BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Bethesda, Maryland, said it had funds from operations of $81.5 million, or 47 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 45 cents per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $17.4 million, or 10 cents per share.

The hotel real estate investment trust posted revenue of $429.6 million in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $417.5 million.

The company's shares have fallen 2 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $21.52, a rise of roughly 6 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on RLJ at https://www.zacks.com/ap/RLJ