North Carolina-based real estate trust Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. announced lower net income for the fourth quarter and a new project in Nashville.

Net income for the quarter was $19.4 million, or 21 cents per share, down from net income of $31.2 million, or 33 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The results were affected by a non-cash impairment charge related to certain assets in a Canadian joint venture totaling $7.2 million, or 7 cents per share.

The company was expected to report earnings of 26 cents per share, according to Wall Street estimates.

“Better performance in the fourth quarter,” says Tanger CEO Steven B. Tanger, “enabled us to deliver sequential improvement in net operating income and to surpass expectations for 2018. In particular, we maintained high consolidated portfolio occupancy, ending the year at 96.8 percent.”

Tanger’s stock fell 5.5 percent, or $1.22, to $21 per share in after-hours trading Wednesday. The results were released after the market closed.

Funds from operation, an important REIT metric, were $63.1 million, or 64 cents per share, compared to $67.5 million, or 68 cents per share, for the prior year period.. FFO reflects the gain from the sale of assets — which is not a day-to-day activity — that REITs often partially distribute to shareholders; this explains why FFO is higher than net income.

Improvement in sales growth and stable retail center traffic, Tanger explained, demonstrate a market ripe for expansion.

Nashville will be receiving a 280,000-square-foot Tanger Outlet Center near its downtown, but the site’s location was not specifically disclosed in the filing. Like many other Tanger Outlet Centers, the site has highway visibility and is adjacent to a new interchange.

The outlet mall-focused REIT approved a dividend hike of 1.4 percent, to $1.42 per share from $1.40 per share. U.S. law requires that a REIT distribute 90 percent or more of its taxable income to shareholders.

The form can be found here.