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Regency Centers Projects Lower 1Q FFO

The Associated Press

Shopping center operator and developer Regency Centers Corp. said Monday it projects its first-quarter results will be in line with its previous guidance, but lower versus the same period last year.

In addition, the company said management plans to recommend the quarterly dividend be cut to about 45 cents a share from about 73 cents a share, payable on May 20, in a bid to "preserve financial flexibility."

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based real estate investment trust said it expects funds from operations, or FFO, for the three months ended March 31 will range between $53.7 million, or 76 cents a share, and $55.1 million, or 78 cents a share.

The company noted that, excluding a one-time charge of $2.2 million for severance payments, its first-quarter FFO would range between 80 cents a share and 82 cents a share.

That's still lower than the FFO of $61.2 million, or 87 cents a share, Regency posted in the same quarter last year.

Funds from operations, a key measure of a REIT's performance, is earnings with depreciation and amortization added back in.

Management revised its 2009 guidance for FFO downward, projecting it will range between $3.25 and $3.50 a share.

Wall Street analysts expect Regency FFO of 81 cents a share for the quarter and $3.41 a share for the full year, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Regency said it expects net income will range between 26 cents and 28 cents. The company posted net income of $26.7 million, or 38 cents a share, in the first quarter last year.

At the close of the quarter, 93.3 percent of Regency's portfolio was leased, down slightly from 93.8 percent at the end of December.

Regency is scheduled to release final first-quarter financial results on May 6.

The REIT said it plans to sell 7.7 million shares of common stock in a public offering. The company plans to use the net proceeds from the stock sale to repay debts and cover general corporate expenses. Underwriters will have a 30-day option to buy another roughly 1.2 million shares.

Regency shares tumbled $4.51, or 11.7 percent, to $34.12 on Monday.