MALVERN, Pa., April 24, 2012 \/PRNewswire\/ -- Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY - News) reported that funds from operations available to common shareholders (diluted) (\"FFO\") for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.68 per share, compared to $0.65 per share for the first quarter of 2011. Funds from operations for the first quarter of 2012 include termination fees of $2.2 million, a $3.7 million net discount realized on the redemption of certain preferred units, and $3.2 million of additional compensation expense due to the accelerated vesting of long-term incentive compensation due to the years of service and ages of certain employees. <\/p>\n
Net income per common share (diluted) was $0.32 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared to $0.25 per share (diluted) for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. <\/p>\n
\"Liberty has done very well so far in 2012,\" commented Bill Hankowsky, chief executive officer. \"We had strong first quarter, leasing 4.3 million square feet and redeeming high-dividend preferred securities, and we have subsequently advanced our repositioning strategy with the execution of a significant sale of suburban office and high-finish flex properties. All of this was accomplished in an environment of slow recovery in the real estate markets.\" <\/p>\n
Portfolio Performance <\/p>\n
Leasing: At March 31, 2012, Liberty's in-service portfolio of 79.3 million square feet was 90.5% occupied, compared to 91.3% at the end of the fourth quarter, an anticipated decrease. During the quarter, Liberty completed lease transactions totaling 4.3 million square feet of space. <\/p>\n
Same Store Performance: Property level operating income for same store properties increased by 0.5% on a cash basis and decreased by 0.4% on a straight line basis for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same quarter in 2011. <\/p>\n
Capital Activities and Balance Sheet Management <\/p>\n
Preferred Unit Redemptions: During the first quarter, Liberty redeemed $32.5 million of its outstanding 6.65% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units for $26.0 million, and redeemed the entire $95.0 million of 7.45% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units at par. The $6.5 million discount net of the write off of $2.8 million of origination costs is included in FFO. <\/p>\n
Property Sales: During the first quarter, Liberty sold two operating properties, which contained 105,000 square feet of leasable space for $6.5 million. The properties were 76.6% leased at the time of the sale. <\/p>\n
Real Estate Investments <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read the original post:<\/p>\n
Liberty Property Trust Announces First Quarter 2012 Results<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MALVERN, Pa., April 24, 2012 \/PRNewswire\/ -- Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY - News) reported that funds from operations available to common shareholders (diluted) (\"FFO\") for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.68 per share, compared to $0.65 per share for the first quarter of 2011. Funds from operations for the first quarter of 2012 include termination fees of $2.2 million, a $3.7 million net discount realized on the redemption of certain preferred units, and $3.2 million of additional compensation expense due to the accelerated vesting of long-term incentive compensation due to the years of service and ages of certain employees. Continue reading