ORLANDO-CNL Lifestyle Properties is running par for the specialty REIT course with its latest earnings report, with a mix of strong and poor results. The REIT reported $106.5 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2011, a 49% increase from the year-ago period.

“I am very encouraged by the gains that CNL Lifestyle Properties made as we ended the second quarter, particularly in June, which we believe will continue into the third quarter as our attractions hit their peak operating season,” Joe Johnson, senior vice president and CFO of CNL Lifestyle Properties, said in a statement. CNL attributes some of the revenue gains to attractions that were converted from leased properties to managed properties.

CNL Lifestyle Property’s portfolio includes 155 lifestyle properties. The portfolio includes 23% ski, 20% golf, 17% senior living, 15% attractions, 6% marinas and 19% of other lifestyle property types, including lodging. Total assets exceed $2.9 billion.

The firm also reported a net loss of $35.4 million for the first half of the year. The firm blames property-level operating expenses, as well as additional borrowing costs and initial acquisition transaction costs for its 2011 losses to date.

Overall property-level revenues and EBITDA increased by 8.2% and 8.4% for the second quarter versus 2010. CNL attributes gains in property-level performance to general improvements in consumer confidence, favorable weather conditions and aggressive marketing and promotional strategies from its attractions operators.

“Due to early season weather our attractions portfolio has been off to a good start,” Curt Caffey, senior vice president of asset management for CNL Financial Group, said in a statement. “One of the core principles of our investment thesis is that people are willing to spend money on entertainment and creating lifelong memories. Our attractions are a key piece of this thesis and we are certainly seeing that idea bear out as families continue to visit our properties.”

The largest gain came in the additional lifestyle properties sector due to a strong ski season at the Mt. Washington Resort and aggressive marketing by the manager of that property, Omni Hotels & Resorts. CNL revealed that its golf properties continue to be challenged, in line with the entire golf industry, due to the weak economy. CNL saw a $387 million cash infusion at the beginning of the second quarter from net proceeds from issuing unsecured senior notes, as well as $40 million in proceeds raised through a public offering of common stock completed in April.

“We have a significant amount of cash on hand and continue to look for new investment opportunities for our shareholders that fit our thesis of investing in a wide variety of properties that meet our demographically driven focus,” said Byron Carlock, CEO and president of CNL Lifestyle Properties. The firm invested $19 million in a new joint venture with Sunrise Senior Living in August.