RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Highwoods Properties Inc. (HIW) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, said it had funds from operations of $99.5 million, or 93 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 90 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 net income of $59.3 million, or 57 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $185.5 million in the period.

Highwoods Properties expects full-year funds from operations to be $3.62 to $3.73 per share.

The company's shares have risen 19% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $47.12, an increase of 27% 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 HIW at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HIW

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