MGM Growth Properties LLC reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020. Net income attributable to MGP Class A shareholders for the quarter was $41.5 million, or $0.31 per dilutive share, and for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $76.1 million, or $0.59 per dilutive share.
Financial highlights for the fourth quarter of 2020:
Financial highlights for the year ended December 31, 2020:
On December 2, 2020, the Operating Partnership redeemed and retired 23.5 million Operating Partnership units for cash, which represented the remaining $700 million under its previously announced agreement with MGM Resorts International (“MGM”) to deliver cash for up to $1.4 billion of MGM’s existing Operating Partnership units. As of December 31, 2020, there were approximately 280.0 million Operating Partnership units outstanding in the Operating Partnership of which MGM owned approximately 148.5 million, or 53.0%, of the Operating Partnership units in the Operating Partnership while MGP owns the remaining 47.0%.
“While 2020 presented a unique set of challenges, MGP successfully completed transactions that put us on a solid footing to continue to execute on our long-term business strategy. We acquired majority ownership of the real estate assets of the MGM Grand Las Vegas through our joint venture with Blackstone and completed $1.4 billion of unit redemption transactions that helped grow the company and diversify our shareholder base,” said James Stewart, CEO of MGM Growth Properties. “The strength of our business model was again demonstrated through our 100% rent collection record and 3.7% annualized dividend increase over the year. We remain focused on continuing to grow the company and deliver long-term shareholder value.”
The following table provides a reconciliation of MGP’s consolidated net income to FFO, AFFO and Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2020 and for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020:
Three Months Ended December |
Twelve Months Ended December |
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Consolidated |
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(In thousands, except unit and per unit amounts) |
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures |
|||||||
Net income |
$ |
91,260 |
$ |
160,371 |
|||
Depreciation1 |
58,161 |
236,853 |
|||||
Share of depreciation of unconsolidated affiliate |
10,471 |
36,832 |
|||||
Property transactions, net |
192 |
195,182 |
|||||
Funds From Operations |
160,084 |
629,238 |
|||||
Amortization of financing costs and cash flow hedges |
6,921 |
20,017 |
|||||
Share of amortization of financing costs of unconsolidated affiliate |
64 |
226 |
|||||
Non-cash compensation expense |
858 |
2,854 |
|||||
Straight-line rental revenues, excluding lease incentive asset |
13,633 |
51,679 |
|||||
Share of straight-line rental revenues of unconsolidated affiliate |
(12,866) |
(44,950) |
|||||
Amortization of lease incentive asset and deferred revenue on non-normal tenant improvements |
4,628 |
18,509 |
|||||
Acquisition-related expenses |
— |
980 |
|||||
Non-cash ground lease rent, net |
258 |
1,036 |
|||||
Other expenses |
182 |
18,999 |
|||||
Gain on unhedged interest rate swaps, net |
(7,495) |
(4,664) |
|||||
Provision for income taxes |
3,370 |
9,734 |
|||||
Adjusted Funds From Operations |
169,637 |
703,658 |
|||||
Interest income |
(442) |
(4,345) |
|||||
Interest expense |
64,237 |
228,786 |
|||||
Share of interest expense of unconsolidated affiliate |
13,731 |
47,403 |
|||||
Amortization of financing costs and cash flow hedges |
(6,921) |
(20,017) |
|||||
Share of amortization of financing costs of unconsolidated affiliate |
(64) |
(226) |
|||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
240,178 |
$ |
955,259 |
|||
Weighted average Operating Partnership units outstanding |
|||||||
Basic |
295,922,089 |
310,687,623 |
|||||
Diluted |
296,128,163 |
310,849,330 |
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Net income per Operating Partnership units outstanding |
|||||||
Basic |
$ |
0.31 |
$ |
0.52 |
|||
Diluted |
$ |
0.31 |
$ |
0.52 |
|||
FFO per Operating Partnership unit |
|||||||
Diluted |
$ |
0.54 |
$ |
2.02 |
|||
AFFO per Operating Partnership unit |
|||||||
Diluted |
$ |
0.57 |
$ |
2.26 |
(1) Includes depreciation on Mandalay Bay real estate assets through February 14, 2020. |
Financial Position
The Company had $626.4 million of cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020. Cash received from rent payments under the Master Lease for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020 was $206.9 million and $840.1 million, respectively. Cash received from distributions from the unconsolidated affiliate, MGP BREIT Venture, for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020 was $22.9 million and $81.0 million, respectively.
On January 15, 2021, the Operating Partnership made a cash distribution of $136.5 million relating to the fourth quarter dividend, $72.4 million of which was paid to MGM and $64.1 million of which was paid to MGP. Simultaneously, MGP paid a cash dividend of $0.4875 per share.
