CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) _ CBL & Associates Properties Inc. (CBL) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results did not meet Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said it had funds from operations of $51.6 million, or 26 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 28 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 $133.9 million, or 75 cents per share.

The owner and operator of retail properties posted revenue of $167.6 million in the period.

In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, the company's shares hit 23 cents. A year ago, they were trading at $1.04.

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

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News