SAN DIEGO, May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income, NYSE: O), The Monthly Dividend Company^®, today announced operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. All per share amounts presented in this press release are on a diluted per common share basis unless stated otherwise.

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS:

For the three months ended March 31, 2021:

• Net income per share was $0.26
• AFFO per share was $0.86
• Invested $1.03 billion in properties and properties under development or expansion, including $403.0 million in U.K. properties
• Completed the early redemption on all $950.0 million in principal amount of our outstanding 3.250% notes due October 2022
• Raised $670 million in net proceeds from a common stock public offering of 12,075,000 shares, inclusive of 1,575,000 shares purchased by the underwriters upon exercise of their option to purchase additional shares

CEO Comments

"Our business momentum continues to illustrate the growth opportunities afforded to us through a mix of investment verticals in an increasingly diversified platform. Our pending merger with VEREIT is consistent with this trajectory, as the transaction, once completed, is expected to drive immediate earnings accretion, create additional growth opportunities through enhanced size, scale, and diversification, and allow for meaningful strategic and financing synergies. Additionally, our continued success in the U.K. gives us confidence in the portability of our business model initiatives as One Team on behalf of our investors and clients," said
Sumit Roy, Realty Income's President and Chief Executive Officer. "I remain inspired by the dedication and talent of our team who continues to execute across our strategic initiatives. During the quarter, we invested over $1.0 billion in properties with attractive risk-adjusted yields, including nearly $403 million in the U.K. We are proud to have eclipsed the $2.0 billion investment mark in our U.K. portfolio within the first two years of our initial acquisition abroad. Moreover, with our first investment in Hawaii, our real estate portfolio now reaches all U.S. states, demonstrating the size, scale, and diversity of our platform. Further, in April we published our inaugural Sustainability Report, which outlines our dedication to embracing a changing world for the benefit of all those we serve." 

"Looking forward, our rent collections have improved and stabilized, the business is well-positioned to capitalize on our active global investment pipeline, and we finished the quarter with approximately $2.5 billion of liquidity and a net debt to EBITDAre ratio of 5.3x. We remain on pace to meet our 2021 investment guidance of over $3.25 billion."

Select Financial Results

The following summarizes our select financial results (dollars in millions, except per share data):

Impact of COVID-19

Percentages of Contractual Rent Collected as of March 31, 2021

We either have executed deferral agreements or maintain ongoing deferral discussions with clients that account for a majority of the unpaid contractual rent for each of the periods referenced in the table above. Additional detail on rent collections can be found in our supplemental materials available on our corporate website at www.realtyincome.com/investors/financial-information/quarterly-results.

Theater Industry Update

As of March 31, 2021, the theater industry represented 5.6% of annualized contractual rental revenue. As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, we were fully reserved for 37 theater properties. At March 31, 2021, the receivables outstanding for our 79 theater properties totaled $66.7 million, net of $33.2 million of reserves, and includes $8.5 million of straight-line rent receivables, net of $1.9 million of reserves. The following table summarizes reserves recorded as a reduction of rental revenue for theater properties (dollars in millions):

Additionally, we did not record any provisions for impairment on theater properties for the three months ended March 31, 2021. See "Item 1A—Risk Factors" in Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for year ended December 31, 2020 for more information regarding the actual and potential future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to limit its spread on our clients and our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Dividend Increases 

In March 2021, we announced the 94^th  consecutive quarterly dividend increase, which is the 110^th increase in the amount of the dividend since our listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1994. The annualized dividend amount as of March 31, 2021 was $2.82 per share. The amount of monthly dividends paid per share increased 1.6% to $0.7035 for the three months ended March 31, 2021, as compared to $0.6925 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, we distributed $260.7 million in common dividends to stockholders, representing 81.9% of its AFFO of $318.2 million.

Real Estate Portfolio Update

As of March 31, 2021, our portfolio consisted of 6,662 properties located in all U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.K., and leased to approximately 600 clients doing business in 56 separate industries. The properties are primarily freestanding and leased under long-term net lease agreements with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 8.9 years. Our portfolio of commercial real estate has historically provided dependable rental revenue supporting the payment of monthly dividends. As of March 31, 2021, portfolio occupancy was 98.0% with 131 properties available for lease or sale out of 6,662, as compared to 97.9% as of December 31, 2020 and 98.5% as of March 31, 2020.

Changes in Occupancy

The annual new rent on re-leases was $11.54 million, as compared to the previous annual rent of $11.15 million on the same units, representing a rent recapture rate of 103.5% on the units re-leased during the three months ended March 31, 2021. We re-leased two units to new clients without a period of vacancy, and 15 units to new clients after a period of vacancy.

Investments in Real Estate

The following table summarizes our acquisitions in the U.S. and U.K. for the periods indicated below:

Same Store Rental Revenue

The following summarizes our same store rental revenue on 6,127 properties under lease (dollars in millions):

For purposes of comparability, same store rental revenue is presented on a constant currency basis using the exchange rate as of March 31, 2021 of 1.38 GBP/USD.

