Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., a real estate service company with a significant presence in the Bay State, reported its fourth quarter net income rose 26.8 percent, driven in part by the nation’s corporate outsourcing business and its Asia operations.
The company posted a net profit of $52 million, or $1.19 per share, compared with $41 million, or $1.17 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding $11 million in restructuring and $4 million in non-cash charges net income was $63 million, or $1.44 per share.
Revenue rose 2 percent to $815 million.
Analysts had expected the company to post a profit of $1.34 a share on $700.4 million revenue, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The global property market for the most part was slammed last year as credit remained tight and debt overwhelmed big ambitious property investors, such as Dubai World and Tishman Speyer.
Although Asia did not suffer as deeply and Europe has begun to recover, the U.S. property market, the largest and most mature market, saw sales fall 64 percent and yields, which move inversely to prices, rise, according to research firm Real Capital Analytics.
But fourth quarter sales picked up 38 percent from the third quarter, according to Real Capital.
Jones Lang’s diverse revenue sources have helped blunt the impact of the global real estate downturn, more so than its main competitor, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
"Although markets face a slow and uneven recovery, the actions we’ve taken to protect our businesses and win market share make us confident about our prospects for 2010," Chief Executive Office Colin Dyer said in a statement.
LaSalle Investment Management, which invests for pension funds and other institutional investors, posted fourth quarter revenue of $64 million, down from $90 million a year before.
The results were issued after the close of the market when Jones Lang LaSalle shares closed down 27 cents at $57.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.
"We are very pleased with our strong finish to a difficult year," said Colin Dyer, Chief Executive Officer of Jones Lang LaSalle. "Although markets face a slow and uneven recovery, the actions we’ve taken to protect our businesses and win market share make us confident about our prospects for 2010."
