Saul Centers: 4Q Earnings Snapshot

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ Saul Centers Inc. (BFS) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its fourth quarter. The results beat Wall Street expectations.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $22.1 million, or 71 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 68 cents per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $6.6 million, or 28 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust involved mostly in shopping malls posted revenue of $58.3 million in the period.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $90 million, or $2.88 per share. Revenue was reported as $225.2 million.

The company's shares have risen 15% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $36.48, a decline of 23% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BFS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BFS