CBRE and JLL back in profit in Q3

CB Richard Ellis and Jones Lang LaSalle, the two largest global property advisers, have reported a return to profit in the third quarter of the year. Declines in revenues were in part compensated by the companies' extensive cost-cutting programmes.

Los Angeles-based CBRE reported net income for the quarter of $12.4 mln (EUR 8.4 mln), or $0.04 per diluted share, on revenue of $1 bn. The firm reported losses in the previous two quarters.

Revenue for the EMEA region, which mainly consists of operations in Europe, was $192.3 mln for the third quarter of 2009, compared with $271.7 mln for the third quarter of 2008. The EMEA region reported operating income of $11.7 mln for the third quarter of 2009, compared with $18.2 mln for the same period in 2008. EMEA reported EBITDA of $14.7 mln for the third quarter of 2009, compared with $23.1 mln for last year's third quarter. A 36% reduction in operating expenses compared to the equivalent 2008 period partially offset the revenue decrease, CBRE said.

'During the third quarter, we continued to make strong progress in both managing our capital structure and positioning the company to grow profitably as the economy improves,' said Brett White, president and CEO of CB Richard Ellis.

'We completed actions that will allow us to achieve our goal of reducing annualized operating costs by $600 mln. CB Richard Ellis is now well positioned to both serve clients on a profitable basis in the current environment and to drive significant market share growth.'

Chicago-based property adviser Jones Lang LaSalle posted a net profit of $20 mln (EUR 22 mln), or $0.46 per share, for the third quarter of 2009 largely due to the impact of cost cutting. The firm booked a loss of $14 mln in the second quarter of this year and a profit of $15 mln, or $0.43 per share in Q3 last year.

Adjusting for restructuring and certain non-cash co-investment charges in the third quarter of 2009, net income would have been $27 mln, or $0.61 per share. The firm's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $66 mln for the third quarter of 2009.

Revenue came to $595 mln, a 12% decrease in US dollars, 9% in local currency, compared with the third quarter of 2008. Revenue for the first nine months of 2009 was $1.7 bn, a 12% decrease from $1.9 bn in 2008 but down only 6% in local currency.

'We are pleased with our performance during the third quarter, particularly in our annuity businesses, and with the results of our continued focus on cost control,' said Colin Dyer, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle. 'While real estate fundamentals remain generally weak, we see initial signs of recovery in some markets and industry sectors, and our focus remains on growing market share while providing the superior service that our clients have come to expect.'