Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL) is an industrial-focused, diversified net lease real estate investment trust (REIT) that has demonstrated resilience and strategic execution amidst a challenging market environment. With a well-diversified portfolio, strong operational expertise, and a disciplined capital allocation strategy, BNL is positioned to drive long-term value creation for its shareholders.
Financials
In the fiscal year 2023, BNL reported annual net income of $155.5 million, annual revenue of $442.9 million, annual operating cash flow of $271.1 million, and annual free cash flow of $224.8 million. These robust financial results underscore the strength and stability of BNL's business model.
For the first quarter of 2024, BNL generated AFFO of $71 million, or $0.36 per share, representing a 5.9% increase in per share results year-over-year. The company's performance was driven by lower interest and G&A expenses, with bad debt excluding a specific tenant accounting for just 15 basis points during the quarter.
Business Overview
BNL is an industrial-focused, diversified net lease REIT that invests in primarily single-tenant commercial real estate properties that are net leased on a long-term basis to a diversified group of tenants. As of March 31, 2024, the company's portfolio includes 759 properties, with 752 properties located in 44 U.S. states and seven properties located in four Canadian provinces.
The company's portfolio is highly diversified across property type, geography, tenant, and industry, providing stability and resilience in the face of market volatility. BNL's properties are occupied by approximately 200 different commercial tenants who operate 188 different brands that are diversified across 53 different industries, with no single tenant accounting for more than 4.3% of the company's annualized base rent (ABR).
BNL's portfolio is also characterized by strong in-place leases with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 10.6 years, excluding renewal options. Approximately 97.4% of the company's leases have contractual rent escalations, with an ABR weighted average minimum increase of 2.0%, providing a source of organic revenue growth and a measure of inflation protection.
Operational Execution and Portfolio Optimization
One of the key highlights of BNL's recent performance has been its successful execution on its healthcare portfolio simplification strategy. During the first quarter of 2024, the company completed the sale of 37 clinically oriented healthcare assets for $251.7 million, reducing its healthcare exposure to approximately 13% of its ABR as of March 31, 2024. The company's near-term goal is to reduce its healthcare exposure below 10% of its ABR, at which point it will naturally become a less emphasized portion of the portfolio, similar to office.
BNL's ability to efficiently execute on this strategic initiative has provided the company with additional dry powder to pursue high-quality investment opportunities. Despite the challenging market environment, the company was able to invest $202 million year-to-date, with an additional $122 million of investments currently under control.
Navigating a Challenging Market Environment
The current market environment for net lease transactions has been historically challenging, with the first quarter of 2024 representing the lowest single-tenant net lease transaction volume in at least 15 years. BNL has responded to this environment by leveraging its operational expertise and direct relationships to source off-market and creative investment opportunities.
For example, the company recently closed on a $149.5 million investment in a retail center in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was able to step in as a holistic capital provider and acquire seven triple-net retail assets with strong real estate fundamentals and tenants at above-market capitalization rates. Additionally, BNL closed on a $65 million single-tenant industrial campus in California occupied by a leading candy manufacturer, further diversifying its portfolio and enhancing its growth profile.
While the broader market environment remains challenging, BNL is well-positioned to navigate these conditions through its disciplined underwriting, operational expertise, and ability to source unique investment opportunities. The company's focus on maintaining an investment grade balance sheet and prudent leverage profile, with a net debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre ratio of 4.8x as of March 31, 2024, provides additional flexibility and resilience.
Diversified Growth Strategies
In addition to its traditional net lease acquisition strategy, BNL is leveraging its operational expertise and relationships to pursue a diversified growth strategy that includes build-to-suit transactions, forward commitments of completed developments, and other directly sourced opportunities. These transaction formats allow the company to access high-quality opportunities and create embedded AFFO growth for future periods, which, when coupled with its in-place portfolio rent escalations, produce a compelling run-rate growth profile.
The company's $202 million of year-to-date investments, including the previously mentioned retail and industrial transactions, demonstrate its ability to execute on these creative growth strategies. BNL's pipeline remains robust, and the company is actively pursuing a handful of build-to-suit opportunities that it expects to contribute to its growth in 2025 and beyond.
Liquidity
BNL maintains a strong and flexible financial position, with a net debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre ratio of 4.8x as of March 31, 2024. The company's debt structure is predominantly fixed-rate, with a weighted average interest rate of 3.71% inclusive of interest rate swap agreements. BNL has no material debt maturities until 2026, providing ample runway to navigate the current market environment.
The company's liquidity position is also robust, with $926.2 million of available capacity under its $1.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2024. BNL's disciplined capital allocation strategy, which includes the potential for share repurchases given the current implied cap rate on its shares, further enhances its financial flexibility and ability to create shareholder value.
Risks and Challenges
While BNL's portfolio has demonstrated resilience, the company remains vigilant in monitoring potential pockets of credit risk, particularly in industries sensitive to discretionary consumer spending. The company's diversified portfolio and operational expertise, however, limit the impact of any potential individual credit event.
Outlook
Looking ahead, BNL has raised its per share AFFO guidance for 2024 to a range of $1.41 to $1.43, reflecting the company's ability to execute on its healthcare portfolio simplification strategy and growth objectives. This revised guidance incorporates investment volume between $350 million and $700 million, disposition volume between $300 million and $500 million, and cash G&A between $32 million and $34 million.
Conclusion
Broadstone Net Lease is a well-positioned, industrial-focused net lease REIT that has demonstrated its ability to navigate challenging market conditions through strategic execution and a diversified growth strategy. With a high-quality, diversified portfolio, strong operational expertise, and a disciplined capital allocation approach, BNL is poised to drive sustainable growth and create long-term value for its shareholders.