EPR Properties

Good day and thank you for sending by. Welcome to the fourth quarter 2023 EPR Properties Earnings Conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during a session, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I will now hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Brian Moriarty, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications. Please go ahead.

Okay. Thank you, Victor. Thanks for joining us today for our fourth quarter 2023 and year-end earnings call and webcast. Participants on today's call are Greg Silvers, Chairman and CEO, Greg Zimmerman, Executive Vice President and CIO, and Mark Peterson, Executive Vice President and CFO. We'll start the call by informing you that this may include forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Security Litigation Act of 1995, identified by such words as will be, intend, continue, believe, may expect, hope, anticipate, or other such comparable terms. The company's actual financial condition and the results of operations may vary materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Discussion of those factors that could cause results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are contained in the company's SEC filings, including the company's reports on Form 10-K, and 10-Q. Additionally, this call will contain references to certain non-GAAP measures which we believe are useful in evaluating the company's performance. A reconciliation of these measures to the most materially comparable GAAP measures are included in today's earnings release and supplemental information furnished to the SEC under Form 8-K. If you wish to follow along, Today's earnings release supplemental and earnings call presentation are all available on the Investor Center page of the company's website, www.eprkc.com. Now I'll turn the call over to Greg Silvers.

Thank you, Brian. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's fourth quarter and year-end 2023 earnings call and webcast. 2023 was a year of meaningful progress as we delivered strong earnings growth executed our investment spending, delivered sector-leading total shareholder return, and positioned the company to achieve sustainable growth in the coming years. During the year, we saw a sustained level of strong performance in our non-theater portfolio, as evidenced by a consistent 2.6 times coverage level. Additionally, we were pleased to see over 20% growth in 2023 North American box office revenues versus the previous year. This growth translates to an increased coverage level of 1.7 times in our theater portfolio, which is squarely in line with pre-COVID coverage levels. It's important to highlight that we achieved this coverage level even as 2023 box office revenues were down approximately 20% from 2019. This coverage data reflects the strength of our theater portfolio along with the sustained trend of increased food and beverage per cap spending and along with operating efficiencies implemented by tenants. This coverage data is also consistent with our anticipation that we would achieve pre-COVID theater coverage levels prior to reaching pre-COVID box office levels. While last year's strikes will interrupt the linear annual growth in box office revenues due to title delays, the quality of our portfolio continues to endure and positions us well for a very favorable-looking 2025 film slate. Our investments during the year provided increased diversification and highlight our ability to source what are non-marketed opportunities. We ended the year with positive momentum in our investment spending, and as we move into 2024, we will continue to leverage this strength while remaining disciplined in our capital deployment and delivering reliable earnings growth. Our investment pipeline includes investments across our target property types with both new and existing relationship-based customers. We are also announcing a 3.6% increase in our monthly dividend to common shareholders. Considering our 2024 earnings guidance along with our dividend yield, we are positioned to deliver strong returns. While our equity remains at historically discounted price levels, the fundamentals of our business continue to strengthen, and our thesis on experiential real estate remains intact. Consumers have demonstrated consistent demand for the experiences our customers have to offer, and we look forward to again delivering for our customers and shareholders in 2024. Now I'll turn the call over to Greg Zimmerman to go over the business in greater detail.