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Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation

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FY2019 Annual Report · Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation
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Monmouth Real Estate  
Investment Corporation

A Public REIT Since 1968

NYSE: MNR

www.mreic.reit

Bell Works 
101 Crawfords Corner Road, Suite 1405 
Holmdel, New Jersey 07733 
732.577.9996

Monmouth Real Estate  
Investment Corporation
2019 Annual Report

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Economic survival is dependent upon the 
creation of goods and services. There are three 
essential ingredients needed in order to create 
these goods and services:
Labor, Capital, and Land.

Because real estate ownership directly provides 
one of these required elements, it has proven 
to be a very sound long-term investment.

Today, Monmouth owns 115 industrial 
properties containing 22.9 million rentable 
square feet, situated on 2,725 total acres. 
These mission-critical assets are geographically 
diversified across 30 states. With a weighted 
average building age of only 9.1 years, and a 
current occupancy rate of 99.2%, our portfolio 
of properties, built one high-quality asset at a 
time, is one of the best around.

Our real estate is home to some of the world’s 
largest companies, including Amazon, 
Anheuser-Busch, Beam Suntory, Coca-Cola, 
FedEx, Home Depot, International Paper, 
National-Oilwell Varco, Sherwin-Williams, 
Siemens, Toyota, Ulta Beauty, United 
Technologies, and more.

Because 80% of our rental revenue is derived 
from long-term leases to investment-grade 
tenants, our earnings quality is among the 
strongest in the REIT industry.

Directors

Kiernan Conway
Director of Research and 
Corporate Engagement 
Alabama Center of Real Estate 
Chief Economist, CCIM Institute 

Brian H. Haimm
Chief Financial Officer and 
Chief Operating Officer 
Active Acquisitions, LLC

Eugene W. Landy
Founder and Chairman of  
the Board

Daniel D. Cronheim
Attorney-at-Law 
President 
David Cronheim Mortgage Corp.

Catherine B. Elflein
Senior Director — Risk Management 
Celgene Corporation

Neal Herstik
Attorney-at-Law 
Gross, Truss & Herstik, PC

Matthew I. Hirsch
Attorney-at-Law 
Law Office of Matthew I. Hirsch

Michael P. Landy
President and Chief Executive  
Officer

Samuel A. Landy
Attorney-at-Law, President and 
Chief Executive Officer 
UMH Properties, Inc.

Scott L. Robinson
Managing Director 
Oberon Securities

Kevin S. Miller
Chief Financial and Accounting  
Officer, and Treasurer

Gregory T. Otto
Chief Strategy Officer 
Seabury Maritime, LLC

Stephen B. Wolgin
Managing Director 
U.S. Real Estate Advisors, Inc.

Officers and Management

Eugene W. Landy
Founder and Chairman of  
the Board

Allison Nagelberg
General Counsel

Michael P. Landy
President and  
Chief Executive Officer

Kevin S. Miller
Chief Financial and Accounting Officer, 
and Treasurer

Michael D. Prashad
General Counsel

Richard Molke
Vice President of Asset Management

Susan M. Jordan
Vice President of Investor Relations

Becky G. Coleridge
Vice President of Investor Relations

Allison Viscardi
Vice President of Property Management

Katie Rytter
Controller

Laura Teman
Assistant Controller

Ayaris Drouet
Administrative Assistant

Crystal Glas
Executive Assistant

Yulia Hatch
Senior Accountant

Ashley Tripodi
Assistant Property Manager

Matthew R. Santonocito
Information Technology Manager

Corporate Information

Corporate Office
Bell Works 
101 Crawfords Corner Road 
Suite 1405 
Holmdel, NJ 07733

Independent Auditors
PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP 
665 Fifth Avenue 
New York, NY 10022

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Transfer Agent &  
Registrar
American Stock Transfer 
& Trust Company 
6201 15th Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11219

Common Stock Listing
NYSE:MNR

www.mreic.reit

 
 
 
 
– 1 –

2019 Annual ReportThrough  
the Looking 
Glass

“ Creativity is what makes 
humanity move. We were 
created to participate.”

– Keith Jarrett, Composer

January 2020

Dear Fellow 
Shareholders,

The time has come to talk of many things as we peer 
through the looking glass and inspect our Company, 
Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation. 
In so doing, we must also analyze aspects of the 
broader market and even the world at large, as 
Monmouth, like any other living organism, does 
not exist in a vacuum. Having just completed our 
52nd year as a public REIT, we move into the future 
with our PAST by our side. We will look back at our 
upbringing in order to understand the time-tested 
principles that have enabled us to thrive through so 
many business cycles. Because in order to succeed, 
one must first survive.

