Life Storage, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results

Life Storage, Inc. (NYSE:LSI), a leading national owner and operator of self-storage properties, reported operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. Certain share and per share information has been retrospectively adjusted to reflect the January 2021 three-for-two stock split made in the form of a 50% stock dividend.

Highlights for the Second Quarter Included:

  • Generated net income attributable to common shareholders of $57.5 million, or $0.74 per fully diluted common share.
  • Achieved adjusted funds from operations (“FFO”)(1) per fully diluted common share of $1.20, a 27.7% increase over the same period in 2020.
  • Increased same store revenue by 14.7% and same store net operating income (“NOI”)(2) by 20.2%, year-over-year.
  • Acquired 17 stores for $267.5 million, including nine stores from the Company’s third-party management platform.
  • Added 26 stores (gross) to the Company’s third-party management platform.

Joe Saffire, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “I cannot be more pleased with how our team has performed during the past year. We continue to grow occupancy and drive revenue growth while controlling costs. We also continue to find accretive acquisitions, having invested a record $534 million in wholly owned stores during the first half of the year and our acquisition pipeline remains robust. We are excited about our new joint venture, which is adding 17 class A lease-up stores to our platform and providing further opportunity for growth. Our third-party management business continues to surpass our expectations as independent owners are attracted to our performance and innovative technology. Warehouse Anywhere, our unique and innovative tech-enabled business, continues to successfully execute on its growing pipeline of new clients in search of inventory management and last-mile logistics support.”

FINANCIAL RESULTS:

In the second quarter of 2021, the Company generated net income attributable to common shareholders of $57.5 million or $0.74 per fully diluted common share, compared to net income attributable to common shareholders of $36.5 million, or $0.52 per fully diluted common share, in the second quarter of 2020.

Funds from operations for the quarter were $1.22 per fully diluted common share compared to $0.94 for the same period last year. Adjusted FFO per fully diluted common share for the quarter was $1.20, after adjusting for a $1.3 million acquisition fee, compared to $0.94 for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.

OPERATIONS:

Revenues for the 531 stabilized stores wholly owned by the Company since December 31, 2019 increased 14.7% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter of 2020. The increase largely resulted from the net impact of a 420 basis point increase in average occupancy and the net impact of an 8.3% increase in realized rental rates.

Same store operating expenses increased 3.9% for the second quarter of 2021 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to increased real estate taxes and repair and maintenance costs. The increases were partially offset by decreases in marketing expenses. Same store NOI increased 20.2% in the second quarter of 2021 as compared to the same quarter last year.

During the second quarter of 2021, the Company achieved same store revenue growth in each of its 31 major markets. Overall, the markets with the strongest positive revenue impact were: New York-Newark-Jersey City; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; New England-Other and Buffalo-Upstate.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS:

Wholly Owned Portfolio

During the quarter, the Company acquired 17 stores in New Jersey (5), Texas (4), Florida (3), North Carolina (3) and New Hampshire (2) for a total purchase price of $267.5 million.

At June 30, 2021, the Company was under contract to acquire four self-storage facilities in New Hampshire (2), Arizona (1) and Florida (1) for an aggregate purchase price of $54.1 million. The Company acquired two of these facilities subsequent to quarter end for $22.1 million. Also subsequent to quarter end, the Company entered into a contract to acquire four self-storage facilities in Texas for an aggregate purchase price of $47.5 million. The purchases of the remaining facilities are subject to customary conditions to closing, and there is no assurance that any of these facilities will be acquired.

As of the date of this press release, the Company has acquired 35 stores for $555.8 million since January 1, 2021.

Joint Venture Portfolio

During the quarter, the Company acquired a 20% minority interest, for which the Company contributed $28.7 million, in 17 stores in Wisconsin (5), Florida (4), Georgia (2), Illinois (2), Connecticut (1), New Jersey (1), New York (1) and North Carolina (1).

