W. P. Carey Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

NEW YORK, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC) (W. P. Carey or the Company), a net lease real estate investment trust, today reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Financial Highlights

• 2023 AFFO guidance range narrowed to between $5.32 and $5.38 per diluted share, based on anticipated full year investment volume of between $1.75 billion and $2.25 billion
    
• Quarterly cash dividend raised to $1.069 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend rate of $4.276 per share

Real Estate Portfolio

• Investment volume of $938.5 million completed year to date, including $760.7 million during the second quarter
    
• Gross disposition proceeds of $5.5 million during the second quarter, bringing total disposition proceeds for the first half of 2023 to $48.2 million
    
• Contractual same-store rent growth of 4.3%

Balance Sheet and Capitalization

• As previously announced, the Company entered into a new three-year €500 million unsecured term loan and executed an interest rate swap fixing the interest rate at 4.34% per annum through the end of 2024
    
• Approximately $384 million in anticipated net proceeds currently available for settlement pursuant to forward sale agreements

MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY

"Our performance over the first half of the year continued to be driven by the strength of our investment activity — completing close to $1 billion of investments — and contractual same-store rent growth that remained over 4%," said Jason Fox, Chief Executive Officer of W. P. Carey. "We expect further deal momentum over the second half of the year, given the competitiveness of sale-leasebacks as an alternative source of financing and the investment spreads we're achieving. We're also confident in our ability to fund our investments and other capital needs without having to raise additional capital this year, something we view as a distinct competitive advantage in the current environment. Furthermore, we expect rent growth to remain elevated, reflecting the lagged impact of CPI on rents, as well as higher fixed increases."

QUARTERLY FINANCIAL RESULTS

Revenues

• Total Company: Revenues, including reimbursable costs, for the 2023 second quarter totaled $452.6 million, up 31.4% from $344.4 million for the 2022 second quarter.
    
• Real Estate: Real Estate revenues, including reimbursable costs, for the 2023 second quarter were $452.2 million, up 33.1% from $339.8 million for the 2022 second quarter.
    
• Lease revenues increased primarily as a result of net investment activity, net lease properties acquired in the CPA:18 Merger and rent escalations.
     
• Operating property revenues increased primarily as a result of the self-storage and other operating properties acquired in the CPA:18 Merger, as well as the conversion of 12 hotel properties from net lease to operating during the 2023 first quarter.
    
• Income from finance leases and loans receivable increased primarily as a result of the reclassification of lease revenues after receiving notice during the 2023 first quarter from a related party of U-Haul of its intention to exercise its repurchase option on a portfolio of 78 net leased self-storage properties. The reclassification had no impact on total Real Estate revenues.

Net Income Attributable to W. P. Carey

• Net income attributable to W. P. Carey for the 2023 second quarter was $144.6 million, up 13.2% from $127.7 million for the 2022 second quarter. Net income from Real Estate attributable to W. P. Carey was $144.7 million, which increased due primarily to the impact of net investment activity (including properties acquired in the CPA:18 Merger) and rent escalations, partly offset by a lower gain on sale of real estate and higher interest expense. Net loss from Investment Management attributable to W. P. Carey was less than $0.1 million, which decreased due primarily to the cessation of Investment Management revenues and distributions as a result of the CPA:18 Merger.

Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO)

• AFFO for the 2023 second quarter was $1.36 per diluted share, up 3.8% from $1.31 per diluted share for the 2022 second quarter, driven by the Company's Real Estate segment, which generated AFFO of $1.36 per diluted share, up 7.1% from $1.27 per diluted share for the 2022 second quarter, primarily reflecting the impact of net investment activity, rent escalations and the accretive impact of the CPA:18 Merger, partly offset by higher interest expense. AFFO for the 2023 second quarter also included certain non-recurring items that largely offset one another but resulted in lower non-reimbursed property expenses (due to the reversal of certain property tax accruals) and higher provision for income taxes (due to the settlement a tax audit on a portfolio of properties in Europe). AFFO from the Company's Investment Management segment declined due primarily to the cessation of Investment Management revenues and distributions as a result of the CPA:18 Merger.

