UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 24, 2024

EMPIRE STATE REALTY TRUST, INC. 

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

EMPIRE STATE REALTY OP, L.P.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 687-8700

n/a

(Former name or former address, if changed from last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

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. ☐

On April 24, 2024, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (the “Company” or “we”) issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first quarter 2024. The press release referred to certain supplemental information that is available on the Company’s website. The press release and supplemental report are attached hereto as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, respectively, and are incorporated by reference herein.

The information in Item 2.02 of this Current Report, including Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section. Such information shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act, unless it is specifically incorporated by reference therein.

First Quarter 2024 Earnings

As discussed in Item 2.02 above, the Company issued a press release regarding its financial results for the first quarter 2024 and made available on its website certain supplemental information relating thereto.

The information in Item 7.01 of this Current Report is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section. Such information shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document pursuant to the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, unless it is specifically incorporated by reference therein.

(d) Exhibits.

Non-GAAP Supplemental Financial Measures

Funds From Operations ("FFO")

We compute FFO in accordance with the “White Paper” on FFO published by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, which defines FFO as net income (loss) (determined in accordance with GAAP), excluding impairment write-off of investments in depreciable real estate and investments in in-substance real estate investments, gains or losses from debt restructurings and sales of depreciable operating properties, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs), less distributions to non-controlling interests and gains/losses from discontinued operations and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures.  FFO is a widely recognized non-GAAP financial measure for REITs that we believe, when considered with financial statements determined in accordance with GAAP, is useful to investors in understanding financial performance and providing a relevant basis for comparison among REITs. In addition, we believe FFO is useful to investors as it captures features particular to real estate performance by recognizing that real estate has generally appreciated over time or maintains residual value to a much greater extent than do other depreciable assets. Investors should review FFO, along with GAAP net income, when trying to understand an equity REIT’s operating performance. We present FFO because we consider it an important supplemental measure of our operating performance and believe that it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of REITs. However, because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization and captures neither the changes in the value of our properties that result from use or market conditions nor the level of capital expenditures and leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of our properties, all of which have real economic effect and could materially impact our results of operations, the utility of FFO as a measure of performance is limited. There can be no assurance that FFO presented by us is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs. FFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) determined in accordance with GAAP or to cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP.  FFO is not indicative of cash available to fund ongoing cash needs, including the ability to make cash distributions. Although FFO is a measure used for comparability in assessing the performance of REITs, as the NAREIT White Paper only provides guidelines for computing FFO, the computation of FFO may vary from one company to another.  

Modified Funds From Operations ("Modified FFO")

Modified FFO adds back an adjustment for any above or below-market ground lease amortization to traditionally defined FFO. We believe this a useful supplemental measure in evaluating our operating performance due to the non-cash accounting treatment under GAAP, which stems from the third quarter 2014 acquisition of two option properties following our formation transactions as they carry significantly below market ground leases, the amortization of which is material to our overall results. We present Modified FFO because we believe it is an important supplemental measure of our operating performance in that it adds back the non-cash amortization of below-market ground leases. There can be no assurance that Modified FFO presented by us is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs. Modified FFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) determined in accordance with GAAP or to cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP. Modified FFO is not indicative of cash available to fund ongoing cash needs, including the ability to make cash distributions.

Core Funds From Operations ("Core FFO")

Core FFO adds back to Modified FFO the following items: acquisition expenses, loss on early extinguishment of debt, severance expenses and IPO litigation expense. The Company believes Core FFO is an important supplemental measure of its operating performance because it excludes non-recurring items. There can be no assurance that Core FFO presented by the Company is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs. Core FFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) determined in accordance with GAAP or to cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP. Core FFO is not indicative of cash available to fund ongoing cash needs, including the ability to make cash distributions. In future periods, we may also exclude other items from Core FFO that we believe may help investors compare our results.

Core Funds Available for Distribution (“Core FAD")

In addition to Core FFO, we present Core FAD by (i) adding to Core FFO non-real estate depreciation and amortization, the amortization of deferred financing costs, amortization of debt discounts and non-cash compensation expenses and (ii) deducting straight line rent, amortization of debt premiums and above/below market rent revenue, and recurring capital improvements such as second generation leasing commissions, tenant improvements, prebuilts, capital expenditures andfurniture, fixtures & equipment. Core FAD is presented solely as a supplemental disclosure that management believes provides useful information regarding our ability to fund our dividends. Core FAD does not represent cash generated from operating activities and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) determined in accordance with GAAP or to cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP. Core FAD is not indicative of cash available to fund ongoing cash needs, including the ability to make cash distributions. There can be no assurance that Core FAD presented by us is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs.

