SAN FRANCISCO, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced today financial results for the first quarter of 2020. All per-share results are presented on a fully-diluted share and unit basis.

Highlights

• Reported net income available to common stockholders of $0.90 per share in 1Q20, compared to $0.46 in 1Q19
• Reported FFO per share of $0.91 in 1Q20, compared to $1.92 in 1Q19
• Reported core FFO per share of $1.53 in 1Q20, compared to $1.73 in 1Q19
• Signed total bookings during 1Q20 expected to generate $75 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue, including a $9 million contribution from interconnection (not including an additional $10 million signed by Interxion)
• Issued $652 million of equity under the company's ATM program, including approximately $615 million subsequent to quarter-end
• Introduced 2020 core FFO per share outlook of $5.90-$6.10

Financial Results

Digital Realty reported revenues for the first quarter of 2020 of $823 million, a 5% increase from the previous quarter and a 1% increase from the same quarter last year.

The company delivered first quarter of 2020 net income of $229 million, and net income available to common stockholders of $203 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, compared to $1.50 per diluted share in the previous quarter and $0.46 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Digital Realty generated first quarter of 2020 adjusted EBITDA of $482 million, a 1% increase from the previous quarter and a 1% decrease over the same quarter last year.

The company reported first quarter of 2020 funds from operations of $212 million, or $0.91 per share, compared to $1.62 per share in the previous quarter and $1.92 per share in the same quarter last year.

Excluding certain items that do not represent core expenses or revenue streams, Digital Realty delivered first quarter of 2020 core FFO per share of $1.53, a 6% decrease from $1.62 per share in the previous quarter, and a 12% decrease from $1.73 per share in the same quarter last year.

Leasing Activity

In the first quarter, Digital Realty signed total bookings expected to generate $75 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue, including a $9 million contribution from interconnection. These figures do not include any contribution from the combination with Interxion, which was completed on March 12, 2020. Interxion signed total bookings in the first quarter expected to generate an additional $10 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue.

"Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, and our top priority is the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners," said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein. "Despite the challenging environment, we continued to execute on our strategic plan, closing our highly strategic combination with Interxion as well as the acquisition of the Westin Building in Seattle while delivering another quarter of solid bookings. Our business is highly resilient, and we remain confident that our global platform will continue to deliver sustainable growth for all stakeholders."

The weighted-average lag between leases signed during the first quarter of 2020 and the contractual commencement date was five months.

In addition to new leases signed, Digital Realty also signed renewal leases representing $92 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue during the quarter. Rental rates on renewal leases signed during the first quarter of 2020 rolled down 1.5% on a cash basis and up 0.7% on a GAAP basis.

New leases signed during the first quarter of 2020 are summarized by region and product type as follows:

Investment Activity

Digital Realty completed the previously announced combination with Interxion promptly following expiration of the related exchange offer on March 12, 2020, in which 70,862,736 shares of InterXion, representing approximately 92.3% of total shares outstanding, were tendered. Under the terms of the agreement announced in October 2019, Interxion shareholders received a fixed exchange ratio of 0.7067 Digital Realty shares per Interxion share, valuing Interxion at approximately $8.4 billion of total enterprise value, including assumed net debt. This powerful combination builds upon Digital Realty's established foundation of serving market demand for colocation, scale and hyper-scale requirements in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific and leverages InterXion's European colocation and interconnection expertise, enhancing the combined company's capabilities to enable customers to solve for the full spectrum of data center requirements across a global platform. The combination of the two organizations establishes a global platform expected to significantly enhance the ability to create long-term value for the customers, stockholders and employees of both companies.

On February 25, 2020, Digital Realty closed on the previously announced acquisition of a 49% interest in the Westin Building Exchange in Seattle, WA for approximately $368 million, including the assumption of existing debt. The Westin Building is expected to generate 2020 cash net operating income of approximately $43 million, including management fee synergies, representing a 5.8% cap rate. The Westin Building Exchange serves as the primary interconnection hub for the Pacific Northwest, linking Canada, Alaska and Asia along the Pacific Rim. The building is the sixth most densely interconnected facility in North America, and is home to leading global cloud, content and interconnection providers, housing over 150 carriers and more than 10,000 cross-connects.

Balance Sheet

Digital Realty completed the following financing transactions during the first quarter of 2020.

