Boston Properties second quarter FFO rises

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boston Properties BXP.N, a real estate investment trust, on Tuesday said second quarter funds from operations rose.

The company reported FFO, a key measure of performance for a real estate investment trust, of $145 million, or $1.19 per share diluted, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.17 per share, according to Reuters Estimates. FFO in the year ago period was $142.9 million or $1.18 per share diluted.

The result include $890 million in cash for its share of the $2.8 billion purchase of the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Last month Boston Properties and partners Goldman Sachs and Dubai-based private equity firm Meraas Capital LLC closed on the $3.95 billion purchase of the GM Building plus three smaller buildings: 540 Madison and 125 West 55th St. and Two Grand Central Tower.

FFO removes the profit-reducing effect of depreciation, a non-cash accounting item, on earnings.

Boston Properties, whose chairman is newspaper publisher Mort Zuckerman, has 142 properties comprising about 46.8 million square feet chiefly in Manhattan, Boston, the Washington D.C. area and San Francisco.

At the end of the quarter, the 127 properties in operation were 94.9 percent leased.

For the full year, Boston Properties raised its forecast range for full-year year FFO to $4.86 to $4.92 per share from $4.57 to $4.65. Analysts see FFO of $4.68 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

(Reporting by Helen Chernikoff; editing by Carol Bishopric)