Power REIT - Quarter Report: 2019 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

[X] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

[  ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2019

001-36312

(Commission File Number)

POWER REIT

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(212) 750-0371

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes [X] No [  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes [X] No [  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes [  ] No [X]

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

1,870,139 common shares, $0.001 par value, outstanding at May 8, 2019.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the Quarters Ended March, 31, 2018 and 2019

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information, and with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, these interim financial statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of the Company, as defined below, these unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments necessary to present fairly the information set forth herein. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for a full year.

These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 25, 2019.

Power REIT (the “Registrant” or the “Trust”, and together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we”, “us”, the “Company” or “Power REIT”, unless the context requires otherwise) is a Maryland-domiciled real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) that holds, develops, acquires and manages real estate assets related to transportation and energy infrastructure in the United States. Within the transportation and energy infrastructure sectors, Power REIT is focused on making new acquisitions of real estate that are or will be leased to renewable energy generation projects, such as utility-scale solar farms and wind farms that have low or minimal technology risk.

The Trust is structured as a holding company and owns its assets through four wholly-owned, special purpose subsidiaries that have been formed in order to hold real estate assets, obtain financing and generate lease revenue. As of March 31, 2019, the Trust’s assets consisted of approximately 112 miles of railroad infrastructure and related real estate which is owned by its subsidiary Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railroad (“P&WV”) and approximately 601 acres of fee simple land leased to a number of solar power generating projects with an aggregate generating capacity of approximately 108 Megawatts (“MW”). Power REIT is actively seeking to expand its portfolio of real estate related to renewable energy generation projects and is pursuing investment opportunities that qualify for REIT ownership within solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, transmission and other infrastructure projects.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the Trust paid a quarterly dividend of approximately $70,000 ($0.484375 per share) on Power REIT’s 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock.

The Trust was formed as part of a reorganization and reverse triangular merger of P&WV that closed on December 2, 2011. P&WV survived the reorganization as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trust.

The Trust has elected to be treated for tax purposes as a REIT, which means that it is exempt from U.S. federal income tax if a sufficient portion of its annual income is distributed to its shareholders, and if certain other requirements are met. In order for the Trust to maintain its REIT qualification, at least 90% of its ordinary taxable annual income must be distributed to shareholders.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

These unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”).”

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No 2016-02 “Leases” (Topic 842). The standard requires companies that lease valuable assets like aircraft, real estate, and heavy equipment to recognize on their balance sheets the assets and liabilities generated by contracts longer than a year. The standard also requires companies to disclose in the footnotes to their financial statements information about the amount, timing, and uncertainty for the payments they make for the lease agreements. This standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and the Company adopted the standard using the modified retrospective approach effective January 1, 2019. The lessor accounting model under ASC 842 is similar to existing guidance, however, it limits the capitalization of initial direct leasing costs, such as internally generated costs.

The Company elected all practical expedients permitted under ASC 842, other than the hindsight practical expedient. Accordingly, the Company will retain distinction between a finance lease (i.e., capital leases under existing guidance) and an operating lease and account for its existing operating leases as operating leases under the new guidance, without reassessing (a) whether the contracts contain a lease under ASC 842, (b) whether classification of the operating leases would be different in accordance with ASC 842c or (c) whether the unamortized initial direct costs before transition adjustments would have met the definition of initial direct costs in ASC 842 at lease commencement. The Company does not have a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings upon adoption.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718),” which expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from non-employees. The adoption of ASU 2018-07 on January 1, 2019, did not have a significant impact on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include Power REIT and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Fair Value

Fair value represents the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The Trust measures its financial assets and liabilities in three levels, based on the markets in which the assets and liabilities are traded and the reliability of the assumptions used to determine fair value.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

In determining fair value, the Trust utilizes valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to the extent possible as well as considering counterparty credit risk.

The carrying amounts of Power REIT’s financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, deposits, and accounts payable approximate fair value because of their relatively short-term maturities. The carrying value of long-term debt approximates fair value since the related rates of interest approximate current market rates. There are no financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

3. LONG-TERM DEBT

On November 6, 2015, PWRS borrowed $10,150,000 pursuant to a bond offering (the “PWRS Bonds”). The PWRS Bonds are secured by land owned by PWRS and have a total obligation of $10,150,000. The PWRS Bonds carry a fixed annual interest rate of 4.34% and matures in 2034. During 2015, the Trust capitalized approximately $441,000 of expenses related to the PWRS Bonds of which approximately $97,000 was paid in cash and approximately 344,000 was incurred through issuance of debt. This amount is amortized over the life of the PWRS Bonds. As of March 31, 2019 and December 31 2018, the balance of the PWRS Bonds was approximately $8,875,000 (net of unamortized debt costs of approximately $342,000) and $8,870,000 (net of unamortized debt costs of approximately $348,000), respectively.

