Alexandria Real Estate forecasts annual AFFO below estimates, shares fall

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Alexandria Real Estate Equities ARE.N forecast annual adjusted funds from operations below Wall Street estimates on Monday, as leasing activity remained pressured by macroeconomic uncertainty, sending its shares down more than 2% in after-hours trading.

The real estate investment trust, which owns, operates and develops life science laboratories, offices and technology campuses across North America, continued to see negative net absorption amid interest rate highs during the quarter. A negative net absorption occurs when there are more spaces vacant than leased.

It now expects annual adjusted FFO per share to be between $8.98 and $9.04, down from its previous forecast range of $9.16 to $9.36 apiece. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report an AFFO of $9.23 per share for the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Further, the REIT's pharma clients face the risk of higher costs from U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imported medicines in an already inflationary environment.

The Pasadena, California-based company reported third-quarter adjusted FFO, a key performance measure for REITs, of $2.22 per share, compared with consensus estimates of $2.30 per share.

Its occupancy as of September 30 stood at 90.6%, compared to 90.8% in the previous quarter.

Total revenue for the quarter was $751.94 million, down from $791.6 million a year earlier.

Alexandria reported a net loss of $1.38 per share for the quarter ended September 30, compared with an income of 96 cents apiece in the same period last year.