THIRD-PARTY MANAGEMENT:

The Company continues to aggressively and profitably grow its third-party management platform. During the quarter, the Company added 26 stores (gross). As of quarter end, the Company managed 340 facilities in total, including those in which it owns a minority interest.

FINANCIAL POSITION:

At June 30, 2021, the Company had approximately $29.9 million of cash on hand, and approximately $359.9 million available on its line of credit.

During the three months ended June 30, 2021, the Company issued 1,520,125 shares of common stock under its continuous equity offering program at a weighted average issue price of $98.67 per share, generating net proceeds after expenses of $148.5 million.

Below are key financial ratios at June 30, 2021:

  • Debt to Enterprise Value (at $107.35/share)    21.9%
  • Debt to Book Cost of Storage Facilities            40.0%
  • Debt to Recurring Annualized EBITDA              5.0x
  • Debt Service Coverage                                     5.3x

COMMON STOCK DIVIDEND:

Subsequent to quarter end, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, or $2.96 annualized, on a post-split basis. The dividend was paid on July 26, 2021 to shareholders of record on July 14, 2021.

YEAR 2021 EARNINGS GUIDANCE:

The following assumptions covering operations have been utilized in formulating guidance for 2021:

Year 2021 Earnings Guidance

Current Guidance Range

Prior Guidance Range

(May 4, 2021)

Same Store Revenue

10.50%

-

11.50%

5.50%

-

6.50%

Same Store Operating Costs (excluding property taxes)

2.25%

-

3.25%

2.25%

-

3.25%

Same Store Property Taxes

6.75%

-

7.75%

6.75%

-

7.75%

Total Same Store Operating Expenses

4.00%

-

5.00%

4.00%

-

5.00%

Same Store Net Operating Income

13.5%

-

14.5%

6.50%

-

7.50%

General & Administrative

$59.5M

-

$60.5M

$57M

-

$58M

Expansions & Enhancements

$40M

-

$50M

$40M

-

$50M

Capital Expenditures

$21M

-

$26M

$21M

-

$26M

Wholly Owned Acquisitions

$800M

-

$1,000M

$550M

-

$600M

Joint Venture Investments

$28M

-

$30M

$20M

-

$25M

Adjusted Funds from Operations per Share

$4.69

-

$4.79

$4.33

-

$4.41

Reconciliation of Guidance

3Q 2021

Range or Value

FY 2021

Range or Value

Earnings per share attributable to common shareholders – diluted

$0.73 - $0.77

$2.72 - $2.82

Plus: real estate depreciation and amortization

0.51 - 0.51

1.97 - 1.97

FFO per share

$1.24 - $1.28

$4.69 - $4.79

The Company’s 2021 same store pool consists of the 531 stabilized stores wholly owned since December 31, 2019. Thirty of the stores purchased through June 30, 2021 at certificate of occupancy or that were in the early stages of lease-up are not included, regardless of their current occupancies. The Company believes that occupancy levels achieved during the lease-up period, using discounted rates, are not truly indicative of a new store’s performance, and therefore do not result in a meaningful year-over-year comparison in future years. The Company will include such stores in its same store pool in the second year after the stores achieve 80% sustained occupancy using market rates and incentives.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

When used in this news release, the words “intends,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” and similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of competition from new self-storage facilities, which would cause rents and occupancy rates to decline; risks associated with the COVID-19 global health crisis or similar events, including but not limited to (i) the impact to the health of our employees and/or customers, (ii) the negative impacts to the economy and to self-storage customers which could reduce the demand for self-storage or reduce our ability to collect rent, (iii) reducing or eliminating our ability to increase rents charged to our current or future customers, (iv) limiting our ability to collect rent from or evict past due customers, (v) we could see an increase in move-outs of longer-term customers due to the economic uncertainty and significant rise in unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 global health crisis which could lead to lower occupancies and reduced average rental rates as longer-term customers are replaced with new customers at lower rates, and (vi) potential negative impacts on the cost and availability of debt and equity which could have a negative impact on our capital and growth plans; the Company’s ability to evaluate, finance and integrate acquired self-storage facilities into the Company’s existing business and operations; the Company’s ability to effectively compete in the industry in which it does business; the Company’s existing indebtedness may mature in an unfavorable credit environment, preventing refinancing or forcing refinancing of the indebtedness on terms that are not as favorable as the existing terms; interest rates may fluctuate, impacting costs associated with the Company’s outstanding floating rate debt; the Company’s ability to comply with debt covenants; any future ratings on the Company’s debt instruments; regional concentration of the Company’s business may subject it to economic downturns in the states of Florida and Texas; the Company’s reliance on its call center; the Company’s cash flow may be insufficient to meet required payments of operating expenses, principal, interest and dividends; and tax law changes that may change the taxability of future income.

