Cedar Realty loss narrows

Cedar Realty Trust Inc., a Port Washington-based real estate investment trust, said Monday that its first-quarter loss narrowed to $9.3 million, from $12.3 million the year before. The per-share loss narrowed to 14 cents from a loss of 18 cents the year before.

In a statement, the company highlighted its efforts to reduce its debt by divesting certain properties. Cedar Realty has disposed of about 40 of the 50 properties it plans to divest and generated about $110 million for debt reduction. The company said the assets were either sold or were under contract or returned to lenders.

“The first quarter of 2012 marked another strong quarter in our efforts to reduce our leverage and improve our performance,” said president and chief executive Bruce Schanzer.

Cedar Realty owns and manages primarily supermarket-anchored shopping centers, mostly in the Northeast.