[VENTAS LOGO]
Ventas, Inc. 10350 Ormsby Park Place Suite 300 Louisville, Kentucky 40223
(502) 357.9000 (502) 357.9029 Fax
Contacts: Debra A. Cafaro
Chairman, President and CEO
or
Richard A. Schweinhart
Senior Vice President and CFO
(502) 357-9000
VENTAS CREDIT RATINGS UPGRADED TO 'BB' BY S&P
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Ventas Announces 2004 Second Quarter Earnings
Release Date and Conference Call
Louisville, KY (July 1, 2004) - Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) ("Ventas" or the
"Company") said today that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services ("S&P") raised its
corporate credit ratings on Ventas and certain of its affiliates to 'BB' from
'BB-'. S&P also revised the outlook on the Company to stable from positive. In
addition, S&P raised its ratings on the Company's senior unsecured debt, which
totals $366 million.
In a press release issued on June 28, 2004, S&P said the upgrade acknowledges
Ventas's steady improvement in both its business and financial profiles. Recent
acquisitions have improved Ventas's diversification, and growing cash flow and
profits, and lower leverage have contributed to stronger debt protection
measures, the rating agency said. A copy of S&P's press release can be obtained
at http://www.ventasreit.com/about/VentasSPRating.pdf.
VENTAS ANNOUNCES 2004 SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS RELEASE DATE
The Company also said it will issue its 2004 second quarter earnings
release after the close of trading on Tuesday, July 27, 2004. A conference call
to discuss those earnings will be held Wednesday, July 28, 2004 at 9:00 a.m.
Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Central Time). The call will be webcast live by CCBN and
can be accessed at the Ventas website at www.ventasreit.com or at
www.fulldisclosure.com.
Ventas, Inc. is a healthcare real estate investment trust that owns
healthcare-related facilities, including hospitals, nursing facilities and
senior housing facilities. More information about Ventas can be found on its
website at www.ventasreit.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding Ventas,
Inc.'s ("Ventas" or the "Company") and its subsidiaries' expected future
financial position, results of operations, cash flows, funds from operations,
dividends and dividend plans, financing plans, business strategy, budgets,
projected costs, capital expenditures, competitive positions, growth
opportunities, expected lease income, continued qualification as a real estate
investment trust ("REIT"), plans and objectives of management for future
operations and statements that include words such as "anticipate," "if,"
"believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should,"
"will" and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and security holders must
recognize that actual results may differ from the Company's expectations. The
Company does not undertake a duty to update such forward-looking statements.
Actual future results and trends for the Company may differ materially depending
on a variety of factors discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). Factors that may affect the plans or
results of the Company include, without limitation, (a) the ability and
willingness of Kindred Healthcare, Inc. ("Kindred") and certain of its
affiliates to continue to meet and/or perform their obligations under their
contractual arrangements with the Company and the Company's subsidiaries,
including without limitation the lease agreements and various agreements entered
into by the Company and Kindred at the time of the Company's spin
Ventas Announces Second Quarter Earnings
Release Date and Conference Call
Page 2
July 1, 2004
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off of Kindred on May 1, 1998 (the "1998 Spin Off"), as such agreements may have
been amended and restated in connection with Kindred's emergence from bankruptcy
on April 20, 2001, (b) the ability and willingness of Kindred to continue to
meet and/or perform its obligation to indemnify and defend the Company for all
litigation and other claims relating to the healthcare operations and other
assets and liabilities transferred to Kindred in the 1998 Spin Off, (c) the
ability of Kindred and the Company's other operators to maintain the financial
strength and liquidity necessary to satisfy their respective obligations and
duties under the leases and other agreements with the Company, and their
existing credit agreements, (d) the Company's success in implementing its
business strategy and the Company's ability to identify and consummate
diversifying acquisitions or investments, (e) the nature and extent of future
competition, (f) the extent of future healthcare reform and regulation,
including cost containment measures and changes in reimbursement policies,
procedures and rates, (g) increases in the cost of borrowing for the Company,
(h) the ability of the Company's operators to deliver high quality care and to
attract patients, (i) the results of litigation affecting the Company, (j)
changes in general economic conditions and/or economic conditions in the markets
in which the Company may, from time to time, compete, (k) the ability of the
Company to pay down, refinance, restructure, and/or extend its indebtedness as
it becomes due, (l) the movement of interest rates and the resulting impact on
the value of and the accounting for the Company's interest rate swap agreement,
(m) the ability and willingness of the Company to maintain its qualification as
a REIT due to economic, market, legal, tax or other considerations, (n) final
determination of the Company's taxable net income for the years ending December
31, 2003 and 2004, (o) the ability and willingness of the Company's tenants to
renew their leases with the Company upon expiration of the leases and the
Company's ability to relet its properties on the same or better terms in the
event such leases expire and are not renewed by the existing tenants, and (p)
the impact on the liquidity, financial condition and results of operations of
Kindred and the Company's other operators resulting from increased operating
costs and uninsured liabilities for professional liability claims, and the
ability of Kindred and the Company's other operators to accurately estimate the
magnitude of such liabilities. Many of such factors are beyond the control of
the Company and its management.