CONFERENCE CALL:

Life Storage will hold its Second Quarter Earnings Release Conference Call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. To help avoid connection delays, participants are encouraged to pre-register using this link. Anyone unable to pre-register may access the conference call at 888.506.0062 (domestic) or 973.528.0011 (international); passcode 674512 or request to be joined into the Life Storage call. Management will accept questions from registered financial analysts after prepared remarks; all others are encouraged to listen to the call via webcast by accessing the investor relations tab at lifestorage.com. The webcast will be archived for a period of 90 days; a telephone replay will also be available for 14 days by calling 877.481.4010 and entering passcode 42035.

ABOUT LIFE STORAGE, INC:

Life Storage, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self-storage facilities. Located in Buffalo, New York, the Company operates more than 950 storage facilities in 33 states. The Company serves both residential and commercial storage customers with storage units rented by month. Life Storage consistently provides responsive service to more than 575,000 customers, making it a leader in the industry. For more information visit http://invest.lifestorage.com.

Life Storage, Inc. 
Balance Sheet Data 
(unaudited) 
  

June 30,

 

December 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2021

 

2020

Assets 
Investment in storage facilities: 
Land

$

1,038,136

 

$

951,813

Building, equipment and construction in progress

4,849,523

 

4,378,510

5,887,659

 

5,330,323

Less: accumulated depreciation

(937,451

)

 

(873,178

)

Investment in storage facilities, net

4,950,208

 

4,457,145

Cash and cash equivalents

29,881

 

54,400

Accounts receivable

14,087

 

15,464

Receivable from joint ventures

635

 

1,064

Investment in joint ventures

139,495

 

143,042

Prepaid expenses

10,211

 

8,326

Intangible asset - in-place customer leases

7,155

 

5,409

Trade name

16,500

 

16,500

Other assets

26,916

 

26,498

Total Assets

$

5,195,088

 

$

4,727,848

  
Liabilities 
Line of credit

$

140,000

 

$

-

Term notes, net

2,156,823

 

2,155,457

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

109,508

 

112,654

Deferred revenue

22,587

 

17,416

Mortgages payable

37,406

 

37,777

Total Liabilities

2,466,324

 

2,323,304

  
Noncontrolling redeemable Operating Partnership Units at redemption value

35,765

 

26,446

  
Equity 
Common stock

781

 

495

Additional paid-in capital

3,002,782

 

2,671,311

Accumulated deficit

(305,981

)

 

(288,667

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(4,583

)

 

(5,041

)

Total Shareholders' Equity

2,692,999

 

2,378,098

Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity

$

5,195,088

 

$

4,727,848

  
Life Storage, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited)
April 1, 2021April 1, 2020January 1, 2021January 1, 2020
totototo
(dollars in thousands, except share data)June 30, 2021June 30, 2020June 30, 2021June 30, 2020
 
