million or $0.01 per diluted share related to one-time contributions from several joint ventures and higher lease termination fees. Turning to the balance sheet. We had an active quarter in the capital markets. We issued a new $500 million unsecured bond at a coupon of 2.25 percent, the lowest coupon for 10-year unsecured financing in the company's history. Proceeds from this issuance were primarily used to fund the cash component of the merger consideration and the merger costs. We also opportunistically used our ATM equity program to issue 3.5 million shares of common stock, raising almost $77 million in net proceeds to fund some of the investment activity Ross just mentioned. This is in addition to the 179.9 million shares of common stock issued in connection with the Weingarten merger valued at $3.7 billion. We also assumed $1.8 billion of debt, including the fair value adjustment as part of the Weingarten merger.
Total common shares outstanding at quarter-end was 616.4 million, and we expect this should be a good guide for the fourth quarter. As anticipated, the Weingarten merger was a deleveraging event. As of September 30, net debt to EBITDA on a look-through basis, including pro-rata share of joint venture debt and preferred stock outstanding was seven times. This metric only includes two months of EBITDA from the Weingarten merger, but all of the debt assumed. On a pro forma basis, including a full quarter of EBITDA from Weingarten, look through net debt-to-EBITDA would be 6.3 times, representing the lowest level since we began tracking this metric. Our liquidity position also remains very strong. We ended the third quarter with over $450 million of cash and full availability on our $2 billion revolving credit facility. In addition, during the third quarter, the value of our Albertsons marketable security investment climbed to more than $1.2 billion after increasing by $457 million, which is included in net income but not FFO for the quarter.
We continue to evaluate our opportunities to begin the Albertsons monetization process. As we look ahead during 2022, we will have a variety of potential uses for the capital from the redemption of our preferred stock issuances that become callable, bonds that mature in October and November of 2022, and accretive investment opportunities. As our overall business continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic and as we begin to benefit from the successful merger and integration of the Weingarten portfolio, we are raising our full-year 2021 NAREIT FFO per share guidance range to $1.36 to $1.37, which includes $0.10 per diluted share of merger-related costs and the inclusion of the Weingarten portfolio for five months. This compares to previous NAREIT FFO per share guidance of $1.29 to $1.33, which did not include any impact from the Weingarten merger except $0.01 related to merger costs. As I touched upon, our third quarter FFO includes a total of $0.03 per share related to items that were more onetime in nature and which were not budgeted for as recurring items. This includes $0.02 per diluted share from improvements in credit loss and another $0.01 from contributions from joint ventures and lease termination fees. We will provide initial 2022 guidance on our next earnings call.
And with that, we're happy to now take your questions.