Organization and Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

In preparing the financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we are required to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from these estimates and assumptions.

Reclassification

Reclassification

Certain prior period amounts in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements have been reclassified to conform to the current period’s presentation.

Lease Termination Income

Lease Termination Income

Lease Termination Income is recognized in operating revenues when there is a signed termination agreement, all of the conditions of the agreement have been met, the tenant is no longer occupying the property and the termination consideration is probable of collection. Lease termination amounts are paid by tenants who want to terminate their lease obligations before the end of the contractual term of the lease agreement with us.

Two leases that were set to expire during fiscal 2018 were leased to Kellogg Sales Company (Kellogg) at our 65,067 square foot facility located in Kansas City, MO through July 31, 2018 and at our 50,400 square foot facility located in Orangeburg, NY through February 28, 2018. Kellogg informed us that they would not be renewing these leases. On December 18, 2017, we sold our property, located in Kansas City, MO for $4,900,000, with net sale proceeds to us of approximately $4,602,000 and on December 22, 2017, we sold our property, located in Orangeburg, NY for $6,170,000, with net sale proceeds to us of approximately $5,898,000. The sale of these two properties resulted in a realized gain of approximately $5,388,000, representing a 105% gain over the depreciated U.S. GAAP basis and a realized net gain of approximately $1,804,000, representing a 21% net gain over our historic undepreciated cost basis. In conjunction with the sale of these two properties, we simultaneously entered into a lease termination agreement for each property whereby we received a termination fee from Kellogg totaling approximately $210,000 which represents a weighted average of 80% of the then remaining rent due under each respective lease.

Only four of our 109 properties have leases that contain an early termination provision. These four properties contain approximately 184,000 total rentable square feet, representing less than 1% of our total rentable square feet. Our leases with early termination provisions are our 26,340 square foot location in Ridgeland (Jackson), MS, our 36,270 square foot location in Urbandale (Des Moines), IA, our 38,833 square foot location in Rockford, IL, and our 83,000 square foot location in Roanoke, VA. Each lease termination provision contains certain requirements that must be met in order to exercise each termination provision. These requirements include: the date termination can be exercised, the time frame that notice must be given by the tenant to us and the termination fee that would be required to be paid by the tenant to us. The total potential termination fee to be paid to us from the four tenants with leases that have a termination provision amounts to approximately $1,681,000.

Stock Compensation Plan

Stock Compensation Plan

We account for awards of stock options and restricted stock in accordance with ASC 718-10, “Compensation-Stock Compensation”. ASC 718-10 requires that compensation cost for all stock awards be calculated and amortized over the service period (generally equal to the vesting period). The compensation cost for stock option grants is determined using option pricing models, intended to estimate the fair value of the awards at the grant date less estimated forfeitures. The compensation expense for restricted stock is recognized based on the fair value of the restricted stock awards less estimated forfeitures. The fair value of restricted stock awards is equal to the fair value of our stock on the grant date. The amortization of compensation costs for stock option grants and restricted stock are included in General and Administrative Expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income and amounted to $111,407 and $166,190 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively and amounted to $242,170 and $266,345 for the six months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

During the six months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the following stock options, which vest one year after grant date, were granted under our Stock Option Plan:

Date of Grant	Number of Employees	Number of  Shares		Option Price		Expiration Date
1/3/18	1		65,000	$	17.80	1/3/26
1/4/17	1		65,000	$	15.04	1/4/25
12/9/16	10		215,000	$	14.24	12/9/24

The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions used for grants in the fiscal year indicated:

	Fiscal 2018			Fiscal 2017
Dividend yield		3.82	%		4.44	%
Expected volatility		16.45	%		18.84	%
Risk-free interest rate		2.37	%		2.26	%
Expected lives (years)		8			8
Estimated forfeitures		-0-			-0-

The weighted-average fair value of options granted during the six months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $1.84 and $1.49 per option, respectively.

During the six months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, 12,500 and -0- shares of restricted stock were granted. During the six months ended March 31, 2018, three participants exercised options awarded under the Plan to purchase an aggregate of 40,000 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $14.24 per share for total proceeds of $569,600. During the six months ended March 31, 2017, no options were exercised. As of March 31, 2018, a total of 1,673,706 shares were available for grant as stock options, as restricted stock, or other equity based awards, plus any shares subject to outstanding options that expire or are forfeited without being exercised. As of March 31, 2018, there were outstanding options to purchase 695,000 shares with an aggregate intrinsic value of $2,171,900.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02, “Leases”. ASU 2016-02 amends the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. The standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. ASU 2016-02 will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. We are continuing to evaluate the potential impact this standard may have on our consolidated financial statements and the timing of adoption. The most significant changes related to lessor accounting under ASU 2016-02 include bifurcating revenue into lease and non-lease components and the new standard’s narrow definition of initial direct costs for leases. Since our revenue is primarily derived from leasing activities from long-term net leases and since we currently do not capitalize indirect costs for leases, we believe that we will continue to account for our leases and related leasing costs in substantially the same manner as we currently do once the adoption of the ASU 2016-02 becomes effective.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, “Financial Instruments – Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities”. ASU 2016-01 requires equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income, requires public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes, requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset, and eliminates the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost. These changes become effective for our fiscal year beginning October 1, 2018. We anticipate that the most significant change for us, once ASU 2016-01 is adopted, will be the accounting for our investments in marketable securities classified as available for sale, which are currently carried at fair value with unrealized holding gains and losses being excluded from earnings and reported as a separate component of Shareholders’ Equity until realized and the change in net unrealized holding gains and losses being reflected as comprehensive income (loss). Under ASU 2016-01, these marketable securities will continue to be measured at fair value, however the changes in net unrealized holding gains and losses will be recognized through net income.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers”. The FASB issued further guidance in ASU 2016-12, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients”, that provides clarifying guidance in certain narrow areas and adds some practical expedients. ASU 2014-09 will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The effective date of ASU 2014-09 was extended by one year by ASU 2015-14, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date”. The new standard is effective for the first interim period within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Therefore, we expect to adopt the standard effective October 1, 2018. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method, and we are evaluating which transition method we will elect. We are also in the process of evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. Our revenue is primarily derived from leasing activities and historically our property dispositions have been cash sales with no contingencies and no future involvement in the property. Since this standard applies to all contracts with customers except those that are within the scope of other guidance, such as leases, we do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

We do not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective accounting pronouncements, if adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Segment Reporting & Financial Information

Segment Reporting & Financial Information

Our primary business is the ownership and management of real estate properties. We invest in well-located, modern, single tenant, industrial buildings leased primarily to investment-grade tenants or their subsidiaries on long-term net leases. We review operating and financial information for each property on an individual basis and, therefore, each property represents an individual operating segment. We evaluate financial performance using Net Operating Income (NOI) from property operations. NOI is a non-GAAP financial measure, which we define as recurring Rental and Reimbursement Revenue, less Real Estate Taxes and Operating Expenses, such as insurance, utilities and repairs and maintenance. We have aggregated the properties into one reportable segment as the properties share similar long-term economic characteristics and have other similarities, including the fact that they are operated as industrial properties subject to long-term net leases primarily to investment-grade tenants or their subsidiaries.