"This was an exceptional year for Weingarten Realty in all respects," says CEO and president Drew Alexander. The Houston-based REIT now has a coast-to-coast presence in the south, but more importantly has done so by "maintaining its core business strategy while maintaining a conservative capital structure," he says. A call for a stock split comes in the form of a 50% common share dividend to shareholdeThe stock split is effective in the form of a 50% common share dividend to shareholders of record as of April 1 and payable April 15.

In 2001, Weingarten raised $302 million in net proceeds from three equity sales, issuing 72 million shares. Another 198,098 shares changed hands yesterday in a near $10-million sale to Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund Inc. The new fund, says Weingarten, will ultimately exceed $500 million. The proceeds will be applied to debt reduction of the existing credit facility.

Fourth quarter 2001 has FFO at $39.7 million in comparison to $29.4 million at the 2000 close. The fourth quarter diluted share increase amounts to $1.17 per share versus $1.09 per share in the previous year whereas the overall was up 7.5% to $4.56 per share. Total year-end funds from operation are up 28.9% to $146.8 million. In 2000, it was $113.9 million.

Weingarten says its annual earnings report pegged rental revenue up 27% overall for the year while Q4 showed a 31.9% increase. Some 6.1 million sf were added to the portfolio last year, taking it to 35.7 million sf when the calendar flipped. The acquisitions represented an investment of $518.6 million in 2001. Seven retail centers and interests in two mini-storage warehouses were sold, either because they were too small or too old to fit the portfolio's profile. The REIT realized $22 million from the sale of the 641,000 sf.