Fonciere des Regions, the French office landlord with stakes in five other real estate investment trusts, reported a narrower loss last year after it wrote down the value of its assets by €332m.

The net loss narrowed to €262.1m, or €5.91 a share, from €556.5m, or €13.56 a share, a year earlier, the Metz-based company said in a statement today. Net asset value fell 18% to €79.2 a share, largely on write downs of its interest rate swaps.

The value of FDR’s properties fell 3.6% last year, chiefly in the first half. Office buildings, spread across Italy and France, make up 70% of FDR’s assets. They are usually mid-market rental properties, which haven’t lost as much value as prime office space in locations like Paris as the recession depressed rents and prices.

Profit excluding changes in the value of properties and interest-rate derivatives rose 6.9 percent to €304m, as the company lifted rental income for the buildings it owned throughout the period and on lower debt costs.

FDR said it expects this 'recurring profit' to rise again in 2010.

bloomberg.com