Storage Equities Reports 24% 1st-Quarter Profit Dip

Storage Equities Inc. said its first-quarter profit fell 24%, to $2.77 million from $3.63 million a year earlier, when its earnings were boosted by a $1.2-million gain from the sale of real estate.

Excluding that gain, Storage Equities’ earnings were up 11% from a year ago, and the Glendale-based company’s revenue in the quarter ended March 31 edged up 4%, to $9.93 million from $9.59 million.

Storage Equities is a real estate investment trust that mainly invests in self-storage warehouses operated as part of the Public Storage system.

Separately, Storage Properties Inc., another Glendale-based REIT that also invests in Public Storage facilities, said its first-quarter profit more than doubled, to $747,000 from $358,000 a year earlier. Storage Properties’ revenue in the period jumped to $903,000 from $429,000 a year ago.

As REITs, the companies avoid taxation at the federal level because they distribute nearly all of their earnings to their stockholders.