Mixed Results for REITs, Public Companies

[IMGCAP(1)]COLUMBIA, MD-Public REITs and other publicly held companies that own and develop office buildings are reporting mixed results for the latest quarter. Among those reporting recently was Columbia-based Corporate Office Properties Trust, which said that first quarter results reflected the challenges of the economy but also, offsetting this pressure, was strong leasing volume with 969,000 square feet of overall leasing and “good progress on development leasing, signing over 450,000 square feet,” according to Randall M. Griffin, president and CEO of COPT.

[IMGCAP(2)]The REIT reported net income of $5.9 million and 10 cents per diluted earnings per share, compared with $12.1 million and 23 cents per share for the first quarter of 2009, and diluted FFO per share of 53 cents, compared to 67 cents for the first quarter 2009.

“We indicated previously that 2010 would be a challenging year for the industry since the real estate sector lags the economy. Our first quarter results reflect those challenges,” Griffin said in a prepared statement regarding the company’s results.