GTY
#Thank you, operator.
I would like to thank you all for joining us for Getty Realty's quarterly earnings conference call.
Yesterday afternoon, the Company released its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.
The Form 8-K and earnings release are available in the Investor Relations section of our website at gettyrealty.com.
Certain statements made in the course of this call are not based on historical information and may constitute forward-looking statements.
These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to trends, events and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
Examples of forward-looking statements include our 2016 guidance and they also include statements made by management in their remarks and in response to questions, including regarding lease restructurings, future Company operations, future financial performance and the Company's acquisition or redevelopment plans and opportunities.
We caution you that such statements reflect our best judgments based on factors currently known to us and that actual results could differ materially.
I refer you to the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 as well as our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the SEC for a more detailed discussion of the risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made today.
You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our view only as of the date hereof.
The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements that may be made in the course of this call.
Also, please refer to our earnings release for a discussion of our use of non-GAAP financial measures including our revised definition of AFFO and our reconciliation of those measures to net earnings.
With that, let me turn the call over to <UNK> <UNK>, our Chief Executive Officer.
Thank you, Josh.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our call for the first quarter of 2016.
With Josh and me on the call today, are <UNK> <UNK>, our Chief Operating Officer and <UNK> <UNK>, our Chief Financial Officer.
I'll begin today's call by reviewing our performance for the first quarter of 2016 and then pass the call to <UNK> to discuss our portfolio in more detail and after <UNK>, <UNK> will discuss our financial results.
The first quarter of 2016 was another productive quarter for the Company, which continues to demonstrate the strength of our core net leased portfolio.
For the quarter, our AFFO per share was $0.39, which represented growth of 18% over the prior year's quarter.
The quarter benefited primarily from the embedded growth from our 2015 mid-year acquisition and our ongoing efforts to control overhead costs.
During the quarter, we continued to make progress on our remaining transitional properties as <UNK> will discuss, we ended the quarter with 38 remaining sites, an improvement up 17% from year-end and approximately 75% from where we were at the same time last year.
We now have a portfolio of well-located properties and with our triple net leased structures, which have favorable attributes, we are able to enjoy a consistent cash flows.
In the broader picture, we remain committed to our growth strategy, which combines steady NOI growth from our core net leased portfolio, redevelopment of select properties for higher and better uses and pursuing acquisitions of properties in the convenience and gas sector.
We are continuing to evaluate opportunities and we remained disciplined and selective on what we are pursuing.
This includes continued internal analysis of our portfolio to determine the potential for high return redevelopment prospects along with potential acquisitions.
We are being systematic in our approach and are confident that this approach to our investment strategy will contribute to our performance as we move ahead.
As we look forward, we are energized and encouraged by the results from our net lease portfolio, our emerging pipeline of redevelopment opportunities, which are unlocking the value embedded in the portfolio and the steady progress we are making on our asset repositioning activities.
The net result of which is that we continue to improve the quality of our portfolio, while maintaining a watchful eye on our balance sheet and our cost of capital.
With that, I will turn the call over to <UNK> <UNK> to discuss the portfolio and investment activities.
Thank you, <UNK>.
Turning to our results, as Chris mentioned we had a productive quarter and delivered strong operational results.
For the first quarter, our total revenues from continuing operations increased by 15% to $28.4 million compared to the same period last year and our contractual due rental income, which excludes tenant reimbursements increased by 18% to $24.3 million.
Rental income growth for the quarter was driven primarily by the impact of our mid-year 2015 acquisitions.
On the expense front, property costs excluding tenant reimbursements improved by 11% for the quarter.
This reduction can be attributed to declines in rent expense and maintenance expenses.
Our environmental expense improved by $1.1 million for the quarter relative to the same period last year.
The reduction was due to a $0.3 million decrease in litigation losses and legal and professional fees and $0.8 million of decreases in environmental remediation costs.
It is worth noting that are several non-cash items flowing through this line, which cause the reported amounts to vary from quarter-to-quarter.
For the quarter, G&A was fairly flat after adjusting for $200,000 of one-time employee related expenses.
As a result for the quarter, our FFO was $14.1 million or $0.42 per share, which represented an increase of 35% and AFFO was $13.2 million or $0.39 per share, which represented an increase of 18%.
Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $323 million of borrowings, $148 million on our credit agreement and $135 million of long-term fixed rate debt.
Our debt to total capitalization currently stands at approximately 32% and our net debt to EBITDA at quarter end was 4.7 times.
Our weighted average borrowing costs was 4.6% at quarter end and the weighted average maturity of our debt is approximately 4.5 years, with 54% of our debt being fixed rate.
Our environmental liability ended the quarter at $82.7 million, down $1.6 million so far this year.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company's environmental remediation spending was approximately $3.6 million.
It is important to note that the net number on our balance sheet is also impacted by additions to the principal amount of the liability and accretion since GAAP requires us to book the liability on a present value basis.
Subsequent to quarter end, we received payment for the entire outstanding balance of $13.9 million of seller financing mortgage from our former tenant [Ramco].
This payment will result in an approximately $0.01 impact to the FFO per quarter.
Finally, we are reiterating our 2016 AFFO per share guidance at a range of $1.40 to $1.45 per share.
Note that our guidance does not assume any acquisition or capital markets activities, although it does reflect our expectation that we will continue to execute on our leasing and disposition activities.
It also assumes, we continue to execute on our existing redevelopment pipeline.
That concludes our prepared remarks.
So let me ask the operator to open the call for questions.
Thank you everyone for joining us this morning.
We look forward to speaking with you again when we report our second quarter and we appreciate your interest in the Company.