Net Operating Income (“NOI”) and Property Cash NOI

NOI is a non-GAAP financial measure of performance. NOI is used by our management to evaluate and compare the performance of our properties and to determine trends in earnings and to compute the fair value of our properties as it is not affected by: (i) the cost of funds of the property owner, (ii) the impact of depreciation and amortization expenses as well as gains or losses from the sale of operating real estate assets that are included in net income computed in accordance with GAAP, (iii) acquisition expenses, loss on early extinguishment of debt, impairment charges and loss from derivative financial instruments, or (iv) general and administrative expenses and other gains and losses that are specific to the property owner. The cost of funds is eliminated from NOI because it is specific to the particular financing capabilities and constraints of the owner. The cost of funds is eliminated because it is dependent on historical interest rates and other costs of capital as well as past decisions made by us regarding the appropriate mix of capital which may have changed or may change in the future. Depreciation and amortization expenses as well as gains or losses from the sale of operating real estate assets are eliminated because they may not accurately represent the actual change in value in our office or retail properties that result from use of the properties or changes in market conditions. While certain aspects of real property do decline in value over time in a manner that is reasonably captured by depreciation and amortization, the value of the properties as a whole have historically increased or decreased as a result of changes in overall economic conditions instead of from actual use of the property or the passage of time. Gains and losses from the sale of real property vary from property to property and are affected by market conditions at the time of sale which will usually change from period to period. These gains and losses can create distortions when comparing one period to another or when comparing our operating results to the operating results of other real estate companies that have not made similarly-timed purchases or sales. We believe that eliminating these costs from net income is useful to investors because the resulting measure captures the actual revenue generated and actual expenses incurred in operating our properties as well as trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs. In some cases, the Company also presents (1) Property Cash NOI, which excludes observatory NOI and the effects of straight-line rent, fair value lease revenue, and straight-line ground rent expense adjustment, and (2) Property Cash NOI excluding lease termination fees. Property Cash NOI is presented solely as a supplemental disclosure that management believes allows investors to compare NOI performance across periods without taking into account the effect of certain non-cash rental revenues and straight-line ground rent expense adjustment. Similar to depreciation and amortization expense, fair value lease revenues, because of historical cost accounting, may distort operating performance measures at the property level. Additionally, presenting NOI excluding the impact of straight-line rent and straight-line ground rent expense adjustment provides investors with an alternative view of operating performance at the property level that more closely reflects net cash generated in the portfolio. Presenting Property Cash NOI excluding lease termination fees provides investors with additional information that allows them to compare operating performance between periods without taking into account termination fees, which can distort the results for any given period because they generally represent multiple months or years of a tenant’s rental obligations that are paid in a lump sum in connection with a negotiated early termination of the tenant’s lease and are not reflective of the core ongoing operating performance of the Company’s portfolio. However, the usefulness of NOI, Property Cash NOI, and Property Cash NOI excluding lease termination fees is limited because it excludes general and administrative costs, interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense and gains or losses from the sale of properties, and other gains and losses as stipulated by GAAP, the level of capital expenditures and leasing costs necessary to maintain the operating performance of our properties, all of which are significant economic costs. NOI and Property Cash NOI may fail to capture significant trends in these components of net income which further limits its usefulness. NOI and Property Cash NOI are measurements of the operating performance of our properties but do not measure our performance as a whole. These metrics therefore are not substitutes for net income as computed in accordance with GAAP. These measures should be analyzed in conjunction with net income computed in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may use different methods for calculating NOI, Property Cash NOI or similarly titled measures and, accordingly, our measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies that do not define the measure exactly as we do.

Same Store

In the Company’s analysis of NOI, particularly to make comparisons of NOI between periods meaningful, it is important to provide information for properties that were owned by the Company throughout each period presented. The Company refers to properties acquired prior to the beginning of the earliest period presented and owned by the Company through the end of the latest period presented as “Same Store”. Same Store therefore excludes properties acquired after the beginning of the earliest period presented or disposed of prior to the end of the latest period presented. Accordingly, it takes at least one year and one quarter after a property is acquired for that property to be included in Same Store. The Company’s definition of Same Store also excludes properties held-for-sale or those which we otherwise expect to dispose of in the subsequent quarter and our multifamily properties. For mixed-use properties, all same store property NOI is represented in the property category that comprises the majority of that mixed-use property's NOI.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

We compute EBITDA as net income plus interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization. We present EBITDA because we believe that EBITDA, along with cash flow from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities, provides investors with an additional indicator of its ability to incur and service debt. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (determined in accordance with GAAP), as an indication of our financial performance, as an alternative to net cash flows from operating activities (determined in accordance with GAAP), or as a measure of its liquidity. For Adjusted EBITDA, we add back impairment charges and gain on disposition of property.

Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA

We compute Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA as the Company’s pro-rata share of gross debt less cash and cash equivalents divided by the Company’s pro-rata share of trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA. The Company believes that the presentation of Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because the Company reviews Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA as part of the management of its overall financial flexibility, capital structure and leverage based on its percentage ownership interest in all of its assets.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT 99.1

EXHIBIT 99.2

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