Drilling down on the PRESENT will of course 
be done, as it is essential to understanding our 
story. However, it is important to point out that 
it is impossible to do so in isolation. Like a single 
melodic note, its true meaning is dependent on 
that which came before it and that which will come 
after it. As our reliable progress continues to build 
to a crescendo, investors in our Company will best 
prosper by investing for the long term.

Importantly, we will also peer further out beyond 
the horizon, into that real yet imagined place 
we call the FUTURE. Though abundant clouds 
of uncertainty obscure its landscape these days, 
visualizing what the future will bring is the secret 
to successful investing. Pricing mechanisms reflect 
upon the balance of supply and demand based 
primarily upon what is known today. Tomorrow is 
another story.

– 2 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment CorporationDuring Fiscal 2019, the Company’s 
many accomplishments include 
the following:

 • Increased our Gross Revenue by 14.1% to 

 • Maintained a sector-leading occupancy 

$173.7 million,

 • Increased our Net Operating Income by 

14.3% to $131.2 million,

 • Reduced our Net Debt to Adjusted 

EBITDA to 5.9x from 7.1x,

 • Maintained a conservative AFFO 
dividend payout ratio of 80%,

 • Reduced our General and Administrative 
expenses as a percentage of gross revenue 
to 5.2% from 5.8%,

 • Achieved $2.6 billion in total market 

capitalization at fiscal yearend,

 • Acquired 824,000 square feet of high-

quality industrial space for $138.6 million, 
comprising three brand new Class A, 
built-to-suit properties, all leased long-
term to investment-grade tenants,

 • Completed one 155,000 square foot 
building expansion for $8.6 million, 
generating additional rental revenue and 
resulting in a 15-year lease extension,

 • Increased our gross leasable area (GLA) 
by 5.1% year-over-year to 22.3 million 
square feet,

 • Entered into commitments to acquire 

five new Class A, build-to-suit properties 
containing 1.6 million total square feet, 
all leased long-term to investment-
grade tenants,

rate of 98.9% at fiscal yearend, 
representing our fourth consecutive 
year with above 98% occupancy, which 
increased to 99.2% subsequent to 
fiscal yearend,

 • Renewed seven leases comprising  

1.1 million square feet for a weighted-
average lease term of 7.2 years,

 • Achieved a weighted average lease 

maturity of 7.6 years as of the current 
fiscal yearend, which subsequently 
increased to 7.8 years,

 • Increased our annualized average base 
rent per occupied square foot by 3% to 
$6.20 from the prior year,

 • Raised $132.3 million in net proceeds in a 
Common Stock Offering in October 2018,

 • Raised 58.2 million in equity through 
our Dividend Reinvestment and Stock 
Purchase Plan, representing a 26% 
participation rate,

 • Raised $58.2 million in net proceeds 

through our Perpetual Preferred Stock 
ATM Program,

 • Maintained the weighted-average debt 
maturity on our fixed-rate debt at  
11.3 years, and

 • Subsequent to yearend, purchased 

one new Class A built-to-suit property 
comprising 616,000 square feet for 
$81.5 million.

– 3 –

2019 Annual ReportCompetition for acquiring U.S. industrial real 
estate this past year has been fierce, driven by 
unprecedented demand from tenants and investors 
alike. It is a seller’s market if ever there was one. 
The largest industrial REIT, Prologis, and the 
giant private equity firm, Blackstone, have both 
been aggressively acquiring industrial property 
portfolios and consolidating our industry to the 
point where they now control 10% of the total 
U.S. industrial space market. Sovereign wealth 
funds and other large institutions have been 
favoring our property type as well. This has 
resulted in continued cap rate compression. It is 
estimated that industrial real estate values have 
more than doubled during the past ten years 
and have increased by 15% in the past year alone. 
Consequently, the value of our properties has 
appreciated substantially.

The main catalyst driving this feeding frenzy 
continues to be Ecommerce. Pioneered by Jeff 
Bezos in the mid-1990s, first with book sales and 
then with music, Amazon has rapidly grown to 
become “The Everything Store.” Many of the large 
retailers have finally woken up to the wide-spread 
disruption resulting from ever increasing internet 
sales. To keep pace, many of these retailers have 
been busy reconfiguring their supply chains to 
accelerate the distribution of goods both directly to 
the consumer, as well as through their traditional 
brick-and-mortar store networks. This new 
approach, known as “Omni-channel distribution,” 
is here to stay as consumer spending the world over 
has embraced the unlimited product selection and 
increased efficiencies that the digital marketplace 
provides. Monmouth was early in seeing this 
changing of the guard driving massive demand 
for industrial real estate, and today our portfolio 
is greatly benefiting from the secular shift to 
Ecommerce.

