BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ Saul Centers Inc. (BFS) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $27 million, or 80 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 77 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 $10.6 million, or 44 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust involved mostly in shopping malls posted revenue of $62.1 million in the period.

The company's shares have decreased 6% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $49.86, 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 BFS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BFS

Copyright by Automated Insights, Inc. All rights reserved., source Associated Press News