PLD Prologis

By Micah Maidenberg

Prologis Inc.'s (PLD) core funds from operations for the fourth quarter were in line with Wall Street analysts' expectations, as the logistics-property company said it tried to focus on boosting lease rates within its real-estate portfolio.

The company said Wednesday its quarterly net income for common stockholders fell to $385.5 million, or 61 cents a share, from $596.6 million, or 94 cents a share, a year earlier.

Prologis also reported so-called core funds from operations of 84 cents a share, in line with the consensus estimate compiled by FactSet. Core FFO, a profit metric, excludes certain items such as gains or losses from land sales and costs related to natural disasters.

The San Francisco-based company has exposure to a wide range of industries via a portfolio of owned and managed properties that stood at 797 million square feet as of last September. Big customers that rent space from it include Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), FedEx Corp. (FDX) and Home Depot Inc. (HD).

The company reported its portfolio was 96.5% occupied as of the end of the fourth quarter, one percentage point lower compared with the same time a year ago.

Prologis said it was prioritizing rent growth over occupancy within its buildings. Its share of net-effective rent growth was 29.5% in the quarter, compared with a 25.6% increased a year earlier.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter increased 2.4% from the year earlier to $826 million.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2020 08:34 ET (13:34 GMT)

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