Acquisitions Drive Year-Over-Year Growth

Net Income Per Share Increased 267% - Core FFO Per Share Increased 142%

Old Bethpage – New York, May 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Power REIT (NYSE - AMEX: PW and PW.PRA) (“Power REIT” or the “Trust”), Power REIT with a focused “Triple Bottom Line” strategy and a commitment to profit, planet, and people, today announced that it is providing an update that includes highlights of the Trust’s financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

1Q-2021 HIGHLIGHTS

*See Net Income to Core FFO Reconciliation at the end of this release.

Commenting on the results and Q1-2021 achievements, David Lesser, Chief Executive Officer stated, “Power REIT made significant progress during the quarter by completing a Rights Offering that allowed existing investors to participate at an attractive stage of our growth trajectory. Existing investors were offered the right to purchase additional shares at $26.50. With the common stock trading at $43.98, these investors have generated gains exceeding 66% within a few months. As we deploy the capital raised in additional accretive acquisitions, we also continue to explore non-dilutive capital sources to fund our growth in an effort to create ongoing shareholder value.” 

Mr. Lesser continued, “The updated business plan that Power REIT put into motion in the second half of 2019 is driving substantial growth. This is reflected in our first quarter 2021 Core FFO per common share of $0.46, which increased 142% year over year. Our dynamic growth is a function of the attractive yields Power REIT can achieve with its strategic CEA investments coupled with our relatively small size which amplifies the impact of these transactions. With the current stock price at $43.98 and a forward Core FFO run rate of $3.18 per share, Power REIT trades at a 13.8x multiple. We believe our potential growth rate driven by acquisitions combined with a relatively low forward Core FFO multiple provides a compelling value proposition for investors. We have an active pipeline of acquisitions and hope to announce additional activity in the near future.”

FORWARD CORE FFO PER SHARE

Power REIT has now deployed approximately $10 million of the capital raised in its recently closed Rights Offering across several transactions. This leaves approximately $26.5 million to deploy. Power REIT’s current run-rate of Core FFO based solely on transactions closed and not taking into account deployment of additional capital is approximately $6.6 million as described in our most recently published Investor Presentation which is available at: www.pwreit.com/investors

Reflecting on the impact of Power REIT’s recent Rights Offering and assuming the full deployment of its remaining proceeds into additional acquisitions at an average 16% yield to common equity, the Trust estimates a forward Core FFO per share run rate of $3.18. However, it is important to understand that near-term quarterly results could be below this run-rate due to uncertainty of transaction timing and dilution from the additional shares issued pursuant to the Rights Offering that generated the available cash on Power REIT’s balance sheet for investment.

The following table provides a roadmap and sensitivity analysis for forward Core FFO per share:

DISTRIBUTIONS

For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the Trust paid dividends of approximately $163,000 (or $0.484375 per share per quarter for a total of $1.9375 per share total) on Power REIT’s 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock. 

Subsequent to the end of the first quarter in 2021, the Board of Trustees declared a cash dividend of $0.484375 per depository share on its 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, which equates to an annual dividend rate of $1.9375 per depository share. The dividend is payable on June 15, 2021 to stockholders of record as of May 15, 2021.

CAPITAL MARKETS ACTIVITY

On February 5, 2021 Power REIT closed on its Rights offering, generating proceeds of approximately $36.6 million of proceeds and issued an additional 1,383,394 common shares. Through this Offering, shareholders of record as of December 28, 2020 were offered the opportunity to purchase additional shares at $26.50 per share.

As part of the acquisition of the Canndescent Property (described below), Power REIT issued 192,678 shares of Power REIT Series A Preferred Stock.

Cash and Cash Equivalents totaled approximately $37 million as of March 31, 2021 compared to $5.6 million as of December 31, 2020. The increase is the result of the capital raised in the Rights Offering offset by investment activity.

ACQUISITION ACTIVITY

During the first quarter, Power REIT acquired four new properties and signed long-term leases in conjunctions with these transactions.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

As of May 7 2021, the Trust engaged in the following business activities after the period ended, March 31, 2021:

PORTFOLIO

Power REIT’s portfolio currently comprises:

POWER REIT’S INVESTMENT THESIS

Power REIT believes agricultural production is ripe for technological transformation and the industry is in the early stages of an agricultural venture capital boom that, among other things, will shift food production for certain crops from traditional outdoor farms to Controlled Environment Agriculture “plant factories.” Since a significant portion of any given CEA enterprise is real estate, the Trust has identified a unique opportunity to participate in the upward trend of indoor agriculture.

CEA FOR CANNABIS

Power REIT is focused on investing in the cultivation and production side of the cannabis industry through the ownership of real estate. As such it is not directly in the cannabis business and also not even indirectly involved with facilities that sell cannabis directly to consumers. By serving as a landlord, Power REIT believes it can generate attractive risk adjusted returns related to the fast-growing cannabis industry, which is anticipated to offer a safer approach than investing directly in cannabis operating businesses.

CEA FOR FOOD

CEA for food production is widely adopted in parts of Europe and is becoming an increasingly competitive alternative to traditional farming for a variety of reasons. CEA caters to consumer desires for sustainable and locally grown products. Locally grown indoor produce will have a longer shelf life as the plants are healthier and also travel shorter distances thereby reducing food waste. In addition, a controlled environment produces high-quality pesticide free products that eliminates seasonality and provides highly predictable output that can be used to simplify the supply chain to the grocer’s shelf. 

STATEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY

Power REIT owns real estate related to infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA Facilities), Renewable Energy and Transportation.

CEA Facilities, such as greenhouses, provide an extremely environmentally friendly solution, which consume approximately 70% less energy than indoor growing operations that do not benefit from “free” sunlight. CEA facilities use 90% less water than field grown plants, and all of Power REIT’s greenhouse properties operate without the use of pesticides and avoid agricultural runoff of fertilizers and pesticides. These facilities cultivate medical Cannabis, which has been recommended to help manage a myriad of medical symptoms, including seizures and spasms, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, migraines, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s.

Renewable Energy assets are comprised of land and infrastructure associated with utility scale solar farms. These projects produce power with the use of fossil fuels thereby lowering carbon emissions. The solar farms produce approximately 50,000,000 kWh of electricity annually which is enough to power approximately 4,600 home on a carbon free basis.

Transportation assets are comprised of land associated with a railroad, an environmentally friendly mode of bulk transportation.

ABOUT POWER REIT

Power REIT is a specialized real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns sustainable real estate related to infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled Environment Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation. Power REIT is actively seeking to expand its real estate portfolio related to Controlled Environment Agriculture for the cultivation of food and cannabis.

Power REIT is focused on the “Triple Bottom Line” with a commitment to Profit, Planet and People.

Additional information about Power REIT can be found on its website: www.pwreit.com

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Further details regarding Power REIT’s consolidated results of operations and financial condition as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020 are contained in the Trust’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be viewed at the Trust’s website at www.pwreit.com under the Investor Relations section, and in EDGAR on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are those that predict or describe future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. You can usually identify forward-looking statements as containing the words “believe,” “expect,” “will,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “would,” “should,” “project,” “plan,” “assume” or other similar expressions, or negatives of those expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements contained in this document regarding Power REIT’s future strategy, future operations, projected financial position, estimated future revenues and annual run rate, projected costs, acquisition pipeline, future prospects and growth from potential investments, the future of Power REIT’s industries and results that might be obtained by pursuing management’s current or future objectives are forward-looking statements. While Power REIT believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, Power REIT’s ability to implement its future strategy and achieve the estimated future revenues, including an annual run rate of Core FFO per share of approximately $2.04, as planned, Power REIT’s ability to complete future acquisitions and generate growth from the investments, as planned, Power REIT’s ability to maintain compliance with the NYSE listing requirements, and the other factors discussed in the Power REIT’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Power REIT’s subsequent filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and Power REIT undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This document contains supplemental financial measures that are not calculated pursuant to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), including the measure identified by us as Core Funds From Operations Available to Common Shares (“Core FFO”). Management believes that Core FFO is a useful supplemental measure of the Trust’s operating performance. Management believes that alternative measures of performance, such as net income computed under GAAP, or Funds From Operations computed in accordance with the definition used by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”), include certain financial items that are not indicative of the results provided by the Trust’s asset portfolio and inappropriately affect the comparability of the Trust’s period-over-period performance. These items include non-recurring expenses, such as those incurred in connection with litigation, one-time upfront acquisition expenses that are not capitalized under ASC-805 and certain non-cash expenses, including non-cash, stock-based compensation expense. Therefore, management uses Core FFO and defines it as net income excluding such items. Management believes that, for the foregoing reasons, these adjustments to net income are appropriate. The Trust believes that Core FFO is a useful supplemental measure for the investing community to employ, including when comparing the Trust to other REITs that disclose similarly adjusted FFO figures, and when analyzing changes in the Trust’s performance over time. Readers are cautioned that other REITs may use different adjustments to their GAAP financial measures than we do, and that as a result the Trust’s Core FFO may not be comparable to the FFO measures used by other REITs or to other non-GAAP or GAAP financial measures used by REITs or other companies.

RECONCILIATION NET INCOME TO CORE FFO

Management believes that Core FFO is a useful supplemental measure of the Trust’s operating performance. Management believes that alternative measures of performance, such as net income computed 56 under GAAP, or Funds From Operations computed in accordance with the definition used by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”), include certain financial items that are not indicative of the results provided by the Trust’s asset portfolio and inappropriately affect the comparability of the Trust’s period-over-period performance. These items include non-recurring expenses, such as those incurred in connection with litigation, one-time upfront acquisition expenses that are not capitalized under ASC-805 and certain non-cash expenses, including stock-based compensation expense amortization and certain up front financing costs. Therefore, management uses Core FFO and defines it as net income excluding such items. Management believes that, for the foregoing reasons, these adjustments to net income are appropriate. The Trust believes that Core FFO is a useful supplemental measure for the investing community to employ, including when comparing the Trust to other REITs that disclose similarly adjusted FFO figures, and when analyzing changes in the Trust’s performance over time. Readers are cautioned that other REITs may use different adjustments to their GAAP financial measures than Power REIT do, and that as a result, the Trust’s Core FFO may not be comparable to the FFO measures used by other REITs or to other non-GAAP or GAAP financial measures used by REITs or other companies.

CORE FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS (FFO)
(Unaudited)

CONACT: