Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
We are an internally managed REIT with a focus on acquiring and managing properties leased primarily to the USPS, ranging from last-mile post offices to industrial facilities. We believe that we are the largest owner and manager, measured by net leasable square footage, of properties that are leased to the USPS.
We were organized in the state of Maryland on November 19, 2018 and commenced operations upon completion of our initial public offering ("IPO") on May 17, 2019 and the related formation transactions. Our Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PSTL”. We elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with our short tax year ended December 31, 2019.
We conduct our business through a traditional UPREIT structure in which our properties are owned by our Operating Partnership directly or through limited partnerships, limited liability companies or other subsidiaries. We are the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership through which our properties are directly or indirectly owned. As of December 31, 2023, we owned approximately 80.7% of the outstanding common units of limited partnership interest in our Operating Partnership (the “OP Units”), including long term incentive units of our Operating Partnership (the “LTIP Units”). Our Board of Directors oversees our business and affairs.
Real Estate Investments
As of December 31, 2023, we had net investments of approximately $528.8 million in 1,509 real estate properties (including two properties accounted for as financing leases). The properties are located in 49 states and one territory, totaling approximately 5.9 million net leasable interior square feet in the aggregate and were 99.7% occupied as of December 31, 2023 with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately three years. As of December 31, 2023, we manage, through our taxable REIT subsidiary ("TRS"), an additional 397 properties owned by our chief executive officer, Andrew Spodek, and his affiliates. We have a right of first offer to purchase 250 of our 397 managed properties.
The majority of our leases are modified double-net leases, whereby the USPS is responsible for utilities, certain maintenance obligations and reimbursement of property taxes and the landlord is responsible for insurance, roof and structure. We believe this structure helps insulate us from increases in certain operating expenses and provides a more predictable cash flow. We believe the overall opportunity for consolidation that exists within the postal logistics network is very attractive. We continue to execute our strategy to acquire and consolidate postal properties that we believe will generate strong earnings for our shareholders. We may also sell assets from time to time to recycle capital.
2023 Highlights
• We collected 100% of our contractual rents and our owned portfolio was 99.7% occupied as of December 31, 2023.
• We acquired 223 properties leased primarily to the USPS totaling approximately 532,000 net leasable interior square feet, for approximately $78 million, excluding closing costs, during 2023.
• We amended our existing Credit Facilities (as defined below) in July 2023 to, among other things, add a daily simple Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") based option to the term SOFR-based floating interest rate option as a benchmark rate for borrowings under the Credit Facilities and further exercised $35.0 million of accordion under the term loans. We also entered into two interest rate swaps in 2023 with a total notional amount of $35.0 million to manage our interest rate risks under the Credit Facilities.
• We issued 1,861,407 shares of Class A common stock under our at-the-market equity offering program (the "ATM Program") during 2023, raising approximately $27.8 million in gross proceeds. In August 2023, we also amended the ATM Program to increase the aggregate offering amount under the program from up to $50.0 million to up to $150.0 million.
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Dividends
• We have increased our quarterly dividend from $0.2375 for the fourth quarter 2022 dividend to $0.24 for the fourth quarter 2023 dividend. Our dividend per share has increased every year since our IPO. Although we expect to continue our policy of paying regular dividends, we cannot guarantee that we will maintain our current level of dividends, that we will continue our recent pattern of increasing dividends per share or what our actual dividend yield will be in any future period.
Tenant Concentration
We acquire and manage postal properties and report our business as a single reportable segment. Our properties are leased primarily to the USPS. See the discussions under Item 1A. "Risk Factors—Risks Related to the USPS". In this Annual Report, we make reference to certain financial and operational data in the public reports of the USPS filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (the "PRC"), available at www.usps.com or www.prc.gov. Information on, or accessible through, the USPS’ website or the PRC’s website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this Annual Report or any other filing we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Government Regulations
Compliance with various governmental regulations has an impact on our business, including our capital expenditures, earnings and competitive position. The impact of these governmental regulations can be material to our business. We incur costs to monitor and take action to comply with governmental regulations that are applicable to our business, which include, among others: federal securities laws and regulations; REIT and other tax laws and regulations; environmental and health and safety laws and regulations; legal requirements for federal government contractors; local zoning, usage and other regulations relating to real property; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (the "ADA").
Our properties must comply with Title III of the ADA to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” as defined by the ADA. The ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. We believe the existing properties are in substantial compliance with the ADA and that we will not be required to make substantial capital expenditures to address the requirements of the ADA. However, noncompliance with the ADA could result in imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and to make alterations as appropriate in this respect.
