Investing.com -- Shares in General Growth Properties Inc (NYSE:GGP) rose by more than 2% in after-hours trading after the second-largest mall company in the U.S. topped analysts' earnings and revenues forecasts last quarter.
General Growth Properties, a Chicago-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), finished with revenues of $607 million during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2016 on adjusted earnings of $191.8 million (0.20 per share), an increase of 24% on an annual basis. By comparison, GGP reported earnings of $634.7 million or 0.22 over the same period last year. Analysts expected sales of $590 million for the quarter. In last year's first period, GGP realized a gain of $591.2 million from the sale of a 25% stake in the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The company received $670 million at closing, with another $237 million due near the end of this year after substantial completion of the redevelopment effort. Over the previous quarter, GGP recorded $74.6 million in investment property-related gains.
Additionally, the company reported that Funds From Operations (FFO), a key metric used by REITs to define cash flow from operation, were approximately $48 million higher than the company's first quarter guidance. Of the gains, GGP attributed $30 million to the recognition from the company's share of the Ala Moana condominium development and $13 million from a gain on the sale of marketable securities. The company noted that the total income associated with the development of the condominium is still expected to be in line with its full-year guidance.
At the same time, GGP said initial rental for signed leases that commenced over the previous 12 months on a suite-to-suite basis increased by 13% to $66.37 per square feet for the quarter. Meanwhile, tenant sales minus anchors increased by 2.1% to $20.3 billion on a trailing 12-month basis. The company ended the quarter with a same store lease percentage of 95.9%.
Moving forward, GGP expects second quarter FFO of 0.34 to 0.36 per share, in line with consensus forecasts. The company also reiterated its full year FFO guidance at $1.52-$1.56 per share.
Shares in GGP gained 0.60 or 2.16% to 28.64 in after-hours trading.