Formed in 1968, Monmouth is one of the oldest 
publicly-traded REITs. We are also one of the 
most specialized. Our focus is on single-tenant, 
net-leased industrial properties on long-term 
leases to investment-grade tenants. Over our long 
history, valuable relationships have been forged 
that have been instrumental to our success. We 
have assembled a best-in-class industrial property 
portfolio with an all-star tenant roster that  
includes Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Beam Suntory, 
Coca-Cola, FedEx, Home Depot, International 
Paper, Milwaukee Tool, National Oilwell Varco, 
PP&G, Sherwin-Williams, Siemens, Toyota, Ulta 
Beauty, United Technologies, among other high-
quality companies.

With 80% of our rental revenue derived from 
investment-grade rated tenants and the other 20% 
secured by strong non-rated tenants, our operating 
earnings quality is among the highest in the REIT 
industry. Our property portfolio now contains 
22.9 million rentable square feet, consisting of 
115 properties, geographically diversified across 
30 states. Our weighted average lease maturity is 
currently 7.8 years, providing visible earnings for 
many years to come. Our land-to-building ratio is 
5.2:1 which allows us ample capacity for building 
expansions as our tenants continue to grow their 
strong businesses.

Building age is an increasingly important metric 
in the industrial real estate sector these days, as 
newer, modern buildings are benefiting the most 
from the secular shifts in consumer spending 
brought on by Ecommerce. As you can see from 
the pictures in this report, our portfolio is Class A. 
The highly automated infrastructure inside of our 
buildings is substantial and involves considerable 
capital investment borne by our tenants. Our 
properties are mission critical to our tenants’ needs 
and, therefore, we have historically benefited from 
high tenant retention rates. The weighted average 
building age of our portfolio is only 9.1 years old, 
making it the youngest and most state-of-the-art in 
the industrial REIT sector. It is no coincidence that 
we consistently achieve the highest occupancy rate 
in our sector, which is currently at 99.2%.

– 4 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation“ Diversification may conserve wealth, but concentration 
builds wealth.”

– Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

FedEx is by far our largest tenant and we wouldn’t 
want it any other way. Goods move quickly in a 
continuous manner throughout the world thanks 
in part to their vast and highly efficient networks. 
Their world-class services are as integral to global 
trade as our vascular systems that deploy blood 
to our organs are to our survival. Monmouth 
currently owns 60 properties leased to FedEx 
with more under construction. We now have 10.4 
million square feet serving FedEx, representing 

approximately 45% of our 23 million square foot 
portfolio. It is estimated that the total U.S. parcel 
market will double from 50 million packages per 
day currently to 100 million packages per day by 
2026. Because of this surging demand, FedEx 
recently announced that they will begin delivering 
packages seven days a week all year round. This 
means that our mission critical properties leased to 
FedEx have now become more mission critical than 
ever before.

– 5 –

2019 Annual ReportMovement of the 
Yield Curve

10/15/19

7/17/19

10/15/18

)

%

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3.5

3.0

2.5

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3 month

6 month

2 year

5 year

10 year

30 year

The theme of last year’s letter was “Balancing Forces,” 
in which we looked at how irrational behavior and 
biased thinking can create capital misallocations, 
and how natural forces have a way of self-correcting 
these imbalances over time. If there was only one 
single tool that investors could use to guide their 
decision-making in order to benefit from these 
imbalances, it should be the yield curve. The yield 
curve is a looking glass of its own, containing more 
information about the market sentiment than all 
other surveys combined. For much of this past 
year the U.S. yield curve has either been very flat 
or inverted. From a historical perspective this 
represents rare imbalances. America does have the 
distinction of having only positive nominal interest 

rates. The rest of the world is even more imbalanced 
with a number of countries exhibiting negative 
nominal rates. When factoring in just minimal 
inflation, the resulting amount of global debt with 
negative real interest rates becomes staggering. In 
times like these, it makes sense to lock in the longest-
term financing possible. For the first time ever, this 
year Germany issued negative yielding 30-year bonds, 
while back home the 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond 
fell to a record low of under 2%. Many countries 
have issued ultra-long bonds that don’t mature for 
50 or even 100 years. So, let me now turn to how 
Monmouth has utilized this protracted period of 
historically low rates and yield curve imbalances to 
our advantage.

