WRI Weingarten Realty Investors

Weingarten Realty Investors Announces Call for Redemption of 7.00% Series C Preferred Shares HOUSTON, March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weingarten Realty Investors announced today that it has called for the redemption of its 7.00% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares of Beneficial Interest. The Company will redeem all 2,251,802 of the outstanding Series C Preferred Shares on April 1, 2004 for a redemption price of $50.00 per share, plus $0.1556 per share of accrued and unpaid dividends, for an aggregate redemption price of $50.1556 per share. The redemption will be funded with proceeds from the Company's recent $118 million equity offering. Payment of the redemption price will be made through Mellon Investors Services LLC, as redemption agent. Weingarten also announced that the redemption of the Series C Preferred Shares will result in a non-cash charge to net income and funds from operations (FFO) (a widely accepted supplemental measure of REIT operating performance) during the second quarter of 2004 of $0.06 per common share associated with the write off of the original issuance costs of the Series C Preferred Shares. This non-cash charge has no effect on the Company's on- going operations or cash flows. A similar non-cash charge was recognized in the fourth quarter of 2003 in connection with the Company's redemption of its Series B Preferred Shares. FFO for the year ended December 31, 2004, after adjusting for this non- cash $.06 per common share charge arising from the redemption of the Series C Preferred Shares, is expected to be in the range of $3.65 to $3.71 per common share before the recently announced share split effective March 30, 2004. Post-split this will equate to FFO of $2.43 to $2.47 per common share. Earnings (FFO) guidance before adjustment for this non-cash charge (pre-split) remains unchanged at $3.71 - $3.77 ($2.47 - $2.51 on a post-split basis) per common share for the year ended December 31, 2004. Weingarten Realty Investors is a Houston, Texas based real estate investment trust with 330 income-producing and new development properties in 19 states that span the southern half of the United States from coast to coast. Included in the portfolio are 269 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 61 industrial properties aggregating 43.5 million square feet. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company's common shares are traded under the symbol "WRI". Please visit Weingarten's web site at http://www.weingarten.com/ Statements included herein that state the Company's or Management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which by their nature, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Reference is made to the Company's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information or factors, which may impact the Company's performance. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991216/WRILOGO DATASOURCE: Weingarten Realty Investors CONTACT: Tracy Pursell of Weingarten Realty Investors, +1-713-866-6050, or fax, +1-713-866-6049 Web site: http://www.weingarten.com/

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