Revenues
Rental income

$

163,096

$

128,828

$

313,379

$

257,736

Other operating income

18,026

14,009

35,040

27,631

Management and acquisition fee income

6,140

4,176

10,730

8,589

Total operating revenues

187,262

147,013

359,149

293,956

 
Expenses
Property operations and maintenance

38,794

32,247

77,315

65,097

Real estate taxes

20,510

17,614

40,397

35,022

General and administrative

15,083

12,223

29,266

25,129

Depreciation and amortization

33,118

27,536

64,406

54,564

Amortization of in-place customer leases

2,653

1,451

4,724

2,753

Total operating expenses

110,158

91,071

216,108

182,565

 
Gain on sale of real estate

-

-

-

302

Income from operations

77,104

55,942

143,041

111,693

 
Other income (expense)
Interest expense (A)

(20,774

)

(20,266

)

(41,119

)

(40,513

)

Interest and dividend income

7

2

786

7

Equity in income of joint ventures

1,428

970

2,649

2,086

 
Net income

57,765

36,648

105,357

73,273

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in the Operating Partnership

(249

)

(191

)

(459

)

(383

)

Net income attributable to common shareholders

$

57,516

$

36,457

$

104,898

$

72,890

 
Earnings per common share attributable to common shareholders - basic

$

0.75

$

0.52

$

1.38

$

1.04

 
Earnings per common share attributable to common shareholders - diluted

$

0.74

$

0.52

$

1.37

$

1.04

 
Common shares used in basic earnings per share calculation

77,057,520

70,267,332

76,222,426

70,141,595

 
Common shares used in diluted earnings per share calculation

77,219,999

70,359,207

76,365,100

70,242,776

 
Dividends declared per common share

$

0.7400

$

0.7133

$

1.4800

$

1.4267

 
 
(A) Interest expense for the period ending June 30 consists of the following
Interest expense

$

20,171

$

19,678

$

39,914

$

39,311

Amortization of debt issuance costs

603

588

1,205

1,202

Total interest expense

$

20,774

$

20,266

$

41,119

$

40,513

Life Storage, Inc.
Computation of Funds From Operations (FFO) (1)
(unaudited)
April 1, 2021April 1, 2020January 1, 2021January 1, 2020
totototo
(dollars in thousands, except share data)June 30, 2021June 30, 2020June 30, 2021June 30, 2020
 
Net income attributable to common shareholders

$

57,516

$

36,457

$

104,898

$

72,890

Noncontrolling interests in the Operating Partnership

249

191

459

383

Depreciation of real estate and amortization of intangible
assets exclusive of debt issuance costs

35,257

28,398

68,076

56,140

Depreciation and amortization from unconsolidated joint ventures

1,241

1,682

2,443

3,478

Funds from operations allocable to noncontrolling
interest in Operating Partnership

(407

)

(348

)

(766

)

(694

)

Funds from operations available to common shareholders

93,856

66,380

175,110

132,197

FFO per share - diluted

$

1.22

$

0.94

$

2.29

$

1.88

 
Adjustments to FFO
Gain on sale of land

-

-

-

(302

)

Acquisition fee

(1,280

)

-

(1,280

)

(217

)

Funds from operations resulting from non-recurring items
allocable to noncontrolling interest in Operating Partnership

5

-

5

3

Adjusted funds from operations available to common shareholders

92,581

66,380

173,835

131,681

Adjusted FFO per share - diluted

$

1.20

$

0.94

$

2.28

$

1.87

 
Common shares - diluted

77,219,999

70,359,207

76,365,100

70,242,776

Life Storage, Inc.
Computation of Net Operating Income (2)
(unaudited)
April 1, 2021April 1, 2020January 1, 2021January 1, 2020
totototo
(dollars in thousands)June 30, 2021June 30, 2020June 30, 2021June 30, 2020
 
Net Income

$

57,765

$

36,648

$

105,357

$

73,273

General and administrative

15,083

12,223

29,266

25,129

Depreciation and amortization

35,771

28,987

69,130

57,317

Gain on sale of real estate

-

-

-

(302

)

Interest expense

20,774

20,266

41,119

40,513

Interest and dividend income

(7

)

(2

)

(786

)

(7

)

Equity in income of joint ventures

(1,428

)

(970

)

(2,649

)

(2,086

)

