Shurgard to Restate '01, '02 Earnings

Shurgard Storage Centers Inc., a Seattle-based real estate investment trust, has reported that it will restate its financial results for 2001 and 2002.The REIT said it decided the restatement was necessary when its auditors reversed their previous recommendations regarding the accounting treatment for hedge transactions from 2001. "The hedge transactions being reviewed relate to interest rate swaps intended to mitigate the company's exposure to interest rate volatility," Shurgard said. "Based on the revised advice regarding accounting for the hedge transactions, the company has concluded that the change in the value of certain of these swaps should have been recorded as noncash charges on the company's income statement rather than as a component of other comprehensive income." The REIT said its preliminary estimate is that unrealized losses on financial instruments will range from $1.6 million to $2.8 million for 2001 and from $11.0 million to $12.5 million for 2002.