– 6 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation 
Global: 10-Year 
Government Bond Yields

1.6%

1.2%

0.7%

0.3%

2.0%

1.8%

1.5%

1.0%

0.5%

0.0%

-0.5%

-1.0%

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-0.1%

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-0.4%

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By financing our growth with a combination of 
low cost, long term, fixed-rate mortgage debt 
and perpetual preferred equity, we’ve made our 
fortress balance sheet stronger than ever. At 
fiscal yearend, our capital structure consisted of 
approximately $840 million in debt, of which $745 
million was property-level fixed-rate mortgage 
debt, with a weighted average interest rate of 
4.0%, and a weighted average maturity of 11.3 
years. This represents one of the longest average 
debt maturities reported in the entire REIT sector. 
We also had a total of $348 million in perpetual 
preferred equity at yearend. Our Series C Preferred 
shares have a dividend rate of 6.125% and while 
these preferred shares are redeemable at our 
discretion in a few years, they never mature and 
can go all the way out in perpetuity, to eternity and 
back. We always recommend financing long-term 

assets with long-term capital, and this is especially 
true in the current interest rate environment. There 
is no longer term, fixed-rate instrument than 
perpetual preferred. We’ve also been building up our 
unencumbered asset pool. This year we increased 
and extended our credit facility while reducing the 
interest rate. As a result, our new facility provides 
for up to $400 million in borrowing capacity. Our 
overall debt ratios have improved substantially this 
year with our net debt to adjusted EBITDA reduced 
from 7.1x to 5.9x at fiscal yearend. Given our 7.8 
year weighted average lease maturity and the fact 
that our cash flow is secured by investment grade 
tenants, our balance sheet is very conservatively 
levered. Further enhancing our liquidity, we ended 
the year with $185.3 million in REIT securities and 
$20.2 million in cash.

– 7 –

2019 Annual ReportREITs are a total return vehicle. They provide 
income plus capital appreciation. Inflationary 
forces can build quietly off in the distance, 
out of sight and out of mind. However, when 
inflation does appear, great wealth can 
quickly be confiscated through the erosion of 
purchasing power. Because real estate is a hard 
asset, with the power to preserve value during 
inflationary periods through rising rents and 
rising replacement costs, it offers a unique safe 
harbor from this cruelest tax of all. In addition, 
Monmouth’s Net Operating Income is further 
protected during inflationary periods given our 
net lease structure, whereby the tenant bears 
the responsibility for rising real estate taxes, 
insurance, and operating expenses.

One of the unique aspects of our business 
model is that in addition to investing in hard 
assets, we also invest in liquid real estate. Our 
primary motive for so doing is Liquidity. The 
most common cause of real estate investors 
failing from one cycle to the next is they get 
over-burdened with debt. Having a balance 
sheet with not only free and clear hard assets 
but also unencumbered liquid assets allows us 
quick access to capital even during the most 
difficult points in the cycle. In the past, we 
limited our REIT securities investments to no 
more than 10% of gross assets. Following the 
implementation of a new accounting rule in 
October 2018, the impact of quarterly mark-
to-market fluctuations of our REIT securities 
portfolio shifted from our balance sheet onto 

– 8 –

our income statement, thereby introducing 
increased volatility into some of our key earnings 
and other valuation metrics. Consequently, in 
order to mitigate some of this volatility, we have 
recently decided to opportunistically reduce our 
securities investments over time down to a target 
threshold of 5% of our undepreciated assets. We 
hope that investors can see through the quarterly 
noise of these mark-to-market adjustments and 
understand the long-term benefits of owning 
liquid assets. By taking a long-term view we 
have realized substantial gains on our securities 
investments since we implemented this program 
in the mid-1990s. In addition to providing 
us with access to liquidity, our portfolio also 
generates dividend income.

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation“ A zero tariff, zero subsidy global trade environment is 
the most powerful economic growth engine there is.”

– Frederick Smith, CEO of FedEx

The two-way street of free and fair trade has 
become gridlocked. When access to global markets 
is unfettered, new businesses are created, jobs 
are added, economies grow, and living standards 
improve. Global per capita GDP has risen 
dramatically due to unrestricted access to the  
goods and services produced in all markets and 
in all regions throughout the world. Total trade, 
imports plus exports, has grown in the U.S.  
from $50 billion annually in the late ‘60s to over 

$4 trillion today. While America benefits by having 
the largest economy, 80% of the world’s purchasing 
power resides beyond our borders. The recent 
trade disputes between the U.S. and China have 
constrained both economies. Hopefully these 
issues will soon be resolved, and goods and services 
will flow freely in a reciprocal manner. National 
economies will never come close to realizing their 
full potential if protectionism and mercantilism 
isolate them from the rest of the world.