Net operating income

$

127,958

$

97,152

$

241,437

$

193,837

 
Same store (4)

$

98,534

$

81,949

$

188,469

$

164,758

Net operating income related to tenant reinsurance

8,280

7,319

16,118

14,195

Other stores and management fee income

21,144

7,884

36,850

14,884

Total net operating income

$

127,958

$

97,152

$

241,437

$

193,837

 
Life Storage, Inc.
Quarterly Same Store Data (3) (4) 531 mature stores owned since 12/31/19
(unaudited)
April 1, 2021April 1, 2020
totoPercentage
(dollars in thousands)June 30, 2021June 30, 2020ChangeChange
 
Revenues:
Rental income

$

140,269

$

122,383

$

17,886

14.6

%

Other operating income

1,778

1,463

315

21.5

%

Total operating revenues

142,047

123,846

18,201

14.7

%

 
Expenses:
Payroll and benefits

9,423

9,420

3

0.0

%

Real estate taxes

17,516

16,592

924

5.6

%

Utilities

3,301

3,212

89

2.8

%

Repairs and maintenance

4,146

3,449

697

20.2

%

Office and other operating expense

3,791

3,479

312

9.0

%

Insurance

1,566

1,500

66

4.4

%

Advertising

48

64

(16

)

-25.0

%

Internet marketing

3,722

4,181

(459

)

-11.0

%

Total operating expenses

43,513

41,897

1,616

3.9

%

 
Net operating income (2)

$

98,534

$

81,949

$

16,585

20.2

%

 
 
QTD Same store move ins

51,060

53,371

(2,311

)

 
QTD Same store move outs

44,668

43,027

1,641

Other Comparable Quarterly Same Store Data (4)
(unaudited)
April 1, 2021April 1, 2020
totoPercentage
June 30, 2021June 30, 2020ChangeChange
2020 Same store pool (515 stores)
Revenues

$

137,566

$

119,932

$

17,634

14.7

%

Expenses

42,209

40,640

1,569

3.9

%

Net operating income

$

95,357

$

79,292

$

16,065

20.3

%

 
 
2019 Same store pool (502 stores)
Revenues

$

134,557

$

117,456

$

17,101

14.6

%

Expenses

41,121

39,602

1,519

3.8

%

Net operating income

$

93,436

$

77,854

$

15,582

20.0

%

Life Storage, Inc.
Year to Date Same Store Data (3) (4) 531 mature stores owned since 12/31/19
(unaudited)
January 1, 2021January 1, 2020
totoPercentage
(dollars in thousands)June 30, 2021June 30, 2020ChangeChange
 
Revenues:
Rental income

$

273,412

$

246,494

$

26,918

10.9

%

Other operating income

3,371

2,957

414

14.0

%

Total operating revenues

276,783

249,451

27,332

11.0

%

 
Expenses:
Payroll and benefits

19,445

19,261

184

1.0

%

Real estate taxes

34,940

33,184

1,756

5.3

%

Utilities

7,095

6,832

263

3.8

%

Repairs and maintenance

8,848

7,494

1,354

18.1

%

Office and other operating expense

7,827

7,282

545

7.5

%

Insurance

3,089

3,006

83

2.8

%

Advertising

96

128

(32

)

-25.0

%

Internet marketing

6,974

7,506

(532

)

-7.1

%

Total operating expenses

88,314

84,693

3,621

4.3

%

 
Net operating income (2)

$

188,469

$

164,758

$

23,711

14.4

%

 
 
YTD Same store move ins

97,898

99,760

(1,862

)

 
YTD Same store move outs

86,826

87,485

(659

)

Life Storage, Inc.
Other Data - unauditedSame Store (3)All Stores (5)

2021

2020

2021

2020

 
Weighted average quarterly occupancy

95.1%

90.9%

94.7%

90.0%

 
Occupancy at June 30

95.7%

91.8%

95.0%

91.0%

 
Rent per occupied square foot

$15.34

$14.17

$15.32

$14.12

 
Life Storage, Inc.
Other Data - unaudited (continued)
 
