Forest City Enterprises slides to 1Q loss

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Forest City Enterprises Inc., a developer of shopping malls, office buildings and apartment complexes, said Tuesday that it slid to a loss in its fiscal first quarter, hurt by several one-time items, including accounting adjustments and a decline in land sales.

After paying preferred dividends, the company lost $19.6 million, or 11 cents per share, for the three months ended April 30. That compares with net income of $18.9 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest results reflect the impact of lower commercial land sales, an adjustment to the fair market value of derivatives, a loss on the extinguishment of debt and a larger income tax benefit than in the same quarter last year.

Revenue grew to $305.6 million from $287.3 million.

Forest City is not a real estate investment trust, but many of its peers are. As a result, the company also reports funds from operations, a key measure of profitability for REITs that adds back items like amortization and depreciation to net income.

For the latest quarter, Forest City's FFO fell to $53.1 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $89.2 million, or 42 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected FFO of 31 cents per share.

At the end of the quarter, comparable retail occupancies stood at 91.7 percent, down from 91.8 percent a year earlier. Comparable office occupancies were 91.0 percent, down from 91.9 percent.

Forest City shares ended regular trading down 14 cents at $18.44. The stock has gained nearly 15 percent this year.