VICI Properties forecasts 2024 FFO below estimates hit by high interest rates

(Reuters) - VICI Properties on Thursday forecast 2024 adjusted funds from operation (FFO) below Wall Street estimates, as high interest rates dampened the real estate investment trust's expansion plans.

The company, whose portfolio includes casinos such as Caesars Palace and MGM Grand in Las Vegas, operates on a sale-leaseback model, where it identifies an existing gaming asset, purchases the real estate, and immediately leases it back to the operator.

These transactions often immediately add to the company's income.

The pace at which VICI has been signing new deals has slowed down as financing large projects has become difficult due to high interest rates in a challenged lending environment.

The company expects 2024 adjusted FFO between $2.22 and $2.25 per share, compared with analysts' estimates of $2.27 per share.

The Maryland-based hospitality and entertainment REIT reported a fourth-quarter adjusted FFO of 55 cents per share, in line with analysts' estimates.

Total quarterly revenue was $931.9 million, up 21% from a year earlier. Analysts, on average, were expecting $921.2 million, as per LSEG data.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh Kuber)