Farmland Partners reports FY23 FFO 16c , consensus 16c

Luca Fabbri, CEO: “Against a backdrop of uncertainty and poor performance in many real estate sectors, in 2023 farmland has yet again demonstrated its strength and stability thanks to its very different fundamentals. We have been able to renew our expiring leases with an average rent increase of approximately 20%, as a testimony of the strength of the farm economy and our tenant base. Our strategy has been to demonstrate concretely the value embedded in our portfolio, selectively disposing of assets and using proceeds to buy back stock at prices we believe to be significantly below fair value per share, reduce leverage, acquire other farms with better long term value generation potential, and distribute a special dividend to our shareholders. The vast majority of our asset sales, and related gains, occurred on farms outside the core of the Corn Belt region, which is the most valuable part of our farmland portfolio. In 2024 we plan to continue to look for opportunities to selectively prune our portfolio, albeit likely at a smaller scale, and further reduce our overhead expenses.”