Oct 29 (Reuters) - Extra Space Storage beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter adjusted funds from operations (FFO) on Tuesday, as the real estate investment trust saw sustained strength in occupancy.

"We continue to maintain strong occupancy during a time of year which is typically marked by occupancy declines," said CEO Joe Margolis.

Extra Space, which has been shielded from an industry-wide fall in occupancy rates post-pandemic, has been benefiting from a unifying marketing strategy after its merger with peer Life Storage. Analysts expect the combined company to close the gap with peers by the end of 2026.

The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company's quarterly core FFO of $2.07 per share, came above analysts' estimates of $2.04 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

However, net income per share for the quarter fell by 5.2%, compared with the same period last year primarily due to a $51.8 million loss related to the impairment of Life Storage's trade name based on the company's decision to operate under a single brand after the merger.

Extra Space slightly raised the lower end of its 2024 adjusted FFO and same-store revenue growth forecast ranges.

The REIT now expects 2024 adjusted FFO to range between $8.00 and $8.15 per share, compared with the previous forecast ranging from $7.95 to $8.15 apiece.

The same-store occupancy rate in the quarter came in at 94.3%, compared with 93.7% last year.

However, total same store revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30, fell marginally from a year ago, by 0.3% to $424 million.

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)

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