By Maria Armental
General Growth Properties Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit rose
sharply as the company recorded a $289 million investment gain.
The Chicago-based real-estate investment trust expects funds
from operations of 30 cents to 32 cents a share for the current
quarter and $1.35 to $1.41 a share for the year, compared with the
Wall Street consensus of 32 cents and $1.44, respectively,
according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
FFO are a key metric for REITs that looks at the ratio of
depreciation and amortization expenses to earnings.
General Growth, the nation's second-largest mall owner by number
of properties, has been slimming operations and accelerating its
redevelopment pipeline since exiting bankruptcy in 2010. General
Growth has also been shifting focus to urban storefronts, betting
luxury tenants are poised to grow faster outside of mall
settings.
Tenant sales, which excludes sales at anchor stores, rose 2.8%
to $20.5 billion, in the latest period from the year earlier.
Same-store mall leased percentage was 97.2% at the end of the
quarter, up 10 basis points from a year earlier, while initial
rental rates for new leases in 2014 on a suite-to-suite basis rose
18.3% to $62.26 per square foot, compared to rates for expiring
leases.
Overall, General Growth reported a profit of $289.5 million, or
30 cents a share, up from $77.2 million, or seven cents a share, a
year earlier.
FFO rose to 38 cents a share from 36 cents a year earlier.
General Growth had projected FFO of 37 cents to 39 cents a
share.
Revenue rose 0.35% to $673 million, compared with the Wall
Street consensus of $671.7 million in revenue.
Shares, which Wednesday set a 52-week high trading at $31.70,
rose 0.87% in recent after-hours trading to $31.48.
Through Wednesday's closing, the company's stock had risen 59%
over the past 12 months.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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