Duke Realty reports higher profit, revenue for third quarter

Higher occupancy and growth in rents helped Duke Realty Corp. post an increase in revenue, profit and funds from operations in the third quarter, the Indianapolis-based real estate developer said late Wednesday afternoon.

Duke’s quarterly revenue rose 2.3 percent, to $291.1 million, compared to the same quarter a year ago. Analysts had expected revenue of only $235.4 million.

Rental income climbed 4.4 percent, to $231.3 million, while general contracting and service-fee revenue dipped 5 percent, to $59.7 million.

Duke’s profit rose to $61.5 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with a loss of $6 million, or 2 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Funds from operation for the quarter hit $106 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with $94.2 million, or 28 cents per share in the third quarter of 2013. FFO is a common measure of performance for real estate investment trusts. FFO was in line with analyst expectations.

Duke saw its portfolio occupancy rate climb to 93.5 percent from 93.2 percent in the previous quarter.

The company started $100 million in new developments in the third quarter and executed $185 million in dispositions, bringing the total for the year to $561 million, as Duke continues to focus on industrial projects.

Duke’s shares closed at $18.44 each prior to the earnings announcement.