DENVER (AP) -- Apartment Investment & Management Co. said Friday that its third-quarter funds from operations declined as rents and occupancy fell.

The real estate investment trust's FFO slid to $22.3 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $73 million, or 60 cents per share, a year ago.

Adjusted FFO was 25 cents per share, which takes out capital replacement expenditures.

FFO, a widely used gauge of real estate operating performance, adds depreciation and amortization expenses, as well as other non-operating items, back to net income.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates typically exclude one-time items, predicted FFO of 39 cents per share.

Chairman and CEO Terry Considine said in a statement that rents for apartment complexes open at least a year dropped but the decline was starting to ease. Average daily occupancy slipped to 94.8 percent from 95 percent, while average rent per unit dropped to $990 from $1,026.

Aimco said it lost $40.5 million, or 35 cents per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. That compares with a profit of $159.5 million, or $1.35 per share, a year earlier.

The REIT experienced lower gains on some real estate sales and recorded higher operating real estate impairment losses and increased depreciation and amortization expense.

Revenue dropped 7 percent to $319.3 million from $344.4 million as asset management and tax credit revenue fell sharply.

Aimco now expects 2009 FFO of $1.61 to $1.69 per share, compared with prior guidance for FFO of $1.55 to $1.75 per share. The outlook excludes operating real estate impairments and preferred stock redemption related gains. For the fourth quarter, Aimco anticipates FFO of 32 cents to 40 cents per share.

Analysts predict full-year FFO of $1.54 per share and fourth-quarter FFO of 37 cents per share.

Aimco's stock tumbled 99 cents or 7.5 percent, to $12.19 in afternoon trading. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $4.57 to $16.65.