After a decent first half of 2021, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. continued that momentum through the summer, according to its third-quarter earnings report released after the close of trading Thursday.
The Wyomissing-based real estate investment trust reported adjusted funds from operations of $207.2 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, in the period that ended Sept. 30. Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.
It didn’t quite meet expectations from Wall Street. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research by The Associated Press was for funds from operations of 89 cents per share.
Still, it was a year-over-year improvement as the funds from operations during the third quarter of 2020 was $194.6 million.
“The strong earnings growth GLPI achieved in the first half of 2021 continued with another period of consistent earnings in the third quarter,” Peter Carlino, chairman and CEO of GLPI, said in a statement. “Our third quarter net income and AFFO exceeded the comparable period in 2020 by 17.3% and 6.4%, respectively, demonstrating our ability to consistently build value by working creatively and collaboratively with existing tenants through the pandemic, while establishing new relationships with leading regional gaming operators.
Carlino reported that the sale of operations of the Hollywood Casino Perryville in Maryland to Wyomissing-based Penn National Gaming Inc. brought in proceeds of $31 million.
“We are delighted to further expand our relationship with Penn National Gaming through this transaction while enhancing GLPI’s forward earnings visibility by divesting and converting a TRS (total return swap) operating asset into a property generating recurring rental income,” he said.
The company said it had net income of $149.1 million, or 63 cents per share.
The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $298.7 million in the period, exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks for the AP expected $294.7 million.
Source: Berkshire mont