Public Storage Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2018

GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) announced today operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.

Operating Results for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2018

For the three months ended December 31, 2018, net income allocable to our common shareholders was $530.1 million or $3.04 per diluted common share, compared to $334.1 million or $1.92 per diluted common share in 2017 representing an increase of $196.0 million or $1.12 per diluted common share. The increase is due primarily to (i) $183.1 million in aggregate gains due to Shurgard Self Storage SA’s (“Shurgard Europe’s”) initial public offering and the sale of our facility in West London to Shurgard Europe, (ii) a $11.1 million increase in self-storage net operating income (described below) and (iii) a $11.0 million increase due to the impact of foreign currency exchange gains and losses associated with our euro denominated debt, offset partially by (iv) a $8.1 million increase in general and administrative expense due to the acceleration of share-based compensation expense accruals for our former CEO and CFO in 2018 as a result of their retirement on December 31, 2018.

The $11.1 million increase in self-storage net operating income is a result of a $1.9 million increase in our Same Store Facilities (as defined below) and a $9.2 million increase in our Non Same Store Facilities (as defined below). Revenues for the Same Store Facilities increased 1.2% or $6.7 million in the three months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to 2017, due primarily to higher realized annual rent per occupied square foot. Cost of operations for the Same Store Facilities increased by 4.1% or $4.8 million in the three months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to 2017, due primarily to increased property taxes and higher marketing expenses. The increase in net operating income of $9.2 million for the Non Same Store Facilities is due primarily to the impact of 164 self-storage facilities acquired and developed since January 2016.

Operating Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2018

In 2018, net income allocable to our common shareholders was $1,488.9 million or $8.54 per diluted common share, compared to $1,171.6 million or $6.73 per diluted common share in 2017 representing an increase of $317.3 million or $1.81 per diluted common share. The increase is due primarily to (i) $183.1 million in aggregate gains due to Shurgard Europe’s initial public offering and the sale of our facility in West London to Shurgard Europe, (ii) a $47.1 million increase in self-storage net operating income (described below), (iii) our $37.7 million equity share of gains recorded by PS Business Parks in 2018, (iv) a $68.2 million increase due to the impact of foreign currency exchange gains and losses associated with our euro denominated debt, (v) a $29.3 million allocation to preferred shareholders associated with preferred share redemptions in 2017 and (vi) a $7.8 million casualty loss and $5.2 million in incremental tenant reinsurance losses related to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017. These impacts were offset partially by a $36.1 million increase in general and administrative expense due to the acceleration of share-based compensation expense accruals for our former CEO and CFO in 2018 as a result of their retirement on December 31, 2018 and the reversal of share-based compensation accruals forfeited by retiring senior executive officers in 2017.

The $47.1 million increase in self-storage net operating income is a result of a $15.6 million increase in our Same Store Facilities and $31.5 million increase in our Non Same Store Facilities. Revenues for the Same Store Facilities increased 1.5% or $33.3 million in 2018 as compared to 2017, due primarily to higher realized annual rent per occupied square foot. Cost of operations for the Same Store Facilities increased by 3.2% or $17.7 million in 2018 as compared to 2017, due primarily to increased property taxes. The increase in net operating income of $31.5 million for the Non Same Store Facilities is due primarily to the impact of 164 self-storage facilities acquired and developed since January 2016.

Funds from Operations

For the three months ended December 31, 2018, funds from operations (“FFO”) was $2.77 per diluted common share, as compared to $2.70 in 2017, representing an increase of 2.6%. FFO is a non-GAAP measure defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and generally represents net income before depreciation and amortization expense, gains and losses and impairment charges with respect to real estate assets. A reconciliation of GAAP diluted net income per share to FFO per share, and additional descriptive information regarding this non-GAAP measure, is attached.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, FFO was $10.45 per diluted common share, as compared to $9.70 in 2017, representing an increase of 7.7%.

