MPW Medical Properties Trust Inc

This Current Report on Form is filed by Medical Properties Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), and MPT Operating Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership through which the Company conducts substantially all of its operations (the “Operating Partnership”). Through one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the Company serves as the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context requires otherwise, references to “we” and “our” refer to the Company, the Operating Partnership and any other subsidiaries thereof.

The following risk factor supplements the risk factors described under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The spread of the virus during the first quarter of 2020 has caused an economic downturn on a global scale, and international financial markets may continue to experience significant volatility, which may adversely affect our and our tenant operators’ respective businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. We own hospitals throughout the United States, as well as in some of the hardest hit countries in Europe, including Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. As the pandemic nears its peak in locales around the world, hospitals are aggressively deferring surgeries and treatments to make beds available for the substantial increase in patients. Such actions are often also mandated by applicable federal and local laws. The effect of deferring these treatments is immediate and includes temporary reductions in revenue for our tenant operators, while offsetting revenue from treatment of patients can be delayed. Moreover, as patients are admitted, hospitals have immediate cash needs for the physicians, nurses, equipment, drugs, and supplies that this particular illness requires. Accordingly, many operators in the hospital industry, including our tenants, are currently drawing on cash reserves and/or government support to bridge this disruption in their cash flows.

At the present time it is not possible for us to accurately predict when and for how long these changes in volumes and patient mix and spikes in cash needs will occur. In the United States, the recently adopted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes $100 billion intended to provide an influx of money to hospitals and other health care entities responding to the pandemic. Similar legislative initiatives have been adopted or are pending in other jurisdictions where we own healthcare properties. However, receipt of these government funds is subject to a detailed application and approval process and it is too soon to accurately predict how and when these government funds will flow to our tenant operators (if at all) and the effect these funds may have in offsetting the cash flow disruptions experienced by our tenant operators. If one or more of our tenant operators are unable to pay us amounts due in a timely manner, we may be required to restructure tenants obligations to us and may not always be able to do so on terms as favorable to us as those currently in place. Numerous state, local, federal and industry-initiated efforts may also affect our ability to collect amounts owed or enforce remedies for the failure to pay. In the event of tenant nonpayment, default or bankruptcy, we may incur costs in protecting our investment and our property, and have limited ability to renew existing leases or sign new leases at projected rents.

The global impact of the pandemic continues to evolve rapidly, and the extent of its effect on our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic, the actions taken to contain or mitigate its impact, and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and related containment measures, among others. The pandemic presents material uncertainty and risk with respect to the performance, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of our tenant operators, and thus on their continued ability to pay us rent and interest in a timely manner or at all. If our tenant operators are unable to meet their payment obligations to us, our performance, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations could be materially adversely effected.