Investment in Storage Facilities: (unaudited)
The following summarizes activity in storage facilities during the six months ended June 30, 2021:
 
Beginning balance

$

5,330,323

Property acquisitions

527,214

Improvements and equipment additions:
Expansions

4,469

Roofing, paving, and equipment:
Stabilized stores

10,970

Recently acquired stores

1,792

Change in construction in progress (Total CIP $31.9 million)

13,232

Dispositions and Impairments

(341

)

Storage facilities at cost at period end

$

5,887,659

 
 
Comparison of Selected G&A Costs (unaudited)Quarter Ended
June 30, 2021June 30, 2020
 
Management and administrative salaries and benefits

$

9,784

$

6,704

Training

143

186

Call center

751

750

Life Storage Solutions costs

277

150

Income taxes

568

871

Legal, accounting and professional

893

911

Other administrative expenses (6)

2,667

2,651

$

15,083

$

12,223

 
Net rentable square feetJune 30, 2021
Wholly owned properties

45,795,071

Joint venture properties

7,896,032

Third party managed properties

17,716,675

71,407,778

 
June 30, 2021June 30, 2020
 
Common shares outstanding

78,041,891

70,377,668

Operating Partnership Units outstanding

332,399

365,949

(1) We believe that Funds from Operations (“FFO”) provides relevant and meaningful information about our operating performance that is necessary, along with net earnings and cash flows, for an understanding of our operating results. FFO adds back historical cost depreciation, which assumes the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably in the future. In fact, real estate asset values increase or decrease with market conditions. Consequently, we believe FFO is a useful supplemental measure in evaluating our operating performance by disregarding (or adding back) historical cost depreciation.
 
Funds from operations is defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc. (“NAREIT”) as net income available to common shareholders computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), excluding gains or losses on sales of properties, plus impairment of real estate assets, plus depreciation and amortization and after adjustments to record unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures on the same basis. We believe that to further understand our performance, FFO should be compared with our reported net income and cash flows in accordance with GAAP, as presented in our consolidated financial statements.
 
Our computation of FFO may not be comparable to FFO reported by other REITs or real estate companies that do not define the term in accordance with the current NAREIT definition or that interpret the current NAREIT definition differently. FFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (determined in accordance with GAAP) as an indication of our performance, as an alternative to net cash flows from operating activities (determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of our liquidity, or as an indicator of our ability to make cash distributions.
 
(2) Net operating income or "NOI" is a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) financial measure that we define as total continuing revenues less continuing property operating expenses. NOI also can be calculated by adding back to net income: interest expense, impairment and casualty losses, operating lease expenses, depreciation and amortization expense, any losses on sale of real estate, acquisition related costs, general and administrative expense, and deducting from net income: income from discontinued operations, interest income, any gains on sale of real estate, and equity in income of joint ventures. We believe that NOI is a meaningful measure to investors in evaluating our operating performance, because we utilize NOI in making decisions with respect to capital allocations, in determining current property values, and in comparing period-to-period and market-to-market property operating results. Additionally, NOI is widely used in the real estate industry and the self-storage industry to measure the performance and value of real estate assets without regard to various items included in net income that do not relate to or are not indicative of operating performance, such as depreciation and amortization, which can vary depending on accounting methods and book value of assets. NOI should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP, such as total revenues, operating income and net income.
 
(3) Includes the stores owned and/or managed by the Company for the entire periods presented that are consolidated in our financial statements. Does not include unconsolidated joint ventures or other stores managed by the Company.
 
(4) Revenues and expenses do not include items related to tenant reinsurance.
 
(5) Does not include unconsolidated joint venture stores or other stores managed by the Company.
 
(6) Other administrative expenses include office rent, travel expense, investor relations and miscellaneous other expenses.

Contacts:

Life Storage, Inc.
David Dodman
(716) 229-8284
ddodman@lifestorage.com

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