Kimco Realty occupancies edge up

Funds from operations at Kimco Realty Corp., a New Hyde Park real estate investment trust, rose to 31 cents per diluted share in the third quarter from 30 cents a year earlier, the company said Tuesday, as occupancy rates in its real estate portfolio edged up.

Kimco, one of Long Island's largest publicly traded companies, said occupancy rates edged up less than 1 percent in the third quarter to the highest level since 2008. Gross occupancy at its shopping center holdings in the Americas rose to 93.7 percent, a 0.7 increase compared to the same quarter in 2011.

Total new leases, renewals and options in the quarter were 2.3 million square feet, a 29 percent increase over a year ago.

Funds from operations for Kimco fell to $119 million in the quarter, compared to $134.3 million a year ago. The company attributed the decrease to costs associated with a stock transaction in August. During the quarter Kimco acquired four shopping centers with a total of 581,000 square feet while also selling nearly 2.7 million square feet in other transactions.

Kimco holds an interest in 922 shopping centers with 135 million square feet of leasable space in North America and South America.