Funds From Operations

Prime Retail Inc., one of the nation's largest owners of outlet malls, said yesterday that its third-quarter funds from operations rose 25 percent as interest expenses dropped and fewer retail tenants declared bankruptcy or closed stores. The Baltimore real estate investment trust, which has been struggling to pay off debt, reported funds from operations of $6.9 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, or 2 cents per diluted share, compared with $5.5 million, or flat per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2001.

Corporate Office Properties Trust, an owner and developer of office complexes for government agencies and contractors, said Thursday its second-quarter funds from operations rose 6 percent because of gains on investments and properties the company acquired or opened last year. The Columbia-based real estate investment trust said funds from operations rose to 57 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with 54 cents per share for the second quarter of 2010, excluding a non-cash impairment charge for acquisition costs.

Prime Retail Inc. reported only a slight increase in operational income in the third quarter, but rejected some analysts' views that the figures exemplify the retail factory outlet center industry's slide.The Baltimore-based real estate investment trust reported funds from operations of $8.3 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, a 2.3 percent gain from a year ago. Revenues, however, jumped 41 percent, to $20 million.Some Wall Street analysts have soured on the industry after Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc., a Hunt Valley real estate investment trust, reported Tuesday a decrease in fourth quarter funds from operations -- a closely watched metric for REITs -- to $24.9 million, or 29 cents per common share, from $26.3 million, or 32 cents per common share, compared to the same period in 2008. The company, which invests in long term care facilities, said net income available to common stockholders fell to $14 million, or 16 cents per common share, on revenues of $49.4 million during the three months ended Dec. 31. Those results compared to net income of $15.6 million, or 19 cents per diluted common share, on revenues of $49.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Rouse Co. reported strong second-quarter gains yesterday after its upscale shopping malls performed well in a down economy and land sales in the company's community developments were better than expected. The company also got a one-time boost from eliminating some of its debt early. Funds from operations - a key gauge of a real estate investment trust's performance - in the three months that ended June 30 rose 55 percent to $100.6 million, or $1.05 a diluted share, from $65 million, or 69 cents a diluted share, in the second quarter last year.

Propelled by a booming economy and higher rental income, the Rouse Co.'s key profit measure rose by 6.4 percent in the first quarter to $61.2 million, compared with the first quarter of 1998, the company said yesterday.Funds from operations for the Columbia-based real estate concern came to 76 cents per share, well above the 68 cents expected by Wall Street analysts surveyed by First Call Corp."They had a very good quarter," said David Fick, who follows Rouse for Baltimore investment house Legg Mason Inc. "A big part of their results in terms of beating my estimate was interest savings."

Amid a slew of changes at the Rouse Co. that has included corporate and executive restructuring, the Columbia real estate investment trust said yesterday that its funds from operations were up in the first quarter of 2003. However, new accounting rules that require some one-time charges to be included in the results caused Rouse to miss Wall Street analysts' consensus earnings estimate. The charges - $24 million this quarter - stemmed predominantly from deferred taxes and severance for executives who took early retirement.

The Rouse Co. reported yesterday that income from its retail centers and land sales, as well as lower debt and a decrease in outstanding shares, contributed to a first-quarter increase in funds from operations of close to 12 percent. The Columbia-based real estate investment trust that developed the city of Columbia and Harborplace reported funds from operations of $70.55 million, or 93 cents a diluted share, in the quarter that ended March 31. That's compared with FFO of $63.14 million, or 82 cents a diluted share, in the first quarter of 2000.

The Rouse Co. reported yesterday that funds from operations grew 10 percent in the fourth quarter despite a tough economic environment, meeting analysts' expectations. FFO, a key measure of performance for real estate investment trusts, was $70.8 million, or 93 cents a diluted share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That compares with FFO of $64.4 million, or 86 cents a diluted share, in the corresponding quarter of 2000. For the year, FFO was $274.5 million, or $3.62 a diluted share.

