BOSTON (AP) _ Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Boston, said it had funds from operations of $284.1 million, or $1.83 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.80 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 net income of $497.5 million, or $3.20 per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $752.6 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $710.1 million, also exceeding Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $707.1 million.

The company's shares have declined 29% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has declined 11%. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $97.30, a decrease of 28% 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 BXP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BXP

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News