BROOKFIELD Properties Corp, the owner of lower Manhattan's World Financial Center, said its first-quarter profit has fallen on a decline in income from property sales.

Net income fell to US$23 million, or 6 cents a share, from US$53 million, or 13 cents, a year ago, the New York-based company said in a statement.

According to Bloomberg News, the company's funds from operations was unchanged at 32 US cents a share.

Brookfield, the largest commercial landlord in lower Manhattan, is contending with falling demand from New York's financial services firms as well as a slowing United States economy. About 20 percent of its 91 million square feet (8.45 million square kilometers) of commercial properties is in Manhattan, and about two- thirds of that is downtown.

"Brookfield Properties is well-positioned in the face of softening US economic conditions", Chief Executive fficer Richard Clark said in the statement. "We are focused on positioning ourselves to take advantage of opportunities which may arise under these economic circumstances.

Manhattan office space available for lease in the first quarter nearly doubled from the same period a year ago, an early indication that rents may fall, broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc said.

Total space available rose to nearly 24 million square feet, including the first increase in existing tenants offering their offices for sublet since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Brookfield's funds from operations missed estimates of 35 US cents a share by 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Funds from operations, which adds depreciation and amortization and adjusts for partnerships and joint ventures, is a cash-flow measure commonly used by publicly traded real estate companies. Net operating income in the quarter rose 3.6 percent to US$377 million from a year earlier.