Note: Further information concerning AFFO and Real Estate AFFO, which are both non-GAAP supplemental performance metrics, is presented in the accompanying tables and related notes.

Dividend

• On June 15, 2023, the Company reported that its Board of Directors increased its quarterly cash dividend to $1.069 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend rate of $4.28 per share. The dividend was paid on July 14, 2023 to shareholders of record as of June 30, 2023.

AFFO GUIDANCE

• For the 2023 full year, the Company has narrowed its guidance range for total AFFO to between $5.32 and $5.38 per diluted share based on the following key assumptions:
    
  (i)  investment volume of between $1.75 billion and $2.25 billion, which is unchanged;
    
  (ii)  disposition volume of between $300 million and $400 million, which is unchanged; and
    
  (iii)  total general and administrative expenses of between $97 million and $100 million, which is unchanged.

Note: The Company does not provide guidance on net income. The Company only provides guidance on total AFFO and does not provide a reconciliation of this forward-looking non-GAAP guidance to net income due to the inherent difficulty in quantifying certain items necessary to provide such reconciliation as a result of their unknown effect, timing and potential significance. Examples of such items include impairments of assets, gains and losses from sales of assets, and depreciation and amortization from new acquisitions.

REAL ESTATE 

Investments

• Year to date, the Company completed investments totaling $938.5 million, including $760.7 million during the 2023 second quarter.
    
• The Company currently has four capital investments and commitments totaling $51.4 million and construction loan funding of $45.0 million scheduled to be completed during the second half of 2023, for an aggregate total of $96.4 million.

Dispositions

• During the 2023 second quarter, the Company disposed of three properties for gross proceeds of $5.5 million, bringing total disposition proceeds for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to $48.2 million.

Contractual Same-Store Rent Growth

• The Company's net lease portfolio generated contractual same-store rent growth of 4.3% on a constant currency basis.

Composition

• As of June 30, 2023, the Company's net lease portfolio consisted of 1,475 properties, comprising 180 million square feet leased to 398 tenants, with a weighted-average lease term of 11.2 years and an occupancy rate of 99.0%. In addition, the Company owned 85 self-storage operating properties, 13 hotel operating properties and two student housing operating properties, totaling approximately 7.8 million square feet.

BALANCE SHEET AND CAPITALIZATION

Forward Equity

• As of June 30, 2023, the Company had an aggregate of $384 million in anticipated net proceeds available for settlement pursuant to forward sale agreements.

Unsecured Term Loan

• As previously announced, on April 24, 2023, the Company entered into a new €500 million unsecured term loan maturing on April 24, 2026 (the Term Loan), with a syndicate of 10 participating banks. The Term Loan was drawn in full at closing and includes an accordion feature enabling the aggregate amount to be increased up to €250 million (for a Term Loan totaling up to €750 million) subject to approvals and the satisfaction of certain conditions. Proceeds from the Term Loan were used for the repayment of debt, including amounts outstanding on the Company's unsecured revolving credit facility.
    
• The borrowing rate pursuant to the credit agreement is 85 basis points over EURIBOR. In conjunction with the closing, W. P. Carey executed a variable-to-fixed interest rate swap fixing the interest rate at 4.34% through the end of 2024.

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Supplemental Information

The Company has provided supplemental unaudited financial and operating information regarding the 2023 second quarter and certain prior quarters, including a description of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to GAAP measures, in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 28, 2023, and made available on the Company's website at ir.wpcarey.com/investor-relations.

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Live Conference Call and Audio Webcast Scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time 
Please dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the start time.

Date/Time: Friday, July 28, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time
Call-in Number: 1 (877) 465-1289 (U.S.) or +1 (201) 689-8762 (international)
Live Audio Webcast and Replay: www.wpcarey.com/earnings

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W. P. Carey Inc.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with an enterprise value of approximately $23 billion and a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,475 net lease properties covering approximately 180 million square feet and a portfolio of 85 self-storage operating properties, as of June 30, 2023. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant, industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.

