By Maria Armental
Boston Properties Inc.'s (BXP) fourth-quarter profit nearly
doubled, as the real-estate investment trust recorded a roughly
$126-million gain from sales of real estate.
The Boston-based company, which focuses on office space, said it
expects funds from operations in the current quarter of $1.22-$1.24
a share and $5.28-$5.43 for the year, compared with the consensus
of $1.28 and $5.38, respectively, according to analysts surveyed by
Thomson Reuters.
Funds from operations is a key figure to measure REITs'
performance based on the ratio of depreciation and amortization
expenses to earnings.
For the most recent period, the company reported a profit of
$177.2 million, or $1.14 a share, compared with $91.4 million, or
58 cents a share, a year earlier. FFO were $1.26 a share, down from
$1.29 a share a year earlier, but topping the company's projection
of $1.23 to $1.25 a share.
Revenue rose 6.5% to $613.7 million, compared with the consensus
of $587.1 million.
The percentage of leased properties in its portfolio fell to
91.7% from 93.4% a year earlier.
Shares, largely inactive in recent after-hours trading, set a
52-week-low on Thursday trading at $104.19 before closing at
$143.44. Through the closing, the company's stock had risen 36%
over the past 12 months.
The company was scheduled to report earnings on Tuesday, but
delayed its results due to the blizzard.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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