• In mid-January, Digital Realty closed an offering of €1.7 billion of Euro-denominated notes with a weighted-average maturity of approximately seven years and a weighted-average coupon of approximately 1.0%.
• In mid-March, Digital Realty completed its combination with Interxion and exchanged approximately 54 million shares of DLR common stock for all of the outstanding common shares of Interxion, representing total consideration of approximately $7 billion.
• Likewise in mid-March, a portion of the net proceeds from the January Euro bond offering was used to redeem all €1.2 billion of Interxion's outstanding senior notes.
• During the first quarter of 2020, Digital Realty issued 264,765 shares of common stock under the company's at-the-market equity offering program at a weighted average price of $139.49 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately $37 million.
• Subsequent to quarter-end, Digital Realty issued an additional 4.3 million shares of common stock under the company's at-the-market equity offering program at a weighted average price of $142.56 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately $615 million.

Digital Realty had approximately $12.3 billion of total debt outstanding as of March 31, 2020, comprised of $12.1 billion of unsecured debt and approximately $0.2 billion of secured debt. At the end of the first quarter of 2020, net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA was 6.6x, debt plus-preferred-to-total enterprise value was 26.6% and fixed charge coverage was 3.8x. Pro forma for settlement of the $1.1 billion forward equity offering and the $615 million of equity issued under the ATM subsequent to quarter-end as well a full-quarter contribution from Interxion and the acquisition of a 49% interest in the Westin Building, net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA was 5.1x and fixed charge coverage was 4.8x.

COVID-19

Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, Digital Realty's data centers around the world have remained fully operational in accordance with business continuity and pandemic response plans, prioritizing the health and safety of employees, customers and partners while ensuring service levels are maintained. Digital Realty data centers have been deemed essential operations, allowing for critical personnel to remain in place and continue to provide services and support for customers. Construction activity has been somewhat delayed in a few markets due to government restrictions in certain locations and/or limited availability of labor. In some instances, these delays are impacting scheduled delivery dates. We are monitoring the situation closely and remain in frequent communication with customers, contractors and suppliers. We have proactively managed our supply chain, and we believe we have acquired the vast majority of the equipment needed to complete our 2020 development activities. We believe we have ample liquidity to fund our business needs, given the $246 million of cash on the balance sheet as of March 31, 2020; the $615 million of equity issued under the company's at-the-market equity offering program subsequent to quarter-end; $1.1 billion available upon physical settlement of the forward equity offering; and $2.0 billion of availability under our global revolving credit facilities. While we have not experienced any significant business disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic to date, we cannot predict what impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows due to numerous uncertainties.

2020 Outlook

Digital Realty introduced its 2020 core FFO per share outlook of $5.90-$6.10. The assumptions underlying this guidance are summarized in the following table.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures, including FFO, core FFO, and Adjusted EBITDA. A reconciliation from U.S. GAAP net income available to common stockholders to FFO, a reconciliation from FFO to core FFO, and definitions of FFO and core FFO are included as an attachment to this document. A reconciliation from U.S. GAAP net income available to common stockholders to Adjusted EBITDA, a definition of Adjusted EBITDA and definitions of net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA, debt-plus-preferred-to-total enterprise value, cash NOI, and fixed charge coverage ratio are included as an attachment to this document.

Investor Conference Call

Prior to Digital Realty's investor conference call at 5:30 p.m. EDT / 2:30 p.m. PDT on May 7, 2020, a presentation will be posted to the Investors section of the company's website at https://investor.digitalrealty.com/. The presentation is designed to accompany the discussion of the company's first quarter 2020 financial results and operating performance. The conference call will feature Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein and Chief Financial Officer Andrew P. Power.

To participate in the live call, investors are invited to dial (888) 317-6003 (for domestic callers) or (412) 317-6061 (for international callers) and reference the conference ID# 6715656 at least five minutes prior to start time. A live webcast of the call will be available via the Investors section of Digital Realty's website at https://investor.digitalrealty.com/.

Telephone and webcast replays will be available after the call until June 8, 2020. The telephone replay can be accessed by dialing (877) 344-7529 (for domestic callers) or (412) 317-0088 (for international callers) and providing the conference ID# 10142172. The webcast replay can be accessed on Digital Realty's website.

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of customers across the Americas, EMEA and APAC, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and consumer products. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contact Information

Andrew P. PowerChief Financial OfficerDigital Realty(415) 738‑6500

John J. StewartInvestor RelationsDigital Realty(415) 738‑6500

Definitions

Funds From Operations (FFO):We calculate funds from operations, or FFO, in accordance with the standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or Nareit, in the Nareit Funds From Operations White Paper - 2018 Restatement. FFO represents net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from real estate transactions, impairment of investment in real estate, real estate related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs), unconsolidated JV real estate related depreciation & amortization, non-controlling interests in operating partnership and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Management uses FFO as a supplemental performance measure because, in excluding real estate related depreciation and amortization and gains and losses from property dispositions and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, captures trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs. We also believe that, as a widely recognized measure of the performance of REITs, FFO will be used by investors as a basis to compare our operating performance with that of other REITs. However, because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization and captures neither the changes in the value of our data centers that result from use or market conditions, nor the level of capital expenditures and capitalized leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of our data centers, all of which have real economic effect and could materially impact our financial condition and results from operations, the utility of FFO as a measure of our performance is limited. Other REITs may not calculate FFO in accordance with the NAREIT definition and, accordingly, our FFO may not be comparable to other REITs' FFO. FFO should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance.

Core Funds from Operations (Core FFO):We present core funds from operations, or core FFO, as a supplemental operating measure because, in excluding certain items that do not reflect core revenue or expense streams, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, captures trends in our core business operating performance. We calculate core FFO by adding to or subtracting from FFO (i) termination fees and other non-core revenues, (ii) transaction and integration expenses, (iii) loss from early extinguishment of debt, (iv) issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock, (v) severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses, (vi) gain/loss on FX revaluation, (vii) gain on contribution to unconsolidated joint venture, net of related tax, and (viii) other non-core expense adjustments. Because certain of these adjustments have a real economic impact on our financial condition and results from operations, the utility of core FFO as a measure of our performance is limited. Other REITs may calculate core FFO differently than we do and accordingly, our core FFO may not be comparable to other REITs' core FFO. Core FFO should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance.

Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO):We present adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, as a supplemental operating measure because, when compared year over year, it assesses our ability to fund dividend and distribution requirements from our operating activities. We also believe that, as a widely recognized measure of the operations of REITs, AFFO will be used by investors as a basis to assess our ability to fund dividend payments in comparison to other REITs, including on a per share and unit basis. We calculate AFFO by adding to or subtracting from core FFO (i) non-real estate depreciation, (ii) amortization of deferred financing costs, (iii) amortization of debt discount/premium, (iv) non-cash stock-based compensation expense, (v) straight-line rental revenue, (vi) straight-line rental expense, (vii) above- and below-market rent amortization, (viii) deferred tax expense, (ix) leasing compensation and internal lease commissions, and (x) recurring capital expenditures. Other REITs may calculate AFFO differently than we do and accordingly, our AFFO may not be comparable to other REITs' AFFO. AFFO should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:We believe that earnings before interest, loss from early extinguishment of debt, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below), are useful supplemental performance measures because they allow investors to view our performance without the impact of non-cash depreciation and amortization or the cost of debt and, with respect to Adjusted EBITDA, unconsolidated joint venture real estate related depreciation & amortization, unconsolidated joint venture interest expense and tax, severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses, transaction and integration expenses, gain on sale / deconsolidation, impairment of investments in real estate, other non-core adjustments, net, non-controlling interests, preferred stock dividends, including undeclared dividends, and issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA excluding unconsolidated joint venture real estate related depreciation & amortization, unconsolidated joint venture interest expense and tax, severance, equity acceleration, and legal expenses, transaction and integration expenses, gain on sale / deconsolidation, impairment of investments in real estate, other non-core adjustments, net, non-controlling interests, preferred stock dividends, including undeclared dividends, and issuance costs associated with redeemed preferred stock. In addition, we believe EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of REITs. Because EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are calculated before recurring cash charges including interest expense and income taxes, exclude capitalized costs, such as leasing commissions, and are not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of our business, their utility as a measure of our performance is limited. Other REITs may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do and, accordingly, our EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other REITs' EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. Accordingly, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should be considered only as supplements to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our financial performance.

Net Operating Income (NOI) and Cash NOI:Net operating income, or NOI, represents rental revenue, tenant reimbursement revenue and interconnection revenue less utilities expense, rental property operating expenses, property taxes and insurance expenses (as reflected in the statement of operations). NOI is commonly used by stockholders, company management and industry analysts as a measurement of operating performance of the company's rental portfolio. Cash NOI is NOI less straight-line rents and above- and below-market rent amortization. Cash NOI is commonly used by stockholders, company management and industry analysts as a measure of property operating performance on a cash basis. However, because NOI and cash NOI exclude depreciation and amortization and capture neither the changes in the value of our data centers that result from use or market conditions, nor the level of capital expenditures and capitalized leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of our data centers, all of which have real economic effect and could materially impact our results from operations, the utility of NOI and cash NOI as measures of our performance is limited. Other REITs may calculate NOI and cash NOI differently than we do and, accordingly, our NOI and cash NOI may not be comparable to other REITs' NOI and cash NOI. NOI and cash NOI should be considered only as supplements to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as measures of our performance.

