Kimco Realty Corp. reports improved quarterly results

Kimco Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust that primarily owns shopping centers, posted higher financial results Tuesday for its second quarter due to higher occupancy rates in  its properties.

Funds from operations for the New Hyde Park-based company rose to 35 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30 -- a 2.9 percent increase from 34 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Funds from operations is a measure typically used in place of earnings per share to evaluate real estate trust profits.

Revenue at Kimco grew to $237.1 million in the quarter from $217.8 million a year earlier. Both funds from operations and revenue beat analysts' expectations.

A real estate investment trust, or REIT, owns and manages a portfolio of properties. Some, like Kimco, trade publicly and must return a certain percentage of profits to shareholders as dividends.

Kimco's net income for the quarter dropped to $53.3 million -- or 9 cents a share -- from $72.4 million for the same period in 2012 due to a $31.3-million impairment charge, according to the company's earnings report.

Funds from operations calculations do not include impairments or gains from sales of properties.

Kimco owned 874 shopping centers across North and South America as of June.

It has a stock market value of $9.2 billion, making it the second-biggest company on Long Island by that measure, after CA Technologies.