Public Storage 3Q Profit Up 73% On Forex,Stock-Offering Gain

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Public Storage Inc.'s (PSA) third-quarter profit grew 73% on gains from foreign-currency exchange and an equity offering by PS Business Parks Inc (PSB).

The real-estate investment trust, which has interests in more than 2,000 storage facilities in 38 states as well as operations in Europe, has seen revenue fall on lower demand during the recession.

Public Storage posted a profit of $237.3 million, or $1.03 a share, up from $137.3 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier.

Funds from operations, a key measure of REIT profitability, fell to $1.30 a share from $1.37. Excluding the effect of foreign-currency changes and other items, FFO rose to $1.44 a share from $1.08. Revenue declined 4.2% to $412.9 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected FFO of $1.25 on revenue of $405 million.

At facilities the company has operated since 2007, revenue fell 4.4% because of a 4.2% decline in realized rent per occupied square foot and a 1% decrease in average occupancies.

Public Storage's shares rose 0.4% to $77.03 in after-hours trading. The stock is nearly flat from a year ago.

-By John Kell and Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; [e-mail]