BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $81 million, or 49 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 44 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 $26.7 million, or 16 cents per share.

The hotel real estate investment trust, based in Bethesda, Maryland, posted revenue of $330.5 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $323 million.

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

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