– 9 –

2019 Annual ReportMonmouth’s rental and reimbursement revenues 
for the year were $158.5 million compared to $139.2 
million, or an increase of 13.9% from the prior year. 
Net Operating Income increased $16.4 million to 
$131.2 million, reflecting a 14.3% increase from a 
year ago. Funds from Operations (FFO) for fiscal 
2019 were $81.2 million, or $0.87 per diluted 
share, as compared to $69.8 million, or $0.89 per 
diluted share last year, representing a 2% per share 
decrease. A primary focus of ours is on growing our 
recurring earnings, or what is commonly referred to 
as Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO). AFFO 
excludes gains or losses on the sale of real estate 
and gains or losses on the sale of REIT securities, 
as well as lease termination income and the effects 
of straight-lined rent adjustments. Therefore, we 
believe AFFO serves as the best proxy for recurring 
cash earnings. Over the prior three-year period, our 
AFFO per share increased at an average annual rate 
of 14%, thereby allowing us to increase our common 
stock dividend by 13% during that period. This year 
our AFFO per diluted share decreased slightly to 
$0.85 from $0.87 in the prior year, representing 
a 2% decrease. Our financial results were modestly 
impacted by the timing of our equity issuance in 
October 2018 and by a 70-basis point reduction in 
our occupancy rate. Given our current $180 million 
acquisition pipeline as well as our occupancy 
gains subsequent to fiscal yearend, we expect 
our per share earnings and cash flow to increase 
going forward.

During this ultra-competitive period, we were once 
again very pleased with our ability to successfully 
source high-quality acquisitions. Of course, we 
could always have a larger acquisition pipeline 
which would enable us to generate faster growth in 
total assets, but with so much of our own “skin in 
the game,” we always hold true to our conservative 
principles and wait until we find what has become 
known as “A Monmouth Asset.” What defines a 
Monmouth asset is the following: 1. The tenant 
must have an investment grade rating or, if non-
rated, must be deemed by us to be of equivalent 
investment-grade quality. 2. The lease must be of a 
long duration of 10 or more years. 3. The lease must 
be a solid net-lease that requires the tenant to be 
responsible for all taxes, insurance, and operating 
expenses. Taking our stringent investment criteria 
a few steps further, the property must be a modern 
building. I discussed earlier the reasons why the 
supply chain has shifted to these smart, highly 
automated, omni-channel capable buildings. 
Last but certainly not least, the property must be 
well-located. I spent several pages in last year’s 
annual report on the topic “Location, Location, 
Location.” We invest in business-friendly states as 
these areas enjoy greater population growth and 
greater per-capita GDP growth. We also focus on 
logistics centers. These are areas near international 
airports, seaports, inland ports, or rail hubs. With 
70% of the U.S. population residing east of the 
Mississippi River, our portfolio is strategically 
very well-positioned (see Property Locations map, 
pages 18–19 of this report). We have shown great 
discipline in building our portfolio of mission-
critical industrial properties one high quality asset 
at a time. Today our portfolio is second to none.

– 10 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment CorporationReliable 
Dividends

$0.58

$0.57

$0.60

$0.70

$0.68

$0.66

$0.64

$0.62

$0.60

$0.58

$0.56

$0.54

$0.52

$0.50

$0.68

$0.64

1999

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

2019

“ Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. He 
who understands it earns it; he who doesn’t pays it.”

– Albert Einstein, Physicist

The mistaken belief that so much is vulnerable to 
the forces of disruption is in itself disruptive and 
therefore, self-fulfilling in the short term. New 
economy stocks have soared while old economy 
stocks have been battered. Unicorn companies 
are commanding valuations that appear one step 
removed from reality. But hope and patience do 
not spring eternal and sooner or later a focus on 
profitability returns.

Perhaps the best proof of the strength of our 
qualitative business model is our dividend track 
record. Even during the depths of the Global 
Financial Crisis our shareholder dividends were paid 

without missing a beat. We passed that stress-test 
with flying colors and have since raised our dividend 
by 13%. Our AFFO dividend payout ratio this year 
was 80%, which given our high-quality tenant base 
and our 7.8 year weighted average lease maturity, 
provides for a very safe and well-protected dividend. 
With reliable dividends should come patience and 
less volatility. Warren Buffet has compared life 
to a snowball. All that is needed, he says, is some 
wet snow and a really long hill. It is empirically 
proven that Monmouth possesses both of these 
key ingredients for tapping into the wonders of 
compounding investment returns over the long term.