Our calculation of same store rental revenue includes rent deferred for future payment as a result of lease concessions we granted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recognized under the practical expedient provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Same store rental revenue was negatively impacted by reserves recorded as reductions of rental revenue of $7.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to $819,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Our calculation of same store rental revenue also includes uncollected rent for which we have not granted a lease concession. If these applicable amounts of rent deferrals and uncollected rent were excluded from our calculation of same store rental revenue, the decreases for the three months ended March 31, 2021 relative to the comparable period for 2020 would have been (8.6)%.

Property Dispositions

The following summarizes our property dispositions (dollars in millions):

Liquidity and Capital Markets

Equity Capital Raising

In January 2021, we raised $670 million from the issuance of 12,075,000 shares of common stock in an underwritten public offering, inclusive of 1,575,000 shares purchased by the underwriters upon the exercise of their option to purchase additional shares.

During the three months ended March 31, 2021, we raised $692 million from the sale of common stock at a weighted average price of $57.06 per share, primarily through the underwritten public offering in January 2021.

Revolving Credit Facility and Commercial Paper Program

We have a $3.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, with an initial term that expires in March 2023 (subject to two six-month options to extend). The revolving credit facility also has a $1.0 billion accordion feature, which is subject to obtaining lender commitments. As of March 31, 2021, there were no borrowings on our revolving credit facility. In addition, we had a cash balance of $184.0 million.

Additionally, we have a U.S. dollar-denominated unsecured commercial paper program. Under the terms of this program, we may issue unsecured commercial paper notes up to a maximum aggregate amount outstanding of $1.0 billion, with proceeds used for general corporate purposes. We use our unsecured revolving credit facility as a liquidity backstop for the repayment of the notes issued under this program. As of March 31, 2021, we had $675.0 million in commercial paper borrowings.

Early Redemption of 3.250% Notes Due 2022

In January 2021, we completed the early redemption on all $950.0 million in principal amount of our outstanding 3.250% notes due October 2022, plus accrued and unpaid interest. As a result of the early redemption, we recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of $46.5 million, or $0.13 per diluted common share, to net income available to common stockholders and Nareit-defined FFO in the three months ended March 31, 2021. Loss on extinguishment of debt is excluded in our calculation of AFFO.

2021 Earnings Guidance

We estimate FFO per share for 2021 of $3.26 to $3.34, inclusive of a $0.13 per share loss due to the early redemption of our 3.250% notes due October 2022. We estimate AFFO per share for 2021 of $3.44 to $3.49, an increase of 1.5% to 2.9% over 2020 AFFO per share of $3.39. Summarized below are approximate estimates of the key components of our 2021 earnings guidance, which do not give effect to the announced merger between us and VEREIT, Inc.:

Conference Call Information

In conjunction with the release of our operating results, we will host a conference call on May 4, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. PT to discuss the results. To access the conference, dial (877) 701-6180 (United States) or (647) 689-4069 (International). When prompted, provide the conference ID 7659455.

A telephone replay of the conference call can also be accessed by calling (800) 585-8367 and entering the conference ID 7659455. The telephone replay will be available through May 18, 2021.

A live webcast will be available in listen-only mode by clicking on the webcast link on our home page or in the investors section at www.realtyincome.com. A replay of the conference call webcast will be available approximately one hour after the conclusion of the live broadcast. No access code is required for this replay.

Supplemental Materials and Sustainability Report

Supplemental materials on our operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2021, including reconciliations for non-GAAP measures within the Glossary, are available on our corporate website at www.realtyincome.com/investors/financial-information/quarterly-results.

The Sustainability Report for the year ended December 31, 2020 is available on our corporate website at www.realtyincome.com/corporate-responsibility.

About Realty Income

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company^®, is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing stockholders with dependable monthly income. The company is structured as a REIT, and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 6,600 real estate properties owned under long-term lease agreements with our commercial clients. To date, the company has declared 610 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 52-year operating history and increased the dividend 110 times since Realty Income's public listing in 1994 (NYSE: O). The company is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats^® index. Additional information about the company can be obtained from the corporate website at www.realtyincome.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause our actual future results to differ materially from expected results. These risks include, among others, general economic conditions, domestic and foreign real estate conditions, client financial health, the availability of capital to finance planned growth, volatility and uncertainty in the credit markets and broader financial markets, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, property acquisitions and the timing of these acquisitions, the structure, timing and completion of the announced mergers between us and VEREIT, Inc. and any effects of the announcement, pendency or completion of the announced mergers, including the anticipated benefits therefrom, charges for property impairments, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to limit its impact, the effects of pandemics or global outbreaks of contagious diseases or fear of such outbreaks, our clients' ability to adequately manage their properties and fulfill their respective lease obligations to us, and the outcome of any legal proceedings to which the we are a party, as described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, forward-looking statements should be regarded solely as reflections of our current operating plans and estimates. Actual operating results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date these statements were made. 

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SOURCE Realty Income Corporation