Commercial Net Lease Q1 Earnings Down

ORLANDO-Commercial Net Lease Realty Inc., one of the country’s most aggressive retail investment REITs, reported Q1 net earnings of $9.1 million or 23 cents per share compared to $11.6 million or 29 cents per share for the comparable 2002 period.

Included in the earnings was a $2.4 million non-recurring charge the locally based firm took in settling a lawsuit on appraisal rights related to the 2001 acquisition of Captec Net Lease Realty. The charge lowered funds from operations to $11.8 million or 29 cents per share from a reported gross $14.2 million or 35 cents per share. FFO in Q1 of 2002 was $14.1 million.

In a prepared statement, CNLR president and chief operating officer Gary M. Ralston says the settlement “approximated the current value of the original merger consideration (which included cash, common shares, preferred shares and subsequent dividends).” He says the company considers the settlement a prudent action because it “will be able to avoid the cost of continued litigation.”