MAA feels the merger, rental demand love in Q3

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Alan Howell | MBJ

MAA CEO Eric Bolton says rental demand and a recent merger combined to give the company a strong third quarter.

Ryan Poe

Staff writer- Memphis Business Journal

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Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. on Wednesday reported an increase in funds from operations on the strength of third-quarter rental demand.

Memphis-based MAA (NYSE: MAA) said its FFO rose to $103.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $50.1 million for the same quarter of 2013. Excluding costs related to MAA's merger with Colonial Properties Trust last year, its quarterly FFO rose to $101.6 million from $55.4 million.

Eric Bolton, chairman and CEO of MAA, said the integration with Colonial is now finished, which will allow MAA to "fully harvest" the opportunities to grow operating margins and efficiency. The third quarter results also reflect the "growing benefits of scale" from the merger, he said.

But even without the added power from the merger, MAA is riding a wave of demand for apartments.

"Third quarter results reflect a continued strong level of rental demand across our portfolio," Bolton said in a prepared statement. "Solid rent growth and strong occupancy performance continue as the demand for apartment housing outpaces new supply trends across the Sunbelt region."

For more information about the company's earnings, click here.

Ryan Poe covers commercial real estate; transportation and logistics; construction; and Downtown Memphis. Contact him at rpoe@bizjournals.com.