DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Public Storage Inc.'s (PSA) third-quarter profit grew 73% on
gains from foreign-currency exchange and an equity offering by PS
Business Parks Inc (PSB).
The real-estate investment trust, which has interests in more
than 2,000 storage facilities in 38 states as well as operations in
Europe, has seen revenue fall on lower demand during the
recession.
Public Storage posted a profit of $237.3 million, or $1.03 a
share, up from $137.3 million, or 42 cents a share, a year
earlier.
Funds from operations, a key measure of REIT profitability, fell
to $1.30 a share from $1.37. Excluding the effect of
foreign-currency changes and other items, FFO rose to $1.44 a share
from $1.08. Revenue declined 4.2% to $412.9 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected FFO of $1.25 on
revenue of $405 million.
At facilities the company has operated since 2007, revenue fell
4.4% because of a 4.2% decline in realized rent per occupied square
foot and a 1% decrease in average occupancies.
Public Storage's shares rose 0.4% to $77.03 in after-hours
trading. The stock is nearly flat from a year ago.
-By John Kell and Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-2357; john.kell@dowjones.com