Corporate Office Properties Trust reported double-digit percentage gains in its funds from operations for its fourth quarter and the year. The Columbia real estate investment trust's funds from operations, a key measure of performance, rose 16.9 percent to $11.5 million, or 34 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That compares with $9.8 million, or 31 cents per share, reported for the fourth quarter of 2000. For the year, funds from operations, rose 15.2 percent to $43.2 million, or 1.29 per share, compared with $37.5 million, or $1.17 per share in 2000.

Though income from malls and land development spiked, hard-to-predict taxes kept the Rouse Co. from meeting analysts' expectations in the second quarter, the company reported yesterday. Hoping to add predictability where it can, Rouse also announced that it is launching a long-term contract program with homebuilders to lock in residential lot purchase agreements for three to four years - providing a much clearer view of future revenue streams. Rouse's funds from operations, the key benchmark for real estate investment trusts, was $97.5 million, down about 11 percent.

The Rouse Co. capped a year of record stock prices with record financial results. The Columbia development and management company's 2003 earnings report, released yesterday, showed a substantial increase in the key measure for a real estate investment trust. Rouse produced $369.8 million last year in funds from operations, its best performance yet and a 52 percent jump from 2002. Funds from operations were $3.85 per share, compared with $2.63 a share the previous year. Funds from operations in the fourth quarter were $101.

The Rouse Co. reported strong second-quarter gains yesterday after its upscale shopping malls performed well in a down economy and land sales in the company's community developments were better than expected. The company also got a one-time boost from eliminating some of its debt early. Funds from operations - a key gauge of a real estate investment trust's performance - in the three months that ended June 30 rose 55 percent to $100.6 million, or $1.05 a diluted share, from $65 million, or 69 cents a diluted share, in the second quarter last year.

BETHESDA - Host Marriott Corp., the largest hotel real estate investment trust, yesterday reported a second-quarter loss that it attributed to a weakened demand for travel tracing to the war in Iraq and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The company reduced its 2003 forecast. The net loss of $14 million, or 9 cents a share, compares with year-earlier net income of $24 million, or 6 cents. Revenue fell 5 percent to $847 million in the quarter that ended June 20, the company said.

Amid a slew of changes at the Rouse Co. that has included corporate and executive restructuring, the Columbia real estate investment trust said yesterday that its funds from operations were up in the first quarter of 2003. However, new accounting rules that require some one-time charges to be included in the results caused Rouse to miss Wall Street analysts' consensus earnings estimate. The charges - $24 million this quarter - stemmed predominantly from deferred taxes and severance for executives who took early retirement.

The Rouse Co. reported a gain yesterday in funds from operations. But taking into account almost $52 million in one-time charges, the company lost money in the fourth quarter. The charges stem from a corporate reorganization, which will spill over into this year, and declining values of shopping malls in New Jersey and Florida. The malls accounted for $39 million of the charges. Analysts said the charges were appropriate and that the quarterly loss was not significant. "We were impressed with the quarter," said David Fick, a managing director and Rouse analyst at Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., who criticized last year the way the company accounted in its funds from operations for the charges from corporate restructuring.

Prime Retail Inc., one of the nation's largest owners of outlet malls, said yesterday that its third-quarter funds from operations rose 25 percent as interest expenses dropped and fewer retail tenants declared bankruptcy or closed stores. The Baltimore real estate investment trust, which has been struggling to pay off debt, reported funds from operations of $6.9 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, or 2 cents per diluted share, compared with $5.5 million, or flat per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2001.

A financial analyst accused Rouse Co. yesterday of improperly accounting for $25 million in expenses, a move that allowed the shopping mall giant to report record quarterly earnings to the public. David Fick, an analyst at Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., said investors were being misled by the company and recommended they sell the stock. Rouse executives said the company did nothing wrong but acknowledged that they did not follow industry guidelines by excluding such expenses as bonuses and retirement costs from funds from operations, a benchmark of performance used by most real estate investment trusts.