Federal Realty raises annual core profit forecast on strong leasing demand

Federal Realty Investment Trust on Friday raised its annual core profit forecast after posting better-than-expected second-quarter results on strong leasing demand and rent growth across its shopping-center portfolio.

The Maryland-based real estate ‌investment ⁠trust, which ⁠owns shopping centers and mixed-use properties leased to tenants including Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Best Buy, has benefited from demand for space in densely populated, high-income metropolitan markets.

* ​The company expects annual ⁠core funds ‌from operations, a key performance ​measure ​for REITs, to be between $7.48 ⁠and $7.56 per share, compared with its prior ​forecast of $7.46 to $7.55 per share.


* Core ​funds from operations rose 6.8% to $1.88 per diluted share in the quarter ended June 30 from $1.76 a year earlier.

* Federal Realty's quarterly revenue ‌rose to $335.7 million, from $311.5 million a year ago.

* Revenue from ​rental income ​rose 7.7% ⁠to $325.9 million during the quarter.

* Portfolio occupancy, or percentage of rentable space occupied by tenants, ​was 93.8% as of June 30, up 20 basis points from a year earlier, while its leased rate increased 70 basis points to 96.1%