“During the fourth quarter, we successfully completed the issuance of $750 million in aggregate principal amount of 3.875% senior notes due 2029, which was upsized from the initial offering of $500 million. The offering permanently financed the unit redemption at the lowest interest rate for a bond offering in our company’s history,” said Andy Chien, CFO of MGM Growth Properties. “Our pro rata net leverage of 5.3x is within our long-term target of 5.0-5.5x and our balance sheet remains well positioned to capitalize on future growth opportunities.”
The Company’s debt at December 31, 2020 was as follows (in thousands):
December 31, 2020 |
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Senior secured credit facility: |
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Senior secured revolving credit facility |
$ |
10,000 |
5.625% senior notes, due 2024 |
1,050,000 |
|
4.625% senior notes, due 2025 |
800,000 |
|
4.50% senior notes, due 2026 |
500,000 |
|
5.75% senior notes, due 2027 |
750,000 |
|
4.50% senior notes, due 2028 |
350,000 |
|
3.875% senior notes, due 2029 |
750,000 |
|
Total principal amount of debt |
4,210,000 |
|
Less: Unamortized discount and debt issuance costs |
(41,041) |
|
Total debt, net of unamortized debt issuance costs |
$ |
4,168,959 |
Conference Call Details
MGP will host a conference call at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time today which will include a brief discussion of these results followed by a question and answer period. The call will be accessible via the Internet through http://www.mgmgrowthproperties.com/events-and-presentations or by calling 1-888-317-6003 for domestic callers and 1-412-317-6061 for international callers. The conference call access code is 8021719. A replay of the call will be available through Tuesday, February 23, 2021. The replay may be accessed by dialing 1-877-344-7529 or 1-412-317-0088. The replay access code is 10151792. The call will be archived at www.mgmgrowthproperties.com. In addition, MGP will post supplemental slides today on its website at http://www.mgmgrowthproperties.com/events-and-presentations, which includes a reconciliation of MGP’s pro rata net leverage.
FFO, FFO per unit, AFFO, AFFO per unit and Adjusted EBITDA are supplemental performance measures that have not been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) that management believes are useful to investors in comparing operating and financial results between periods. Management believes that this is especially true since these measures exclude real estate depreciation and amortization expense and management believes that real estate values fluctuate based on market conditions rather than depreciating in value ratably on a straight-line basis over time. The Company believes such a presentation also provides investors with a meaningful measure of the Company’s operating results in comparison to the operating results of other REITs. Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors to further supplement AFFO and FFO and to provide investors a performance metric which excludes interest expense. In addition to non-cash items, the Company adjusts AFFO and Adjusted EBITDA for acquisition-related expenses. While we do not label these expenses as non-recurring, infrequent or unusual, management believes that it is helpful to adjust for these expenses when they do occur to allow for comparability of results between periods because each acquisition is (and will be) of varying size and complexity and may involve different types of expenses depending on the type of property being acquired and from whom.
FFO, FFO per unit, AFFO, AFFO per unit and Adjusted EBITDA do not represent cash flow from operations as defined by U.S. GAAP, should not be considered as an alternative to net income as defined by U.S. GAAP and are not indicative of cash available to fund all cash flow needs. Investors are also cautioned that FFO, FFO per unit, AFFO, AFFO per unit and Adjusted EBITDA as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other REITs due to the fact that not all real estate companies use the same definitions.
Reconciliations of consolidated net income to FFO, AFFO and Adjusted EBITDA are included in this release. Unless otherwise indicated, the non-GAAP measures discussed herein are related to continuing operations and not discontinued operations.
About MGM Growth Properties
MGM Growth Properties LLC is one of the leading publicly traded real estate investment trusts engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of large-scale destination entertainment and leisure resorts, whose diverse amenities include casino gaming, hotel, convention, dining, entertainment and retail offerings. MGP, together with its joint venture, currently owns a portfolio of properties, consisting of 12 premier destination resorts in Las Vegas and elsewhere across the United States, MGM Northfield Park in Northfield, OH, Empire Resort Casino in Yonkers, NY, as well as a retail and entertainment district, The Park in Las Vegas. As of December 31, 2020, MGP’s portfolio of destination resorts, the Park, Empire Resort Casino, and MGM Northfield Park collectively comprised approximately 32,400 hotel rooms, 1.5 million casino square footage, and 3.6 million convention square footage. As a growth-oriented public real estate entity, MGP expects its relationship with MGM Resorts and other entertainment providers to attractively position MGP for the acquisition of additional properties across the entertainment, hospitality and leisure industries. For more information about MGP, visit the Company’s website at http://www.mgmgrowthproperties.com.