SCOTTSDALE, AZ-Approximately five months after raising $455 million by going public, Spirit Realty Capital Inc. released its earnings figures for Q4 2012. The news was mostly good – total revenues stood at $72.6 million (a 5.4% increase over Q4 2011) occupancy was at 98.8% (a slight increase from the previous quarter and year) and reduced the principal balance outstanding on its debt by $735.2 million.

The other newsmaker for the REIT was, of course, its pending merger with Cole Credit Property Trust II which, once closed in late 2013, will create the second largest publicly traded triple-net REIT in the United States. “We are pleased with our results in our first full quarter as a public company, and we are even more excited about the potential to significantly advance the company's strategic objectives and continue to deliver sustainable returns to our shareholders through our proposed merger with CCPT II," says Thomas H. Nolan Jr., Spirit Realty chairman and CEO in a press release. "The combination of the companies will provide strategic diversification, enhance the credit quality of our tenancy, and provide us increased size and scale. The outlook for the triple-net industry is promising and we are well-positioned to capitalize on the market opportunities. We look forward to the coming year as we continue to build on our core strengths and complete our merger with CCPT II.”

Other earnings highlights from the year include:

• An FFO of $0.37 per share and AFFO of $0.42 per share
• Investment of more than $163.6 million across 91 properties
• Sale of 41 properties generating approximately $46 million in net proceeds to re-invest in opportunities with higher risk-adjusted returns
• Net loss attributable to common stockholders of $(76.3) million, or $(1.85) per share, compared to $(63.9) million, or $(2.47) per share, for the same period in 2011.

When it came to 2013 guidance, the company had originally estimated that the FFO in the coming year should range from $1.35 to $1.40 and AFFO from $1.60 to $1.65 per share, based on operational performances. However, because of the significant impact of the potential merger and related costs, management opted to withdraw those estimates.