– 11 –

2019 Annual ReportTotal Return  
Performance

MNR

S&P 500

MSCI US REIT 
(RMS)

)

%

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350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

-50

-100

277.60%

184.17%

146.23%

7
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2
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1
3
/
2
1

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1
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2
1

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1
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2
1

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1
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1

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1
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1

2
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9
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1
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2
1

Looking at our total return performance over the 
past 12-year period we see that Monmouth has 
handily outperformed both the MSCI US REIT 
Index and the S&P 500. The algorithms that play 
an increasing role in the public markets these days 
are known for their hyper-active trading. Given our 
consistent fundamental performance, Monmouth’s 
more recent trading pattern shown above has 
become much too volatile and perhaps even 
predictably so. Real estate is a long-term cyclical 
asset class that can deliver the type of compounded 
returns over time that will outperform all other 
asset classes. Just because the robots are superfast 
does not mean that high-speed dating is a 

superior “investment” strategy. Instead of creative 
destruction, the computer engineers who have 
infiltrated the public arena may ultimately end 
up with a legacy of destructive creation. Long-
term investing should be defined by a substantial 
amount of years, not quarters. Much time and 
thought has gone into writing this letter to 
shareholders, and I am grateful for the time you 
are taking to read it. Unfortunately, not a single 
millisecond will be spent on it, or anyone else’s 
shareholder letter for that matter, by the robo-
advisors who are out there controlling so much 
of the public market today. And that, my fellow 
human beings, is a sad commentary.

– 12 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation 
 
Percentage of Bonds 
Trading at Negative Yields

100%

100%

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

89%

75%

72%

66%

64%

54%

50%

GER

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IRE 

BEL

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SPA

0%

ITA

“ It’s no easy thing trying to shout down a mass delusion!”

– James Grant, Writer

Who is crazy enough to be investing in negative 
yielding bonds? Due to the widespread proliferation 
of index funds, the answer could very well be, 
YOU ARE!!! With 25% of the total fixed income 
instruments yielding less than zero during much 
of the past year, anyone in a global bond ETF is 
exposed, whether wittingly or unwittingly, to these 
negative nominal interest rates. This long period of 
financially repressed markets has made low-cost, 
passive investing the dominant force in portfolio 
management today. Compounding the situation, 
many “active” investors are really not very active at 
all, as their holdings intentionally mirror those of 
the largest index funds. Therefore, the amount of 

assets under management owned by the truly active 
investors is much lower than most people think. 
Having stock ownership more widely dispersed to 
both active human investors as well as index funds 
would provide for a more balanced market structure. 
The current situation in which giant ownership 
concentrations can be found in just a handful of 
passive funds is a much less stable environment. 
Innovation is an enlightened act. Imitation is far 
less so. While index funds do serve a useful purpose, 
I believe that balancing forces will at some point 
reappear, and active investing will once again return 
to its preeminent place in the sun.

– 13 –

2019 Annual Report“ Wisdom is the son of failure, and the father of success.”

– Isaac Bashevis Singer, Writer

It is no secret that without the wisdom, intuition, 
vision, guidance, and judgement of our Founder, 
my father and mentor, Eugene Landy, Monmouth 
would not be what it is today. There is so much to 
admire about his leadership. So much to aspire to, 
and to emulate, both in business and beyond. The 
words to define it have not yet been created. Please 
know that a better example there could never be.

It must also be stated that working alongside 
our exceptional Team over many years, we have 
built upon our strong foundation and taken 
Monmouth to places far beyond what was capable 
before. So, thank you to my teammates. Your hard 
work, dedication, and deep concern for all things 
Monmouth is truly a blessing.

To our Directors, for your vigilant oversight. There 
can be no more effective judge of things than time 
itself. Thank you for looking out for Monmouth’s 
long-term interests and for understanding the 
enduring principles that have made us one of the 
oldest and best performing REITs in the world.

– 14 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment CorporationLastly, it has been said that the surest proof of 
intelligent life existing on other planets is that 
they’ve never come to visit us. One can imagine 
intergalactic space aliens peering through a looking 
glass of their own, down at our little world today. 
What an upside-down place they would see. One of 
the many faults of human nature is that sometimes 
in order to understand the true value of things, we 
first need to throw them away. Only when it’s too 
late do we understand how blinded we’d become,  
as the thing to remember about looking glasses is, 
that in order to truly see the world clearly,  
one must also look within!

The forces of Creative Destruction have been 
unleashed by the Digital Revolution, and they will 
continue to select the winners from the losers, or in 
today’s parlance, the disruptors from the disrupted. 
Let us all strive to be on the side of CREATION. For 
those who can anticipate what tomorrow will bring, 
prosperity awaits.

