Kimco earnings rise, despite loss of Borders

Kimco Realty Corp., of New Hyde Park, reported Thursday that its earnings increased as it collected more rental income from its portfolio of commercial properties. Kimco said it would increase its quarterly cash dividend, paid to shareholders, as a result of the profitable quarter.

The New Hyde Park real estate investment trust, among the largest mall owners in the nation, said it achieved the results despite the loss, nationwide, of ten Borders bookstore tenants and three SuperFresh grocery store tenants.

Kimco had a 15 percent increase in funds from operations -- a key indicator for REITs -- for the third quarter of 2011, compared to the same quarter last year, it said.

This year's results for the three months ending Sept. 30 showed Kimco's funds from operations at $128.2 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, compared to $110.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the same period last year.

Kimco said it will increase its quarterly cash dividend by 5.6 percent, to $0.19 per share.

Among Kimco's Long Island properties, its Hicksville Plaza, on North Broadway in Hicksville, is fully leased, with a Dollar Tree, Duane Reade, Atlantic Bank and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Also fully leased is its Franklin Square Shopping Center, on Franklin Avenue in Franklin Square, with a Petco, Payless ShoeSource and WindowRama.

In Selden, its Independence Plaza, on Middle Country Road, is anchored by a Home Depot and a King Kullen, and has four vacant spaces ranging from 6,000 to 15,000 square feet.

In morning trading Thursday, Kimco shares were down $0.32, to $17.03; its shares are up 2.48 percent in the past year. With about 680 employees, it has a market capitalization of nearly $6 billion.

During the quarter, Kimco bought six shopping centers for about $117 million and sold 10 "nonstrategic" shopping centers for about $36 million.

For its combined shopping center portfolio, including the United States, Canada and Latin America, the company had a slight increase in gross occupancy; a 3.3 percent increase in same-property net operating income; and 614 new leases, renewals and options for 1.8 million square feet of space.

Among its recent purchases, Kimco paid $29.2 million for the Village Crossroads shopping center in Phoenix, Ariz., anchored by a Walmart store; $25.5 million for Gateway Station, in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, anchored by a Kohl's; and $25.5 million for Park Hill Plaza, in Miami, Fla., anchored by a Winn-Dixie supermarket.

Kimco has 934 operating properties altogether. Of those, 807 are in the United States and Puerto Rico, 62 in Canada, 52 in Mexico and 13 in South America.

Kimco's founder, Milton Cooper, said in a PBS-TV interview in May that its marketing and leasing policies may have shielded it, somewhat, from the retail trend toward online shopping.

Cooper, 81, spoke during a PBS report on his career, titled "King of the R.E.I.T." He said Kimco's list of top 50 tenants "gives us some comfort that our exposure to the incursion of the Internet is, on a relative basis, somewhat muted," he said. "Our three largest tenants are Home Depot, TJX and Wal-Mart. In addition, I believe we are largest landlord of Costco."

Photo: A Kimco property in Jacksonville, Fla.