CB Richard Ellis, which has offices in Boston, saw its 2008 fourth quarter net income fall 95 percent year-over-year, from $122.4 million in 2007 to just $6.5 million last year.
For the year, net income stood at $83.9 million in 2008, down almost 79 percent from $390.5 million in 2007.
Revenue for the year stood at $5.1 billion, down a modest 15 percent from $6 billion in 2007. The company said development projects in process as of Dec. 31 totaled $5.6 billion, compared to $6.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2007. Its pipeline inventory stood at $2.5 billion as of Dec. 31 compared to $2.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2007.
CBRE’s development services segment, which consists of real estate development and investment activities primarily in the U.S., reported an operating loss of $65.3 million for the fourth quarter. The operating loss was primarily attributed to $49.2 million in net non-cash write-downs of real estate assets recorded in the quarter, the company said.
"Results during the quarter were impacted, as expected, by weak sales and leasing activity caused by the credit crunch and global economic downturn. Significant capital market turmoil also adversely affected incentive-based revenue within the Global Investment Management business and reduced real estate sales volume and values in the Development Services segment. It also caused asset impairments in both of these segments," the company said in a statement.
Brett White, president and chief executive officer of CB Richard Ellis, said market conditions in 2009 would remain "constrained."
"The credit crunch and global economic weakness pose serious challenges for our industry in 2009, and as such, we will continue to manage our business carefully to sustain profitability in a market where property sales and leasing activity remains highly constrained," White said.
CBRE’s stock price has fallen 83% in the past nine months, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The company bills itself as the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, in terms of 2008 revenue.
