CHICAGO (AP) _ Ventas Inc. (VTR) on Friday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Chicago, said it had funds from operations of $270.5 million, or 72 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 70 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 a loss of $57.2 million, or 15 cents per share.

The seniors housing real estate investment trust posted revenue of $910.3 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $901.2 million.

For the current quarter ending in July, Ventas expects its per-share funds from operations to range from 67 cents to 71 cents.

The company's shares have climbed 10% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen 12%.

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

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