Jernigan Capital (NYSE: JCAP) reported Q4 EPS of $1.04, $0.30 better than the analyst estimate of $0.74. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.24 million versus the consensus estimate of $9.04 million.

• Earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share of $0.87 and $1.04, respectively.
• Continued transition to property ownership by purchasing the developer partner’s interest in New York City 1 facility – the Company’s seventh wholly-owned self-storage property.
• Completed construction and commenced leasing of nine additional Generation V self-storage development properties in which the Company has an aggregate committed investment of $100.5 million.
• Increased amount of revolving credit facility from $100 million to $235 million, with an accordion feature permitting expansion up to $400 million and extended term by up to 3 ½ years from July 2020 to December 2023.
• Issued an aggregate $20.3 million of common stock under the Company’s at-the-market (“ATM”) programs at an average share price of $21.16, a 15.1% premium to the Company’s reported book value per share on September 30, 2018.
• Commenced a new $75 million ATM program.

“2018 was an outstanding year for the Company,” stated Dean Jernigan, Executive Chairman of Jernigan Capital, Inc. “Our portfolio of state-of-the-art Generation V self-storage properties continues to mature nicely, with 24 development properties commencing operations in 2018; our developers have now delivered and commenced operations at 42 of 69, or about 61%, of the self-storage projects we have financed. Further, we are excited to now have 100% ownership of seven new self-storage facilities located in great markets, furthering our objective to own a substantial majority of the facilities we finance.”

“I am also extremely proud of the team we have assembled at JCAP,” Mr. Jernigan continued. “During the year, we added two key individuals to our senior team in Jonathan Perry and David Corak, two board members in Rebecca Owen and Randy Churchey and saw a seamless succession of senior management as John Good moved to Chief Executive Officer and Jonathan Perry took on the role of President in addition to his existing role of Chief Investment Officer.”

John Good, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, added, “Our fourth quarter results reflect another quarter of excellent execution in all aspects of our business. We posted 146% growth in total revenues, 358% growth in earnings per share and 352% growth in adjusted earnings per share compared to the comparable quarter in 2017. Moreover, our capital activities during the quarter left us with an outstanding balance sheet poised for additional growth as we move into the new year. During the fourth quarter we upsized, extended and lowered pricing on our secured credit facility, while adding two key new banks to our banking syndicate. In addition, we issued $20.3 million of common stock under the company’s ATM programs at a healthy premium to book value and consensus NAV. In December, we launched a new $75 million Common ATM program. Our investment commitments including 2019 commitment guidance are now fully covered through mid-2020 and we have positioned ourselves to maintain conservative leverage levels in the range of 25% to 30% of total assets for the foreseeable future.”

“We expect 2019 will be another tremendous year for JCAP, as the outstanding efforts of our team over the past four years continue to enhance shareholder value and provide investment opportunities in both the development and operating property arenas,” Mr. Good continued. “As the development cycle winds down and transitions to the acquisition cycle, so too does our business model shift from originating ground-up development investments to acquiring the Generation V facilities that we have financed since our IPO. Having already purchased our developers’ interests in seven facilities on balance sheet and in four facilities within our joint venture in January of this year, we expect continued momentum in our strategic shift from lender to owner.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Jernigan Capital (JCAP) click here.