On July 5, 2013, PWSS borrowed $750,000 from a regional bank (the “PWSS Term Loan”). The PWSS Term Loan carries a fixed interest rate of 5.0%, a term of 10-years and amortizes based on a twenty-year principal amortization schedule. In addition to being secured by PWSS’ real estate assets, the term loan is secured by a parent guarantee from the Trust. The balance of the PWSS Term Loan as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 is approximately $599,000 (net of approximately $12,000 of capitalized debt costs which are being amortized over the life of the financing) and $605,000 (net of approximately $12,000 of capitalized debt costs which are being amortized over the life of the financing), respectively.

On December 31, 2012, as part of the Salisbury land acquisition, PWSS assumed existing municipal financing (“Municipal Debt”). The Municipal Debt has approximately 15 years remaining. The Municipal Debt has a simple interest rate of 5.0% that is paid annually, with the next payment due February 1, 2019. The balance of the Municipal Debt as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 is approximately $77,000 and $83,000 respectively.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

4. EQUITY AND LONG-TERM COMPENSATION

Summary of Stock Based Compensation Activity – Options

The summary of stock based compensation activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019, with respect to the Trust’s stock options, was as follows:

Summary of Activity - Options

The weighted average remaining term of the options is approximately 3.37 years.

Summary of Plan Activity – Restricted Stock

The summary of Plan activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019, with respect to the Trust’s restricted stock, was as follows:

Stock-based Compensation

During the first three months of 2019, the Trust recorded approximately $64,000 of non-cash expense related to restricted stock and options granted compared to approximately $47,000 for the first three months of 2018. As of March 31, 2019 there was approximately $273,000 of total unrecognized share-based compensation expense, which expense will be recognized through the second quarter of 2021 equating to a weighted average amortization period of approximately 2.3 years from the issuance date. The Trust does not currently have a policy regarding the repurchase of shares on the open market related to equity awards and does not currently intend to acquire shares on the open market.

POWER REIT AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

Preferred Stock Dividends

During the first three months of 2019, the Trust paid a total of approximately $70,000 of dividends to holders of Power REIT’s Series A Preferred Stock.

5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The Trust and its subsidiaries have hired Cohen, LLP (“Morrison Cohen”) as their legal counsel with respect to general corporate matters and the litigation with NSC. The spouse of the Trust’s Chairman, CEO, Secretary and Treasurer is a partner at Morrison Cohen. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, Power REIT (on a consolidated basis) did not pay any legal fees and costs to Morrison Cohen in connection with various legal matters, including the litigation with NSC.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Hudson Bay Partners, LP (“HBP”), an entity associated with the CEO of the company, David Lesser, provides the Trust and its subsidiaries with office space at no cost. Effective September 2016, the Board of Directors approved reimbursing an affiliate of HBP $1,000 per month for administrative and accounting support based on a conclusion that it would pay more for such support from a third party. A total of $3,000 was paid pursuant to this arrangement during the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust, the Trust may enter into transactions in which trustees, officers or employees have a financial interest, provided however, that in the case of a material financial interest, the transaction is disclosed to the Board of Trustees or the transaction shall be fair and reasonable. After consideration of the terms and conditions of the retention of Morrison Cohen described herein, and the reimbursement to HBP described herein, the independent trustees approved such arrangements having determined such arrangement are fair and reasonable and in the interest of the Trust.

David Lesser, CEO, paid expenses on behalf of the Company in the amount of $1,374 during 2018 which is disclosed as accounts payable – related party in the consolidated balance sheets. The amount is non-interest bearing, unsecured, and due on demand.

6. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On April 23, 2019, the Registrant declared a quarterly dividend of $0.484375 per share on Power REIT’s 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock payable on June 15, 2019 to shareholders of record on May 15, 2019.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of 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 generally identify forward-looking statements as statements containing the words “believe,” “expect,” “will,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “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 report regarding our future strategy, future operations, projected financial position, estimated future revenues, projected costs, future prospects, the future of our industries and results that might be obtained by pursuing management’s current or future plans and objectives are forward-looking statements.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us and speak only as of the date of the filing of this report. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these matters or how they may affect us. Over time, our actual results, performance, financial condition or achievements may differ from the anticipated results, performance, financial condition or achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements, and such differences may be significant and materially adverse to our security holders. Our forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof, and we make no commitment to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements in order to reflect new information or subsequent events, circumstances or changes in expectations.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Power REIT is a Maryland-domiciled REIT that holds, develops, acquires and manages real estate assets related to transportation and energy infrastructure in the United States. Within the transportation and energy infrastructure sectors, Power REIT is focused on making new acquisitions of real estate that are or will be leased to renewable energy generation projects, such as utility-scale solar farms and wind farms that have low or minimal technology risk.

Power REIT is structured as a holding company and owns its assets through four wholly-owned, special purpose subsidiaries that have been formed in order to hold real estate assets, obtain financing and generate lease revenue. Power REIT was formed as part of a reorganization and reverse triangular merger of P&WV that closed on December 2, 2011. P&WV survived the reorganization as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Registrant. The Company’s investment strategy, which is focused on transportation and energy infrastructure-related real estate, builds upon its subsidiary P&WV’s historical ownership of railroad real estate assets, which are currently triple-net leased to NSC.

As of March 31, 2019, the Trust’s assets consisted of approximately 112 miles of railroad infrastructure and related real estate leased to a railway company which is owned by its subsidiary Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railroad (“P&WV”) and approximately 601 acres of fee simple land leased to a number of solar power generating projects with an aggregate generating capacity of approximately 108 MW. Power REIT is actively seeking to expand its portfolio of real estate related to renewable energy generation projects and is pursuing investment opportunities that qualify for REIT ownership within solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, transmission and other infrastructure projects.

Revenue during the first quarter of 2019 and 2018 was approximately $495,000 and $493,000, respectively. Net income attributable to Common Shares during the first quarter of 2019 was approximately $127,000, whereas net income attributable to Common Shares of approximate 145,000, was reported during the first quarter of 2018. The difference between our 2019 and 2018 first quarter results were principally attributable to the following: an approximately $23,000 increase in General and Administrative expenses and, an approximately $3,700 decrease in interest expense

The Trust’s cash outlays, other than acquisitions and dividend payments, are for general and administrative (“G&A”) expenses, which consist principally of legal and other professional fees, consultant fees, trustees’ fees, NYSE MKT listing fees, shareholder service company fees and auditing costs. During the four years ended 2016, the Trust (on a consolidated basis) incurred substantial litigation expenses related to its ongoing litigation related to P&WV.

To meet its working capital and longer-term capital needs, Power REIT relies on cash provided by its operating activities, proceeds received from the issuance of equity securities and proceeds received from borrowings, which are typically secured by liens on acquired assets.

FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS – NON GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

We assess and measure our overall operating results based upon an industry performance measure referred to as Core Funds From Operations (“Core FFO”) which management believes is a useful indicator of our operating performance. This report 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 FFO. Following is a definition of this measure, an explanation as to why we present it and, at the end of this section, a reconciliation of Core FFO to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Core FFO: Management believes that Core FFO is a useful supplemental measure of the Company’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 Company’s asset portfolio and inappropriately affect the comparability of the Company’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 Company believes that Core FFO is a useful supplemental measure for the investing community to employ, including when comparing the Company to other REITs that disclose similarly adjusted FFO figures, and when analyzing changes in the Company’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 Company’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)

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

(Unaudited)

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

As a smaller reporting company, the Trust is not required to provide the information required by this Item.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a- 15(f) of the Exchange Act) to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. The design and operation of a control system must also reflect that there are resource constraints and management is necessarily required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on our evaluation, we believe that our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2019 were effective.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting:

During the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Risk Factors.

The Trust’s results of operations and financial condition are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties as described in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25, 2019, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. You should carefully consider these risk factors in conjunction with the other information contained in this report. Should any of these risks materialize, the Trust’s business, financial condition and future prospects could be negatively impacted.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

None.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.

Not Applicable.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not Applicable.

Item 5. Other Information.

Not Applicable.

Item 6. Exhibits.

Exhibit Number

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.