HRPT Properties Trust posts 4th-quarter funds from operations basically flat with year ago

HRPT Properties Trust posts flat 4th-qtr FFO

NEWTON, Mass. — HRPT Properties Trust on Tuesday posted fourth-quarter funds from operations that were little changed from a year ago, as occupancy in its office buildings and industrial properties slipped.

The real estate investment trust said FFO for the last three months of 2009 was $62.6 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with FFO of $62.2 million, or 27 cents per share, in the 2008 fourth quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected FFO of 26 cents per share.

FFO, a widely used gauge of real estate operating performance, adds depreciation and amortization expenses, as well as other non-operating items, back to net income.

Rental income slipped to $213.3 million, from $218.5 million in the year-earlier period.

As of Dec. 31, 87.4 percent of HRPT’s total square feet was leased, compared with 90.4 percent a year earlier. HRPT said it signed lease renewals for 789,000 square feet and new leases for 156,000 square feet during the quarter, with average rental rates 9 percent above prior rents for the same space.

The company posted a net loss on income after paying preferred dividends of $22.9 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with net income of $50.8 million, or 22 cents per share, in the 2008 fourth quarter. The most recent quarter’s results included 14 cents per share of loss on asset impairment. The prior year included 17 cents per share gain on the sale of properties.

For the year, HRPT posted FFO of $250.1 million, or $1.08 per share, compared with 2008 FFO of $251.7 million, or $1.08 per share.

Net income for the year was $114 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with $194 million, or 86 cents per share, for 2008.

In light afternoon trading, HRPT shares added a penny to $7.04. The stock has traded between $2.48 and $8.13 over the past 52 weeks.