Additional Definitions

Net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio is calculated using total debt at balance sheet carrying value, plus capital lease obligations, plus our share of JV debt, less unrestricted cash and cash equivalents divided by the product of Adjusted EBITDA (inclusive of our share of JV EBITDA) multiplied by four.

Debt-plus-preferred-to-total enterprise value is mortgage debt and other loans plus preferred stock divided by mortgage debt and other loans plus the liquidation value of preferred stock and the market value of outstanding Digital Realty Trust, Inc. common stock and Digital Realty Trust, L.P. units, assuming the redemption of Digital Realty Trust, L.P. units for shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. common stock.

Fixed charge coverage ratio is Adjusted EBITDA divided by the sum of GAAP interest expense, capitalized interest, scheduled debt principal payments and preferred dividends. For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, GAAP interest expense was $86 million, capitalized interest was $10 million and scheduled debt principal payments and preferred dividends was $21 million.

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to: expected physical settlement of the forward sale agreements and use of proceeds from any such settlement, our expected investment and expansion activity, our joint ventures, supply and demand for data center and colocation space, our acquisition and disposition activity, pricing and net effective leasing economics, market dynamics and data center fundamentals, our strategic priorities, rent from leases that have been signed but have not yet commenced and other contracted rent to be received in future periods, rental rates on future leases, lag between signing and commencement, cap rates and yields, investment activity, the company's FFO, core FFO and net income, 2020 outlook and underlying assumptions, information related to trends, our strategy and plans, leasing expectations, weighted average lease terms, the exercise of lease extensions, lease expirations, debt maturities, annualized rent at expiration of leases, the effect new leases and increases in rental rates will have on our rental revenue, our credit ratings, construction and development activity and plans, projected construction costs, estimated yields on investment, expected occupancy, expected square footage and IT load capacity upon completion of development projects, 2020 backlog NOI, NAV components, and other forward-looking financial data. Such statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions made based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance and may be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors that are beyond our control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Some of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:

• reduced demand for data centers or decreases in information technology spending;
• increased competition or available supply of data center space;
• decreased rental rates, increased operating costs or increased vacancy rates;
• the suitability of our data centers and data center infrastructure, delays or disruptions in connectivity or availability of power, or failures or breaches of our physical and information security infrastructure or services;
• our dependence upon significant customers, bankruptcy or insolvency of a major customer or a significant number of smaller customers, or defaults on or non-renewal of leases by customers;
• our ability to attract and retain customers;
• breaches of our obligations or restrictions under our contracts with our customers;
• our inability to successfully develop and lease new properties and development space, and delays or unexpected costs in development of properties;
• the impact of current global and local economic, credit and market conditions;
• our inability to retain data center space that we lease or sublease from third parties;
• information security and data privacy breaches;
• difficulty managing an international business and acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions and unfamiliar metropolitan areas;
• our failure to realize the intended benefits from, or disruptions to our plans and operations or unknown or contingent liabilities related to, our recent acquisitions;
• our failure to successfully integrate and operate acquired or developed properties or businesses;
• difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions;
• risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of such investments;
• risks associated with using debt to fund our business activities, including re-financing and interest rate risks, our failure to repay debt when due, adverse changes in our credit ratings or our breach of covenants or other terms contained in our loan facilities and agreements;
• our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing, and our dependence on external sources of capital;
• financial market fluctuations and changes in foreign currency exchange rates;
• adverse economic or real estate developments in our industry or the industry sectors that we sell to, including risks relating to decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges and goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges;
• our inability to manage our growth effectively;
• losses in excess of our insurance coverage;
• our inability to attract and retain talent;
• impact on our operations and on the operations of our customers, suppliers and business partners during a pandemic, such as COVID-19;
• environmental liabilities, risks related to natural disasters and our inability to achieve our sustainability goals;
• our inability to comply with rules and regulations applicable to our company;
• Digital Realty Trust, Inc.'s failure to maintain its status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes;
• Digital Realty Trust, L.P.'s failure to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes;
• restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities;
• changes in local, state, federal and international laws and regulations, including related to taxation, real estate and zoning laws, and increases in real property tax rates; and
• the impact of any financial, accounting, legal or regulatory issues or litigation that may affect us.

The risks included here are not exhaustive, and additional factors could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Several additional material risks are discussed in our annual report on Form 10‑K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those risks continue to be relevant to our performance and financial condition. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such risk factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Digital Realty, Digital Realty Trust, the Digital Realty logo, Turn-Key Flex and Powered Base Building are registered trademarks and service marks of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

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