General Growth Turns In Strong Quarter

CHICAGO—Last week, General Growth Properties released its first quarter results and analysts seem pleased with the Chicago-based real estate investment trust’s performance and its overall outlook. The trust reported that its funds from operations per share increased 21.4% to $0.31 per diluted share from $0.25 per diluted share in last year’s first quarter, and funds from operations increased 15.8% to $292 million from $253 million in last year’s first quarter. And its EBITDA increased 4.1% to $501 million from $481 million in last year’s first quarter.

Furthermore, net income for the trust, which has a portfolio of 120 regional malls with about 125-million-square-feet, went up sharply compared to last year’s first quarter, from a net loss of $12 million to a net income of $128 million. “The increase is impacted primarily by lower depreciation expense and a gain on extinguishment of debt,” according to a company statement.