Kimco Realty reports improved shopping center earnings

Kimco Realty Corp., a major U.S. owner of community shopping centers, said its financial results showed improvement on several fronts including increases in earnings and in funds from operations.

The New Hyde Park company said net income available to common shareholders for the first quarter of 2012, ending March 31, was $38.1 million, or 9 cents per diluted share. That compares to $14.1 million, or 3 cents per diluted share, for the same quarter last year, the company said in a Wednesday news announcement.

Kimco Realty calculates is funds from operations each quarter, a measure that it describes as a useful method, in wide usage in the industry, for accurately measuring performance in real estate investment trusts.

Kimco said its funds from operations were $126.2 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2012 compared to $122 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, for the same period in the prior year.

The company also said its new leases increased by 39.8 percent; and renewals and exercised options by tenants increased by 4.2 percent. On a same-property net operating income basis, Kimco said it had an increase of 2.9 percent, compared to last year's first quarter, making it the eighth consecutive instance of such a quarterly increase.

Kimco said it ended the quarter with gross occupancy in its combined -- international along with United States -- portfolio of 93.1 percent and its U.S.-only shopping center portfolio with  93.0 percent. Both those amounts were increases, of 30 and 50 basis points, respectively, over the first quarter of 2011, Kimco said.

The company said it calculates funds from operations according to the formula established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

With about 685 employees, Kimco has a portfolio that includes 926 shopping centers in the Americas. It has a market capitalization of more than $8 billion, and earned $103.8 million on revenue of $916.3 million during its most recent four quarters.

Kimco shares Thursday afternoon traded at $19.63, on the upper end of its 52-week range of $13.55 to $20.31.

Photo: Kimco Realty headquarters in New Hyde Park.

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