SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) _ The Macerich Co. (MAC) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its third quarter. The results missed Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Santa Monica, California, said it had funds from operations of $83.4 million, or 52 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 54 cents per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had a loss of $22.2 million, or 15 cents per share.

The shopping center real estate investment trust posted revenue of $185.8 million in the period, also falling short of Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $201.9 million.

The company's shares have dropped 73% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed roughly 7%. The stock has decreased 75% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MAC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MAC

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