NORTH BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The North Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $91.1 million, or $1.17 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.02 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 $46.2 million, or 60 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $218.2 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $206.3 million.

Federal Realty Investment Trust expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $4.54 to $4.70 per share.

The company's shares have risen 29% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $109.90, a climb of 42% 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 FRT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FRT

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