Human Capital Resource Management
As of December 31, 2023, we employed 46 full-time employees. Our employees are primarily located at our corporate office in Cedarhurst, New York. Our employees are not members of any labor union, and we consider our relations with our employees to be satisfactory. As of December 31, 2023, 26% of our employees, 19% of our named executive officers and key employees (defined as all employees with a title of vice president and higher) and 20% of the members of our Board of Directors were female and 35% of our employees identified as a member of an ethnic and/or racial minority group.
Our human capital goals are focused on identifying, recruiting, retaining, developing, incentivizing and integrating our existing and prospective employees. We endeavor to maintain workplaces that are free from discrimination or harassment on the basis of color, race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or expression or any other status protected by applicable law. The basis for any recruitment, hiring, development, training, compensation and advancement at the Company are qualifications, performance, skills and experience. We believe our employees are fairly compensated, and compensation and promotion decisions are made without regard to gender, race and ethnicity. Employees are routinely recognized for outstanding performance.
We maintain both cash- and equity-based compensation programs designed to attract, retain and motivate our employees. We recognize the importance of the health, safety and environmental well-being of our employees, and are committed to providing and maintaining a healthy work environment. We offer a comprehensive benefits program as well as a 401(k) program, flexible spending accounts, income protection through our sick pay and long-term disability policies, paid vacation, paid parental leave and holiday and personal days to balance work and personal life. In addition to our benefits program, we offer a number of work life enhancements at our corporate headquarters, including, but not limited to, healthy snacks and ergonomic workstations. We encourage our employees to take advantage of various internal training opportunities and those provided by outside service providers to the extent these are business related. All corporate employees, including
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members of our management team, receive periodic training about our business, the Company’s structure and the important laws and policies that affect the Company. In addition, many of our employees hold professional licenses and we encourage them to attend, and reimburse them for, qualified ongoing continuing professional education. We also provide all of our employees with biannual performance and career development reviews.
Environmental Matters
Under various federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, as a current or former owner of real property, we may be liable for costs of the removal or remediation of certain hazardous substances, waste or petroleum products at, on, in or under the properties that we own, including costs for investigation or remediation, natural resource damages or third-party liability for personal injury or property damage. These laws often impose liability without regard to fault including whether the owner or operator knew of, or were responsible for, the presence or release of such materials and, therefore, it is possible that we could incur these costs even after we sell some of the properties. Some of our properties have been, or may in the future be, impacted by contamination arising from current or prior uses of the property or adjacent properties for commercial, industrial or other purposes. In addition to the costs of cleanup, environmental contamination can affect the value of a property and, therefore, an owner’s ability to borrow using the property as collateral or to sell the property.
Changes in laws increasing the potential liability for environmental conditions existing on properties or increasing the restrictions on discharges or other conditions may result in significant unanticipated expenditures or may otherwise adversely affect the operations of the tenants of our properties, which could materially and adversely affect us. We maintain an insurance policy for environmental liabilities at all of our properties. However, any potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities may be in excess of the coverage limits of, or not covered by, such insurance policy. We may also not be aware of all potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities at the properties in our portfolio or the properties that we acquire in the future. As a result, we could potentially incur material liability for these issues.
In addition, some of our buildings contain, or at one time contained, lead-based paint, asbestos containing materials, underground storage tanks used to store petroleum products or other potentially hazardous or toxic substances, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects or property damage or costs for remediation. Some of our properties have also at one time developed and may in future develop harmful mold or other indoor air quality issues. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to lead, asbestos or airborne toxins or irritants above certain levels can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of lead, asbestos, underground storage tanks, mold or other airborne contaminants or other potentially hazardous or toxic substances at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove such contaminants from the affected property. In addition, the presence of potentially hazardous or toxic substances could expose us to liability from our tenants, employees of our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury occurs.
Availability of Reports Filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
A copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to such reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available, free of charge, on our Internet website (www.postalrealtytrust.com). All of these reports are made available on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the Audit and Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees of our Board of Directors are also available on our website at https://investor.postalrealtytrust.com/govdocs, and are available in print to any stockholder upon written request to Postal Realty Trust, Inc. c/o Investor Relations, 75 Columbia Avenue, Cedarhurst, New York 11516. Our telephone number is (516) 295-7820. The information on or accessible through our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Annual Report or incorporated into any other filing we file or furnish with the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information we file with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
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