The five largest publicly traded, U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs)—CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Life Storage Inc., National Storage Affiliates Trust and Public Storage Inc.—have released financial statements for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. In general, the companies indicated gains in funds from operations (FFO), net operating income (NOI) and occupancy.

“We closed out a remarkable 2021 with continued execution across all of our strategic growth objectives,” said Christopher P. Marr, president and CEO of CubeSmart. “We are confident that 2022 will be another excellent year for our industry and our company.”

Joe Saffire, CEO of Life Storage, expressed similar sentiments. “We continued to successfully accelerate our growth in 2021. Each day our team executed to deliver exceptional results, and I am very proud of what we accomplished together … With a growing acquisition and third-party management pipeline, we are well-positioned to continue executing on our strategic initiatives to further grow shareholder value in 2022 and beyond.”

CubeSmart

CubeSmart reported FFO per share of $0.58 during the fourth quarter of 2021, up from $0.47 a year ago. Same-store NOI at its 506 facilities grew 20.6% year over year. The company attributed this to a 15.8% increase in revenue and a 4.2% increase in operating expenses. Same-store locations contributed 87.7% of property NOI during the quarter.

Same-store physical occupancy was 93.3% as of Dec. 31, which was equal to a year ago. The company’s total-owned portfolio, representing 607 facilities and comprising 43.6 million square feet of rentable space, had a physical occupancy of 92% at the end of the year.

CubeSmart acquired 62 wholly owned properties in the quarter, including its $1.7 billion purchase of the Storage West portfolio, which added 57 facilities across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The REIT closed on five additional properties in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and Pennsylvania for $85.8 million.

At quarter-end, the company had three joint-venture projects under construction to which it’s expected to contribute $92.3 million.

On Nov. 2, the company declared a dividend of 43 cents per common share, up from 34 cents the previous quarter. The dividend was paid on Jan. 18 to common shareholders of record on Jan. 3.

CubeSmart owns or manages 1,258 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises 87.8 million square feet.

Extra Space Storage Inc.

Same-store revenue and NOI at Extra Space increased 18.3% and 24.2%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2020. Core FFO, excluding adjustments for non-cash interest, was $1.91 per diluted share, a 29.1% increase over the previous year. Same-store occupancy was 95.3% as of Dec. 31 compared to 94.9% a year prior.

During the quarter, the company acquired 37 operating facilities and one property at Certificate of Occupancy for approximately $699.4 million. It also purchased 28 facilities in conjunction with joint-venture partners for $455.5 million, to which it contributed $146.2 million.

Extra Space paid a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per common share, which was equal to the previous quarter. It was paid on Dec. 31 to common shareholders of record on Dec. 15.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 2,096 self-storage properties in 41 states and Washington, D.C. The company’s properties comprise approximately 1.5 million units and 160.9 million square feet of rentable space.

Life Storage Inc.

Same-store revenue and NOI at Life Storage increased 16.9% and 23.9%, respectively, compared to 2020. FFO was $1.41, compared to $1.02 a year ago, while adjusted FFO for the quarter was also $1.41 per fully diluted common share, compared to $1.07.

Net income attributable to common shareholders for the fourth quarter was $74.1 million, or $0.90 per fully diluted share. For the same period in 2020, those numbers were $41.6 million and $0.57, respectively.

Same-store revenue for the company’s 531 wholly owned, stabilized facilities increased 16.9% year over year, impacted by an increase in average occupancy of 110 basis points and an 15.2% bump in rental rates. Overall occupancy as of Dec. 31 was 93%, up from 92.2% a year ago, with units renting for an average of $16.84 per square foot.

During the quarter, Life Storage acquired 50 facilities across 11 states for $826.6 million. The assets include 17 in Florida, nine in Georgia, six in Connecticut, four each in Illinois and Texas, three in North Carolina, two each in Colorado and South Carolina, and one each in Maine, Tennessee and Virginia. The company also purchased 13 facilities in conjunction with joint-venture partners for $291 million, to which it contributed $52 million.

Subsequent to quarter-end, the company approved a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, which was up from $0.86 the previous quarter. It was paid on Jan. 26 to shareholders of record on Jan. 14.

Based in Buffalo, New York, Life Storage operates about 1,100 self-storage facilities in 35 states. Its portfolio of owned and managed facilities comprises more than 78.6 million square feet.

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT)

Core FFO per share was $0.64 during the fourth quarter, a 39.1% year-over-year increase. NSAT net income was $42.9 million, a 75% increase compared to the same period in 2020.

NSAT reported diluted earnings per share of $0.25 during the quarter. Same-store NOI was up 21.7%, driven primarily by an 17.4% increase in same-store revenue and partially offset by a 6.5% increase in same-store operating expenses.

As of Dec. 31, same-store occupancy was 94.8%, an increase of 310 basis points from a year ago. Average annualized rental revenue per occupied square foot for same-store facilities was $13.87 during the quarter compared to $12.28 in 2020.

During the quarter, NSAT acquired 110 properties for more than $1.1 billion, adding approximately 7.7 million rentable square feet and 59,300 units to the company portfolio.

On Nov. 18, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per common share, which was up from $0.41 the previous quarter. It was paid on Dec. 30 to holders of record on Dec. 15.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colorado, NSAT is a self-administered and -managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The company operates 1,050 storage facilities in 42 states and Puerto Rico. Its portfolio comprises approximately 67.8 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.

Public Storage Inc.

Revenue for same-store facilities at Public Storage increased 13.7%, or $87.5 million, over the same quarter in 2020, primarily due to higher realized annual rent per available square foot and weighted average square foot occupancy. Operations costs for same-store facilities increased 18.8%, or $27.5 million, compared to the previous year. This was attributed primarily to a 55% ($22.7 million) increase in property-tax expense.

FFO was $3.67 per diluted common share, compared to $2.57 for the same period of 2020, marking a 42.8% increase. NOI increased $120.8 million, which was driven by a $60 million increase in same-store facilities and a $60.8 million increase from other non-stabilized stores.

During the quarter, Public Storage acquired 106 facilities across 14 states for $2.3 billion. The properties comprise 11.5 million net rentable square feet. The company also completed two development projects and various expansions in California and North Carolina, adding 400,000 net rentable square feet to its portfolio for $46.9 million.

The company reported a regular common quarterly dividend of $2 per common share, which was equal to the previous quarter. It also declared dividends with respect to various series of preferred shares. All the dividends are payable on March 31 to shareholders of record as of March 16.

Based in Glendale, California, Public Storage has interests in 2,787 self-storage facilities in 39 states, with approximately 198 million net rentable square feet. It holds a 35 percent interest in Shurgard Self Storage SA, which has 255 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 1.3 million net rentable square feet.

Sources:
CubeSmart, CubeSmart Reports 2021 Annual Results
Extra Space, Extra Space Storage Inc. Reports 2021 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results
Life Storage, Life Storage Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results
National Storage Affiliates Trust, National Storage Affiliates Trust Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results
Public Storage, Public Storage Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2021