Oct 26 (Reuters) - Kimco Realty KIM.N, a commercial real estate investment trust, topped market expectations for third-quarter revenue on Thursday, helped by higher rental rates and steady demand at its grocery-anchored shopping centers.
Kimco has benefited from the dwindling availability of rental spaces, which has allowed landlords to bump up rental rates.
The company is also looking to consolidate its presence in the Coastal and Sun Belt markets. It said in August it would acquire peer RPT Realty RPT.N, whose tenants include TJ Maxx stores, Dollar Tree and Ross Stores.
Kimco's revenue from rental properties rose by 3% to $441.8 million in the quarter, beating analysts' average estimate of $436.3 million, according to LSEG data.
While its funds from operations (FFO) dipped to 40 cents per share, from 41 per share a year ago, it also beat estimates of 39 cents.
"With virtually supply and strong demand from a multitude of tenants, buoyed by a resilient consumer, we continue to produce strong operating results," CEO Conor Flynn said in a statement.
Kimco's portfolio occupancy in the quarter was 95.5%, a 20 basis points increase year over year, but a 30 basis points drop sequentially.
Still, Kimco raised the lower end of its full-year FFO per share forecast by 1 cent to a range of $1.56 to $1.57.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Savio D'Souza)