Before the opening bell on Friday, retail REIT Simon Property Group (SPG ) reported lower FFO for the first quarter, but managed to beat analysts’ expectations.

SPG’s Earnings in Brief

• SPG reported Q1 funds from operations (FFO) of $830.7 million, or $2.28 per share, down from $865.3 million, or $2.38 per share, last year.
• Earnings for the quarter totaled $362.2 million, or $1.16 per share, compared to $341.6 million, or $1.10 per share, a year ago.
• Revenue increased to $1.22 billion from $1.16 billion last year.
• Analysts expected to see FFO of $2.26 and $1.22 billion in revenue.

CEO Commentary

“We are off to a strong start in 2015 with the acquisition of two significant properties and the reporting of strong financial and operational results,” said David Simon, Chairman and CEO. “Given our accomplishments this quarter and our current view for the remainder of 2015, today we raised our quarterly dividend and are increasing our full-year 2015 guidance.”

SPG’s Dividend

Simon reported that it has raised its quarterly dividend by 15.4% to $1.50 quarterly, or $6.00 on an annualized basis. The next dividend will be paid on May 29 to shareholders on record as of May 15.

Click here to see the complete history of SPG dividends.

The Bottom Line

Shares of SPG were mostly flat during premarket trading Friday. The stock is up 3.82% YTD.

Simon Property Group Inc (SPG ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.

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