Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) reported Q2 EPS of $0.35, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.32. Revenue for the quarter came in at $22 million versus the consensus estimate of $21.75 million.

James C. Mastandrea, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased with our exceptional second quarter financial results which clearly demonstrate that our real estate investment strategy meets consumers' daily needs and creates value for our shareholders. Our differentiated strategy of owning Community Centered Properties™ in high population growth markets in states such as Arizona and Texas, which are business friendly, continues to gain traction in the retail segment of the industry. Our business model produced a 27.3% increase in total revenues, a 33.2% increase in property net operating income and a 20.7% increase in FFO Core per diluted share and OP unit during the period.

"Our small space tenants, which typically occupy under 3,000 square feet and are at the core of our Community Centered PropertyTM business model, continue to perform exceptionally well and, in turn, drive Whitestone's stellar performance. We are leasing vacant space at properties we acquired at the bottom of the market, redeveloping and repositioning our legacy properties and developing out parcels adjacent to some of our most recent acquisitions. These activities, combined with our in-house property management, meet the demand for service based retail in the fast growing and economically strong markets of Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio and Houston, Texas, as well as Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa, Arizona."

Mr. Mastandrea concluded, "We are increasing our annual guidance for the year to reflect our continued confidence in our ability to drive further top-line and bottom-line growth, as well as our enterprise value. Our momentum continues to build from the time of our IPO five years ago by remaining steadfast to the execution of our key initiatives, which are to increase overall occupancy, diversify our tenant mix to better serve the surrounding communities and make value-add acquisitions in high growth markets. Since the second quarter ended, we closed on two additional Class-A properties in Austin, and currently have two additional properties, both with national grocery stores, under contract in Austin and Dallas, which we expect to close in the third quarter."

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