Highwoods Properties reported fourth quarter earnings late today that narrowly beat Wall Street estimates as the company ended the year with 90 percent of its portfolio occupied.
The Raleigh-based real estate investment trust reported funds from operations, a profitability measure for REITs, of 70 cents per share for the quarter, compared with the 62 cents per share the company reported in the fourth quarter of 2010.
That beat the consensus of Wall Street analysts by a penny.
Funds from operations for the year was $2.58 per share, up 4.9 percent from 2010.
Highwoods leased 4.3 million square feet of office space last year, a 19 percent increase from 2010. The average term of the leases signed was 5.6 years.
Highwoods, the Triangle's largest office landlord, owns 5.1 million square feet of space in the region. Its entire portfolio includes 34.5 million square feet of office, industrial and retail.
In a statement, CEO Ed Fritsch said 2011 was a good year in which the company signed more leases for, on average, longer term periods and was able to make several acquisitions, most notably the $300 million the company spent acquiring seven buildings in Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
"Our portfolio's occupancy significantly exceed the occupancy of our markets as a whole," he said.
Highwoods shares closed down 33 cents at $33.25 today. The stock is up 12 percent this year.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or 