We also present “Core FFO per share,” a non-GAAP measure that represents FFO per share excluding the impact of (i) foreign currency exchange gains and losses, (ii) EITF D-42 charges related to the redemption of preferred securities, (iii) accelerations of accruals due to the retirement of our former CEO and CFO and reversals of accruals with respect to share-based awards forfeited by retiring senior executive officers and (iv) certain other non-cash and/or nonrecurring income or expense items. We review Core FFO per share to evaluate our ongoing operating performance, and we believe it is used by investors and REIT analysts in a similar manner. However, Core FFO per share is not a substitute for net income per share. Because other REITs may not compute Core FFO per share in the same manner as we do, may not use the same terminology or may not present such a measure, Core FFO per share may not be comparable among REITs.

The following table reconciles from FFO per share to Core FFO per share (unaudited):

Property Operations – Same Store Facilities

The Same Store Facilities represent those facilities that have been owned and operated on a stabilized level of occupancy, revenues and cost of operations since January 1, 2016. We review the operations of our Same Store Facilities, which excludes facilities whose operating trends are significantly affected by factors such as casualty events, as well as recently developed or acquired facilities, to more effectively evaluate the ongoing performance of our self-storage portfolio in 2016, 2017 and 2018. We believe the Same Store information is used by investors and REIT analysts in a similar manner. The following table summarizes the historical operating results of these 2,046 facilities (131.2 million net rentable square feet) that represent approximately 81% of the aggregate net rentable square feet of our U.S. consolidated self-storage portfolio at December 31, 2018.

The following table summarizes selected quarterly financial data with respect to the Same Store Facilities (unaudited):

The following table sets forth selected market trends in our Same Store Facilities:

Property Operations – Non Same Store Facilities

The Non Same Store Facilities at December 31, 2018 represent 383 facilities that were not stabilized with respect to occupancies or rental rates since January 1, 2016 or that we did not own as of January 1, 2016. The following table summarizes operating data with respect to the Non Same Store Facilities (unaudited). Additional data and metrics with respect to these facilities is included in the MD&A in our December 31, 2018 Form 10-K.

Investing and Capital Activities

During the three months ended December 31, 2018, we acquired nine self-storage facilities (two each in Georgia and Nebraska and one each in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Washington) with 0.6 million net rentable square feet for $73.2 million. During 2018, we acquired 25 self-storage facilities (six in Minnesota, three in Nebraska, two each in Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, and one each in Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Washington) with 1.6 million net rentable square feet for $181.0 million. Subsequent to December 31, 2018, we acquired or were under contract to acquire 14 self-storage facilities (nine in Virginia and one each in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Michigan) with 0.9 million net rentable square feet for $102.4 million.

During the three months ended December 31, 2018, we opened two newly developed facilities and various expansion projects (0.6 million net rentable square feet – 0.2 million in Texas, 0.1 million each in Florida and Virginia and 0.2 million in other states) costing $70 million. During 2018, we completed 18 newly developed facilities and various expansion projects (3.0 million net rentable square feet – 1.2 million in Texas, 0.6 million in Colorado and 1.2 million in other states) costing an aggregate of $348 million. At December 31, 2018, we had various facilities in development (1.7 million net rentable square feet) estimated to cost $253 million and various expansion projects (3.5 million net rentable square feet) estimated to cost $354 million. Our aggregate 5.2 million net rentable square foot pipeline of development and expansion facilities includes 1.4 million in Texas, 1.0 million in Florida, 0.8 million in Minnesota, 0.4 million in Colorado, 0.3 million each in California and North Carolina and 1.0 million in other states. The remaining $322 million of development costs for these projects is expected to be incurred primarily in the next 18 months.

On October 15, 2018, Shurgard Europe completed an initial global offering (the “Offering”), and its shares commenced trading on Euronext Brussels under the “SHUR” symbol. In the Offering, Shurgard Europe issued 25.0 million of its common shares to third parties at a price of €23 per share. Our equity interest, comprised of a direct and indirect pro-rata ownership interest in 31.3 million shares, decreased from 49% to 35.2% as a result of the Offering. While we did not sell any shares in the Offering, and we have no current plans to do so, we recorded a gain on disposition of $151.6 million in the three months ending December 31, 2018, as if we had sold a proportionate share of our investment in Shurgard Europe. Shurgard Europe’s publicly reported information can be obtained on its website, https://corporate.shurgard.eu and on the website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, http://www.bourse.lu.