Here’s to a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Sincerely,

Michael P. Landy
President and Chief Executive Officer

– 15 –

2019 Annual Report 
Consistent 
Growth

Gross 
Assets

Gross  
Revenue

$2.2

$2.0

$1.8

$1.6

$1.4

$1.2

$1.0

$0.8

$0.6

$0.4

$0.2

$200

$175

$150

$125

$100

$75

$50

$25

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$

$2.122

$1.925

$1.616

$1.379

$1.041

FY 2015

FY 2016

FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

$174

$152

$123

$103

$81

FY 2015

FY 2016

FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

– 16 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation 
 
 
 
Common 
Equity

Perpetual
Preferred
Equity

Debt

)
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n

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$
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$3.0

$2.5

$2.0

$1.5

$1.0

$0.5

$0.90

$0.80

$0.70

$0.60

$0.50

$0.40

$0.30

$0.20

$0.10

$2.548

$2.577

$2.182

$1.788

$1.171

Capital 
Structure

FY 2015

FY 2016

FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

$0.87

$0.85

$0.76

$0.70

$0.57

FY 2015

FY 2016

FY 2017

FY 2018

FY 2019

– 17 –

Adjusted 
Funds from 
Operations

2019 Annual Report 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Property 
Locations

Monmouth’s property portfolio is 
exclusively located right here in the 
continental United States. With 
over 70% of the U.S. population 
residing east of the Mississippi River, 
Monmouth’s assets are clearly on 
the path of progress. The recently 
expanded Panama Canal has resulted 
in America’s East Coast and Gulf 
Coast ports experiencing much 
higher growth rates than those on the 
West Coast. Our 22.9 million square 
foot industrial property portfolio 
is strategically very well positioned 
near major rail hubs, major seaports, 
major intermodal ports, international 
airports, interstate highways, and 
manufacturing plants that are 
integral to our tenants’ operations. 
Because business-friendly states 
tend to have greater population 
growth, better employment rates, 
and higher standards of living, this 
too is factored into our investment 
decision-making process.

Existing Properties (115)

Future Acquisitions  
Under Contract (5)

Main Railroads

Population Density 
(#/sq. mi.)

1.74

2,891

– 18 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation– 19 –

2019 Annual ReportFeatured 
Properties

FedEx
Dallas, TX 
352,000 SF

Milwaukee Tool
Memphis, TN 
862,000 SF

Beam Suntory
Lexington, KY 
600,000 SF

– 20 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment CorporationAmazon
Indianapolis, IN 
616,000 SF

Coca-Cola
Phoenix, AZ 
283,500 SF

Ulta Beauty
Indianapolis, IN 
672,000 SF

– 21 –

2019 Annual ReportFeatured 
Properties (continued)

FedEx
Trenton, NJ 
347,000 SF

Actavis
Memphis, TN 
235,000 SF

Best Buy
Cleveland, OH 
368,000 SF

– 22 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment CorporationAmazon
Oklahoma City, OK 
300,000 SF

B. Braun
Daytona Beach, FL 
400,000 SF

FedEx
Indianapolis, IN 
328,000 SF

– 23 –

2019 Annual Report– 24 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment CorporationMonmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation 
is one of the oldest REITs in the world. Our 
history, which spans more than five decades of 
creating exceptional value for our shareholders, 
is characterized by transparency, accountability, 
fairness, and integrity throughout every facet of 
our business. This annual report is our official log 
charting our voyage to date. What a magnificent 
journey it has been. Today we own a modern 
portfolio of industrial properties secured by long-
term leases to some of the strongest companies in 
the world. Our team, headed by Michael Landy, has 
created one of the finest industrial REITs around.

Your Chairman has been in your service for fifty-
two years. Indeed, I was there at the founding of the 
REIT industry. REITs were formed to give small 
investors the opportunity to become real estate 
investors. They were also formed to create large 
pools of capital to finance the construction needs 
of the nation. Today, in almost every segment of the 
real estate industry, there is ample capital available 
to create the new space that is needed in order to 
meet the demands of our growing economy.

I am grateful to our shareholders who have 
entrusted their funds to our stewardship. Our total 
return, which is in excess of 1,100% achieved over 
the past two decades, is evidence of our diligence. 
I would like to also extend thanks to our Board of 
Directors who have served our Company well over 
many decades. A knowledgeable and experienced 
board is an asset to every company. Experience 
allows us to overcome the challenges presented by 
recessions, inflation, or any of the other difficulties 
that inevitably appear, as life is not always “fair 
winds and smooth seas.”

We listen to the economic experts such as Jim 
Grant and believe their cautionary advice is well 
reasoned. We also believe that prior to any period 
of contraction there will be a period of prosperity, 
rising values and property prices.

Our Company is well positioned to prosper, both in 
good times and in bad.

