EOPT Reports 2Q Earnings Decline

Equity Office Properties Trust, the largest real estate investment trust by market capitalization, has reported net income of $149.9 million ($0.37 per share) for the second quarter, compared with $166.5 million ($0.40 per share) a year earlier.The Chicago-based office REIT attributed the decline to lower occupancy levels in its portfolio, lower lease termination fees, and asset sales of about $662 million in the past year. The REIT's funds from operations, a widely used indicator of performance in the REIT industry, totaled $310.2 million ($0.69 per share) for the second quarter, compared with $366.3 million ($0.78 per share) for the comparable period of last year. "Our leasing activity year-to-date has been strong, but we continue to face higher-than-expected early lease terminations," said Richard Kincaid, EOPT's president and chief executive officer. "Our occupancy level this quarter was stable with the prior quarter for the first time in 12 quarters, and our top 20 markets had positive net absorption of approximately 5.4 million square feet. These trends lead us to believe that the office markets are starting to stabilize." EOPT can be found online at http://www.equityoffice.com.