<div id="subtitle">Brookfield Properties posts 3rd-quarter dip as residential development weighs on results</div><div><p>Real estate developer Brookfield Properties Corp., owner of high-profile properties like the World Financial Center in New York and Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles, posted a third-quarter profit dip Thursday, reflecting a decline in its residential operations.</p><p>The real estate investment trust said funds from operations was $151 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with $152 million, or 38 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company had about 441.3 million shares outstanding in the latest quarter versus 393.9 million in the 2008 quarter.</p><p>FFO, a widely used gauge of real estate operating performance, adds depreciation and amortization expenses, as well as other non-operating items, back to net income.</p><p>Net income came to $38 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with $174 million, or 44 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Results in the 2008 quarter included a gain of 32 cents per share from the sale of a major building in Toronto.</p><p>Operating income rose 3 percent in Brookfield's commercial property unit, but fell 53 percent in its residential development unit.</p><p>The company also reported a spike in interest expenses. Brookfield raised $1.3 billion by selling new stock, using most of the proceeds to pay down debt. It also refinanced or extended $205 million of debt, and said it has completed 95 percent of $1 billion financings due this year.</p><p>Brookfield finished the quarter with a 95 percent occupancy rate at the properties it manages. The company said it leased 693,000 square feet of space and completed 63,000 square feet of development leasing, with renewals representing 74 percent of the total. Average rents on new leases rose 25 percent to $25 per square foot.</p><p>During the quarter, Brookfield launched a $5 billion effort with Brookfield Asset Management to invest in distressed real estate, reflecting a broader trend in the industry as developers look for opportunities in the hard-hit market.</p><p>Brookfield shares added 24 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $10.28 in morning trading.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=62231305&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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