NEW YORK (AP) _ Brixmor Property Group Inc. (BRX) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in New York, said it had funds from operations of $130.5 million, or 44 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 40 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 net income of $52.4 million, or 18 cents per share.

The owner and operator of shopping centers posted revenue of $279.7 million in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $268.9 million.

Brixmor expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $1.60 to $1.70 per share.

The company’s shares have increased 35% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $22.30, more than doubling in the last 12 months.

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