Boston Properties Profit More Than Triples on Real-Estate Sales Gain

   By Maria Armental 
 

Boston Properties Inc.'s (BXP) first-quarter profit rose sharply as the real-estate investment trust recorded another gain on sales of real estate.

The Boston-based company, which focuses on office space, raised its projection for the year to between $5.35 and $5.45 a share in funds from operations, compared with its earlier view of $5.28 to $5.43 and the consensus of $5.38 a share.

Funds from operations is a key measure used by REITs to assess performance. Boston Properties excludes real estate-related depreciation and amortization along with impairment losses or gains or losses associated with disposition activities from its FFO calculations.

For the current quarter, the company projects FFO of $1.32 to $1.34 a share, compared with the consensus of $1.24 a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the most recent period, the company reported a profit of $171.2 million, or $1.11 a share, compared with $54 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier. FFO were $1.30 a share, compared with $1.20 a share a year earlier, well above the company's projection of $1.22 to $1.24 a share.

Revenue rose nearly 8% to $618.5 million, compared with the consensus of $596.7 million.

The percentage of leased properties in its portfolio fell to 90.3% from 91.7% a year earlier.

Shares, up 17% over the past 12 months, closed at $137.80 on Monday.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

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