www.wpcarey.com

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Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the matters discussed in this communication constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding the intent, belief or expectations of W. P. Carey and can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "would," "will be," "goals," "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate" "opportunities," "possibility," "strategy," "maintain" or the negative version of these words and other comparable terms. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements made by Mr. Jason Fox regarding deal momentum and our ability to fund capital needs. These statements are based on the current expectations of our management, and it is important to note that our actual results could be materially different from those projected in such forward-looking statements. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable risks or uncertainties, like the risks related to inflation and increased interest rates, the effects of pandemics and global outbreaks of contagious diseases (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and domestic or geopolitical crises, such as terrorism, military conflict (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the global response to it), war or the perception that hostilities may be imminent, political instability or civil unrest, or other conflict, and those additional risk factors discussed in reports that we have filed with the SEC, could also have material adverse effects on our future results, performance or achievements. Discussions of some of these other important factors and assumptions are contained in W. P. Carey's filings with the SEC and are available at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov, including Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors in W. P. Carey's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this communication, unless noted otherwise. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, W. P. Carey does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to the forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Institutional Investors:
Peter Sands
1 (212) 492-1110
[email protected]

Individual Investors:
W. P. Carey Inc.
1 (212) 492-8920
[email protected]

Press Contact:
Anna McGrath
1 (212) 492-1166
[email protected]

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Non-GAAP Financial Disclosure

Funds from Operations (FFO) and Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO)

Due to certain unique operating characteristics of real estate companies, as discussed below, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), an industry trade group, has promulgated a non-GAAP measure known as FFO, which we believe to be an appropriate supplemental measure, when used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP, to reflect the operating performance of a REIT. The use of FFO is recommended by the REIT industry as a supplemental non-GAAP measure. FFO is not equivalent to, nor a substitute for, net income or loss as determined under GAAP.

We define FFO, a non-GAAP measure, consistent with the standards established by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of NAREIT, as restated in December 2018. The White Paper defines FFO as net income or loss computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding gains or losses from sales of property, impairment charges on real estate or other assets incidental to the company's main business, gains or losses on changes in control of interests in real estate and depreciation and amortization from real estate assets; and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and jointly owned investments. Adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and jointly owned investments are calculated to reflect FFO.

We also modify the NAREIT computation of FFO to adjust GAAP net income for certain non-cash charges, such as amortization of real estate-related intangibles, deferred income tax benefits and expenses, straight-line rent and related reserves, other non-cash rent adjustments, non-cash allowance for credit losses on loans receivable and finance leases, stock-based compensation, non-cash environmental accretion expense, amortization of discounts and premiums on debt and amortization of deferred financing costs. Our assessment of our operations is focused on long-term sustainability and not on such non-cash items, which may cause short-term fluctuations in net income but have no impact on cash flows. Additionally, we exclude non-core income and expenses, such as gains or losses from extinguishment of debt and merger and acquisition expenses. We also exclude realized and unrealized gains/losses on foreign currency exchange rate movements (other than those realized on the settlement of foreign currency derivatives), which are not considered fundamental attributes of our business plan and do not affect our overall long-term operating performance. We refer to our modified definition of FFO as AFFO. We exclude these items from GAAP net income to arrive at AFFO as they are not the primary drivers in our decision-making process and excluding these items provides investors a view of our portfolio performance over time and makes it more comparable to other REITs that are currently not engaged in acquisitions, mergers and restructuring, which are not part of our normal business operations. AFFO also reflects adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and jointly owned investments. We use AFFO as one measure of our operating performance when we formulate corporate goals, evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies and determine executive compensation.

We believe that AFFO is a useful supplemental measure for investors to consider as we believe it will help them to better assess the sustainability of our operating performance without the potentially distorting impact of these short-term fluctuations. However, there are limits on the usefulness of AFFO to investors. For example, impairment charges and unrealized foreign currency losses that we exclude may become actual realized losses upon the ultimate disposition of the properties in the form of lower cash proceeds or other considerations. We use our FFO and AFFO measures as supplemental financial measures of operating performance. We do not use our FFO and AFFO measures as, nor should they be considered to be, alternatives to net income computed under GAAP, or as alternatives to net cash provided by operating activities computed under GAAP, or as indicators of our ability to fund our cash needs.

SOURCE W. P. Carey Inc.