NORTH BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The North Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $119.1 million, or $1.50 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.44 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 $50 million, or 63 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $256.8 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $251.8 million.

Federal Realty Investment Trust expects full-year funds from operations to be $5.85 to $6.05 per share.

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

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