LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ Uniti Group Inc. (UNIT) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The real estate investment trust, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, said it had funds from operations of $103.1 million, or 41 cents per share, in the period.

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 a loss of $4.7 million, or 2 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $272.6 million in the period.

Uniti expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $1.61 to $1.65 per share, with revenue in the range of $1.08 billion to $1.09 billion.

The company's shares have fallen 7.5% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $10.85, an increase of 66% in the last 12 months.

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

Copyright by Automated Insights, Inc. All rights reserved., source Associated Press News