Getty Realty Corporation

Good morning, and welcome to the Getty Realty's earnings conference call for the fourth quarter of 2021. This call is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Prior to starting the call, Joshua Dicker, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of the company will read a safe harbor statement and provide information about non-GAAP financial measures. Please go ahead, Mr. Dicker.

Thank you. Excuse me. I would like to thank you all for joining us for Getty Realty's fourth quarter and year-end earnings conference call. Yesterday afternoon, the company released its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021. The Form 8K and earnings released are available in the investor relations section of our website at gettyrealty.com. Certain statements made in the course of this call are not based on historical information and may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to trends, events, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include our 2022 guidance and may also include statements made by management in their remarks and in response to questions, including regarding the company's future operations, future financial performance, and the company's acquisition or redevelopment plans and opportunities. We caution you that such statements reflect our best judgment based on factors currently known to us and that actual events or results could differ materially. I refer you to the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, and our other filings made with the SEC for a more detailed discussion of the risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements made today. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which reflect our view only as of the date hereof. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements that may be made in the course of this call. Also, please refer to our earnings release for a discussion of our use of non-GAAP financial measures, including our updated definition of adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, and our reconciliation of those measures to net earnings. With that, let me turn the call over to Christopher Constant, our Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Josh. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our earnings call for the fourth quarter and full year 2021. Joining us on the call today are Mark O'Lear, our Chief Operating Officer, and Brian Dickman, our Chief Financial Officer. I will lead off today's call by providing commentary on our year summarize our performance for the fourth quarter and year-end of 2021, and highlight the company's investment and capital markets activities. As usual, Mark and Brian are prepared to take you through the portfolio and financial results in detail. As we enter 2021, we set a number of goals related to further diversifying and growing our portfolio, scaling our platform, increasing earnings, and delivering strong returns to shareholders. I'm pleased to report that we achieved, and in many cases, exceeded all of our 2021 objectives. We invested over $200 million across more than 100 convenience and automotive retail properties during the year, including more than $64 million for the fourth quarter, and benefited from the continued strength of our in-place portfolio, from which we collected 100% of this year's rent and all of last year's COVID-related rent deferrals. Our strong external growth Contractual rent escalations and contributions from our completed redevelopment projects resulted in a growth of 8% in cash rental income, a 14% increase in adjusted funds from operations or ASFO, and a 7% increase in our ASFO per share in 2012. Our investment activity for the year reflected a more diversified set of target asset classes, while maintaining a disciplined investment approach. Our strategy is to acquire high-quality real estate across the convenience and automotive retail sectors and to partner with strong and growing regional and national branded operators. Our investment spending in 2021 was the most diverse in the company's history as we acquired a variety of high-quality convenience store, car wash, auto service, and drive-thru restaurant assets. We also introduced several new tenants to our portfolio, including Flash Markets, Mavis Tires, Refuel, Splash Car Wash, Vaseline, and Whitewater Express Car Wash, and expanded our existing tenant relationships with high-quality operators such as Go Car Wash, United Pacific, and Sips Car Wash. We are pleased by the success of our development funding program for new to industry sites throughout the year and believe it complements both our core sale leaseback financing product and our ongoing redevelopment initiative. Having a flexible offering allows Getty to support our tenants as they grow their businesses acquisitions, ground-up development or redevelopment, and modernization of existing stores. In addition, rent commenced on two redevelopments with 7-Eleven for new convenience store locations during the quarter, bringing our 2021 total to five completed projects. Since inception of the program, we have completed 24 projects and we maintain a solid pipeline of additional redevelopments, which we expect to come online over the next one to five years. Our balance sheet ended 2021 in excellent shape. We recast our revolving credit facility at more favorable terms in October, but we were active with our ATM throughout the fourth quarter, ending the year with leverage under five times net to EBITDA. As further demonstration to our commitment to financing our company for the long term and supporting our growth initiatives, two days ago, we announced the issuance of $225 million of senior unsecured notice on investment activity and proactively refinance our notes maturing in June 2023. Post this transaction, our revolving credit facility is completely undrawn. We've addressed all debt maturities until 2025. I want to reiterate our commitment to effectively executing both new investments and the active asset management of our portfolio. We remain focused on acquiring high-quality retail real estate occupied by national and regional operators. transportation in the United States, and we believe mobile consumers are prioritizing convenience, speed, quality, and service more than ever before. Convenience stores, car washes, auto service centers, parts retailers, drive-thru restaurants, these are the places where consumers are spending money in their cars and on their cars, and where we will continue to allocate capital. Our team is as focused as ever on the growth of this company, and markets across the country, as well as to unlock embedded value through selective redevelopments. We believe our success in 2021 demonstrates our ability to source opportunities that align with our investment strategies, and that we are in a position to continue driving additional shareholder value in 2022 and beyond. With that, I'll turn the call over to Mark to discuss our portfolio and investment activities.