On October 18, 2018, we sold our property in West London to Shurgard Europe for $42.1 million in cash and recorded a gain on disposition of $31.5 million in the three months ended December 31, 2018.

On February 22, 2019, we called for redemption, and on March 28, 2019, we will redeem, our 6.375% Series Y Preferred Shares for $285 million.

Distributions Declared

On February 19, 2019, our Board of Trustees declared a regular common quarterly dividend of $2.00 per common share. The Board also declared dividends with respect to our various series of preferred shares. All the dividends are payable on March 28, 2019 to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2019.

Fourth Quarter Conference Call

A conference call is scheduled for February 27, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (PST) to discuss the fourth quarter earnings results. The domestic dial-in number is (866) 406-5408, and the international dial-in number is (973) 582-2770 (conference ID number for either domestic or international is 3294554). A simultaneous audio webcast may be accessed by using the link at www.publicstorage.com under “Company Info, Investor Relations, News and Events, Events Calendar.” A replay of the conference call may be accessed through March 13, 2019 by calling (800) 585-8367 (domestic), (404) 537-3406 (international) or by using the link at www.publicstorage.com under “Company Info, Investor Relations, News and Events, Events Calendar.” All forms of replay utilize conference ID number 3294554.

About Public Storage

Public Storage, a member of the S&P 500 and FT Global 500, is a REIT that primarily acquires, develops, owns and operates self-storage facilities. The Company’s headquarters are located in Glendale, California. At December 31, 2018, we had interests in 2,429 self-storage facilities located in 38 states with approximately 162 million net rentable square feet in the United States and we owned a 35.2% common equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage SA (Euronext Brussels:SHUR), which owned 232 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European nations with approximately 13 million net rentable square feet operated under the “Shurgard” brand. We also own a 42% common equity interest in PS Business Parks, Inc. (NYSE:PSB) which owned and operated approximately 28 million rentable square feet of commercial space at December 31, 2018.

Additional information about Public Storage is available on our website, www.publicstorage.com.

We expect to release our 2018 Annual Report on Form I0-K within approximately one business day.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements which may be identified by the use of the words “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “should,” “estimates” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors and risks that may impact future results and performance include, but are not limited to, those described in Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 1, 2018 and in our other filings with the SEC and the following: general risks associated with the ownership and operation of real estate, including changes in demand, risk related to development of self-storage facilities, potential liability for environmental contamination, natural disasters and adverse changes in laws and regulations governing property tax, real estate and zoning; risks associated with downturns in the national and local economies in the markets in which we operate, including risks related to current economic conditions and the economic health of our customers; the impact of competition from new and existing self-storage and commercial facilities and other storage alternatives; difficulties in our ability to successfully evaluate, finance, integrate into our existing operations and manage acquired and developed properties; risks associated with international operations including, but not limited to, unfavorable foreign currency rate fluctuations, changes in tax laws, and local and global economic uncertainty that could adversely affect our earnings and cash flows; risks related to our participation in joint ventures; the impact of the regulatory environment as well as national, state and local laws and regulations including, without limitation, those governing environmental, taxes, our tenant reinsurance business and labor, and risks related to the impact of new laws and regulations; risks of increased tax expense associated either with a possible failure by us to qualify as a REIT, or with challenges to the determination of taxable income for our taxable REIT subsidiaries; changes in federal or state tax laws related to the taxation of REITs and other corporations; security breaches or a failure of our networks, systems or technology could adversely impact our business, customer and employee relationships; risks associated with the self-insurance of certain business risks, including property and casualty insurance, employee health insurance and workers compensation liabilities; difficulties in raising capital at a reasonable cost; delays in the development process; ongoing litigation and other legal and regulatory actions which may divert management’s time and attention, require us to pay damages and expenses or restrict the operation of our business; and economic uncertainty due to the impact of war or terrorism. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. All of our forward-looking statements, including those in this press release, are qualified in their entirety by this statement. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, new estimates, or other factors, events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except where expressly required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not rely on any forward-looking statements in this press release, or which management may make orally or in writing from time to time, as predictions of future events nor guarantees of future performance.

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Ryan Burke
(818) 244-8080, Ext. 1141

Source: Public Storage