Sincerely,

Eugene W. Landy
Founder and Chairman of the Board

– 25 –

2019 Annual ReportFinancial 
Highlights

The following is a calendar yearend common stock review:

Year

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Share 
Volume

Opening 
Price ($)

Closing 
Price ($)

Dividend 
Paid ($)

Appreciation 
(Depreciation)

Total  
Return

109,021,600

114,711,400

80,472,400

80,440,900

53,003,500

12.40

17.80

15.24

10.46

11.07

14.48

12.40

17.80

15.24

10.46

0.68

0.68

0.65

0.64

0.61

16.8%

22.6%

-30.3%

-26.4%

16.8%

21.9%

45.7%

53.5%

-5.5%

0.3%

The shares of common stock of Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation are traded on the New York 
Stock Exchange (NYSE:MNR).

The following is a 5-year dividend payment and Core FFO analysis:

Fiscal Year Ended September 30

Core Funds From Operations ($)

Dividends Per Share ($)

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 81,196,801 

 69,841,849 

 57,088,302 

 50,270,633 

 35,276,535 

0.68

0.68

0.64

0.64

0.60

– 26 –

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation– 27 –

2019 Annual ReportEconomic survival is dependent upon the 
creation of goods and services. There are three 
essential ingredients needed in order to create 
these goods and services:
Labor, Capital, and Land.

Because real estate ownership directly provides 
one of these required elements, it has proven 
to be a very sound long-term investment.

Today, Monmouth owns 115 industrial 
properties containing 22.9 million rentable 
square feet, situated on 2,725 total acres. 
These mission-critical assets are geographically 
diversified across 30 states. With a weighted 
average building age of only 9.1 years, and a 
current occupancy rate of 99.2%, our portfolio 
of properties, built one high-quality asset at a 
time, is one of the best around.

Our real estate is home to some of the world’s 
largest companies, including Amazon, 
Anheuser-Busch, Beam Suntory, Coca-Cola, 
FedEx, Home Depot, International Paper, 
National-Oilwell Varco, Sherwin-Williams, 
Siemens, Toyota, Ulta Beauty, United 
Technologies, and more.

Because 80% of our rental revenue is derived 
from long-term leases to investment-grade 
tenants, our earnings quality is among the 
strongest in the REIT industry.

Directors

Kiernan Conway
Director of Research and 
Corporate Engagement 
Alabama Center of Real Estate 
Chief Economist, CCIM Institute 

Brian H. Haimm
Chief Financial Officer and 
Chief Operating Officer 
Active Acquisitions, LLC

Eugene W. Landy
Founder and Chairman of  
the Board

Daniel D. Cronheim
Attorney-at-Law 
President 
David Cronheim Mortgage Corp.

Catherine B. Elflein
Senior Director — Risk Management 
Celgene Corporation

Neal Herstik
Attorney-at-Law 
Gross, Truss & Herstik, PC

Matthew I. Hirsch
Attorney-at-Law 
Law Office of Matthew I. Hirsch

Michael P. Landy
President and Chief Executive  
Officer

Samuel A. Landy
Attorney-at-Law, President and 
Chief Executive Officer 
UMH Properties, Inc.

Scott L. Robinson
Managing Director 
Oberon Securities

Kevin S. Miller
Chief Financial and Accounting  
Officer, and Treasurer

Gregory T. Otto
Chief Strategy Officer 
Seabury Maritime, LLC

Stephen B. Wolgin
Managing Director 
U.S. Real Estate Advisors, Inc.

Officers and Management

Eugene W. Landy
Founder and Chairman of  
the Board

Allison Nagelberg
General Counsel

Michael P. Landy
President and  
Chief Executive Officer

Kevin S. Miller
Chief Financial and Accounting Officer, 
and Treasurer

Michael D. Prashad
General Counsel

Richard Molke
Vice President of Asset Management

Susan M. Jordan
Vice President of Investor Relations

Becky G. Coleridge
Vice President of Investor Relations

Allison Viscardi
Vice President of Property Management

Katie Rytter
Controller

Laura Teman
Assistant Controller

Ayaris Drouet
Administrative Assistant

Crystal Glas
Executive Assistant

Yulia Hatch
Senior Accountant

Ashley Tripodi
Assistant Property Manager

Matthew R. Santonocito
Information Technology Manager

Corporate Information

Corporate Office
Bell Works 
101 Crawfords Corner Road 
Suite 1405 
Holmdel, NJ 07733

Independent Auditors
PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP 
665 Fifth Avenue 
New York, NY 10022

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Transfer Agent &  
Registrar
American Stock Transfer 
& Trust Company 
6201 15th Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11219

Common Stock Listing
NYSE:MNR

www.mreic.reit

 
 
 
 
Monmouth Real Estate  
Investment Corporation

A Public REIT Since 1968

NYSE: MNR

www.mreic.reit

Bell Works 
101 Crawfords Corner Road, Suite 1405 
Holmdel, New Jersey 07733 
732.577.9996

Monmouth Real Estate  
Investment Corporation
2019 Annual Report

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