General Growth Properties Reports Higher Revenue in March Quarter

   By Maria Armental 
 

General Growth Properties Inc.'s (GGP) revenue rose 2% in the first three months of the year as results beat projections.

Shares, up 3% over the past 12 months, rose 3.4% to $29.60 in after-hours trading.

The second-largest mall owner in the U.S. by number of properties, General Growth has been shifting its focus to high-end urban addresses like Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and Chicago's Michigan Avenue. It exited bankruptcy protection in 2010.

Over all for the latest quarter, General Growth reported a profit of $191.8 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with $634.7 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

The sharp drop in profit came as the year-earlier quarter was boosted by more investment property-related gains. General Growth reported a $74.6 million gain from changes in control of investment properties in the first quarter, compared with a $591.2 million gain in the year-ago period.

Funds from operations, meanwhile, rose to 40 cents a share, compared with 32 cents a year earlier. General Growth had projected 34 cents to 36 cents a share.

Revenue rose 2% to $607 million, above analysts' projected $590 million.

Rental rates for signed leases signed in the previous 12 months rose 13% to $66.37 a square foot, while tenant sales, excluding anchor stores, rose 2.1% to $20.3 billion on a trailing 12-month basis.

Meanwhile, the percentage of leased properties on a same-store basis was 95.9%, compared with 95.8% a year earlier and 96.9% in the previous quarter.

Expenses rose 11% to $433 million as the company set aside $40.7 million as a provision for impairments and $36.1 million for a loan loss.

For the current quarter, General Growth expects FFO of 34 cents to 36 cents a share, compared with analysts' projected 36 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2016 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)

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