UPDATE 2-Boston Properties Q1 FFO rises 3 percent
* First-qtr results include charges
* Cuts 2009 forecast
* Shares close up 3.8 percent before earnings release (Adds Reuters Estimates, recasts first paragraph)
NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - Boston Properties Inc (BXP.N), which owns signature office buildings in key U.S. cities, reported better-than-expected first-quarter funds from operations that rose 3 percent, chiefly on higher rent.
The real estate investment trust (REIT) reported first-quarter funds from operations (FFO), a performance measure, of $134.8 million, or $1.11 per share, compared with $130.7 million, or $1.08 per share, in the year-earlier quarter.
The first-quarter results include a charge of 19 cents per share for the suspension of construction of a Manhattan skyscraper and a non-cash charge of 6 cents per share related to an accounting change.
Excluding the charge for the suspension of development at 250 West 55th St, FFO would have been $1.30, ahead of the $1.25 analysts had forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company, whose chairman is publisher Mortimer Zuckerman, cut its forecast for 2009 FFO of $4.65 to $4.80 per share from a prior outlook of $4.75 to $4.95.
For the second quarter, Boston Properties expects FFO of $1.26 to $1.28 per share.
Boston Properties owns high-quality office buildings, such as the Prudential Tower in Boston, the General Motors Building in New York, Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and Metropolitan Square in Washington D.C.
At the end of the quarter, the company had 147 properties comprising approximately 49.8 million square feet, including 10 properties under construction totalling 3.8 million square feet.
Among Boston Properties' 1,200 tenants are some prominent financial players such as Citigroup Inc (C.N), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) and a host of hedge funds and law firms.
Boston Properties shares closed up $1.78, or 3.8 percent, at $48.49 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Ilaina Jonas; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
