JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) _ Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (CLI) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Jersey City, New Jersey, said it had funds from operations of $18.2 million, or 18 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 14 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 $7.6 million, or 6 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $76.1 million in the period.

The company's shares have increased 38% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $17.24, an increase of 16% 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 CLI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CLI

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