Dividends increased to $1.27 per share, marking the 13th consecutive year of dividend increases. The company's stock is trading in the $14.80-per-share range on the New York Stock Exchange.

The REIT marked a net earnings loss of $489,000 in 2001, compared with positive net earnings of $12.2 million in Q4 2002. They attributed the 2001 loss to the non-cash charge of $10.4 million for the acquisition of the company's former advisor.

Net earnings available to common stockholders for the year were $44 million or $1.09 per share compared to $28.96 million or 91 cents per share in 2001.

Revenues for Q4 totaled $23.1 million compared to $19.96 million in the same 2001 period. Funds from operations for the quarter were $14.75 million or 36 cents per share versus $12 million or 35 cents per share in the 2001 quarter. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2002, FFO was $57.88 million or $1.43 per share compared to $44.6 million or $1.41 per share in 2001.

CNLR president and chief operating officer Gary M. Ralston says the company met all of its top goals for 2002 by improving occupancy, showing profitability of an unconsolidated subsidiary and adding depth to the senior management team.

"We returned occupancy to the 95% level (from 88% in 2001), demonstrating the attractiveness of freestanding retail sites and the effectiveness of our leasing team," Ralston says. General counsel Jay Whitehurst and chief investment officer David Cobb joined the CNLR team in 2002.

The company and its affiliated subsidiaries invested $13.78 million during the Q4 and $45.83 million in 35 properties for all of 2002 in additional properties and construction in progress.

CNLR sold three properties in the Q4, generating net proceeds of $3.94 million, which resulted in a net gain of $219,000 on the balance sheet. For the year, the REIT logged total net property disposition sales of $29.9 million from 19 properties, resulting in a gain of $256,000.