General Growth 2Q net rises on higher store rents

General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest U.S. owner of shopping malls, said second-quarter earnings grew as the company increased store rents.

Net income rose to $34.1 million, or 13 cents a share, from $8.39 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, the Chicago-based company said today in a statement. Funds from operations, a measure of cash flow used by real estate investment trusts, were 71 cents a share, missing analysts' estimates.

Locally, General Growth owns Golf Mill Shopping Center in Niles, Oakbrook Center, Lincolnshire Commons, Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee and Northbrook Court.

While consumer spending is slowing, mall landlords are continuing to benefit from increasing retail spending, which allows them to boost rents. U.S. chain-store sales rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier in June, according to the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers.

General Growth reported second-quarter results after the close of regular U.S. trading. It fell 16 cents to $30.09 today in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The company's shares have dropped 27 percent this year, compared with a 2.8 percent decline in the Bloomberg REIT Index.

The company owns stakes in or manages more than 200 regional malls in 44 states, behind only Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., which owns interests in almost 400 properties. Simon earlier this week said second-quarter earnings climbed 28 percent as rents increased and expenses related to the acquisition of Mills Corp. weren't repeated.