Property agent CBRE has seen its full-year profit increase 19% to $399 mln in 2012, fuelled by solid top-line growth in the fourth quarter of the year.
Property agent CBRE has seen its full-year profit increase 19% to $399 mln in 2012, fuelled by solid top-line growth in the fourth quarter of the year.
The Los Angeles-based firm posted revenue of $6.5 bn for the year, the highest in the history of the group. The figure represents an increase of 10% versus revenue of $5.9 bn in 2011.
'We are very pleased with our strong finish to 2012,' said Robert Sulentic, president and chief executive officer of CBRE. 'This growth was paced by the Americas, which benefited from particularly strong performance in our capital markets businesses.'
Sulentic said he expected conditions to continue to improve gradually, tracking the performance of the global economy. 'We are encouraged by positive underlying trends in the U.S. economy - and thus expect the Americas to remain the biggest near-term catalyst for our growth,' he added.
Assuming the global economy plays out as anticipated, CBRE expects to drive solid revenue increases in 2013, with earnings per share forecast to come in at a range of $1.40 to $1.45 for full-year 2013, versus $1.22 in 2012.
In the fourth quarter of the year CBRE’s capital markets businesses – property sales and commercial mortgage brokerage -- were top performers. Global property sales revenue rose 22% as the company completed single-asset and portfolio sales valued at more than $1 bn in the following markets: Berlin/Frankfurt, Moscow, New York, Seattle and Silicon Valley.
Sales activity was especially strong in the Americas, rising 32%. Despite Europe’s weakening economic growth and continued financial stresses, property sales in EMEA rose 13%, aided by robust performance in the UK.
Outsourcing also grew significantly during the quarter, with revenue rising 13% globally. All three global regions posted double-digit revenue increases. In Global Corporate Services, 61 long-term contracts were signed during the quarter, and CBRE continued to expand its scope of services for existing clients: 21 of these 61 contracts were expansions – a new company record.
