Jones Lang Quarterly Revenue Rises - Analyst Blog

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a leading full-service real estate firm that provides corporate, financial, and investment management services, reported fourth quarter 2009 net income of $52.0 million or $1.19 per share compared to $41.2 million or $1.17 in the year-earlier quarter. Excluding the non-recurring items, earnings were $62.9 million or $1.44 per share during the quarter versus $60.0 million or $1.71 in the year-ago quarter.
 
For full year 2009, Jones Lang reported a net loss of $4.1 million or $0.11 per share compared to a net income of $83.5 million or $2.44 in 2008. The year-over-year decrease in earnings was primarily due to $47 million of restructuring charges, related to severance charges and integration costs from the 2008 acquisitions of The Staubach Company and Kemper's, as well as $51 million of non-cash co-investment charges. Excluding the non-recurring items, earnings for full year 2009 were $70.0 million or $1.75 per share compared to $110.7 million or $3.24 in 2008.

Revenues for the quarter came in at $815.1 million compared to $797.1 million recorded in the year-ago quarter. Jones Lang divides its business into two primary segments: Investor and Occupier Services (IOS) and Investment Management (IM). The IOS segment is sub-divided into three geographic regions – the Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and Asia Pacific.

Revenues from the EMEA segment declined 7% to $226 million, while in the Americas region revenues came in at $345 million thus reflecting an increase of 9%. In the Asia-Pacific region, revenues increased 23.6% to $178 million. The IOS division contributed approximately 92% of the total revenue in the quarter.
 
For full year 2009, total revenue was approximately $2.5 billion compared to $2.7 billion in the previous year. The IOS division contributed 89.5% of the total revenue for full year 2009. Total operating expenses for the quarter came in at $733.1 million as against $725.2 million in the year-ago period. For full year 2009, total operating expenses were $2.4 billion compared to $2.5 billion in the previous year. The year-over-year decrease in operating expenses was largely due to stringent cost-cutting measures, including reduction in employee headcount and cut in discretionary expenses. Operating income increased approximately 13.9 % to $81.9 million in the quarter.

During 2009, Jones Lang reduced its net bank debt by $334 million with proceeds from equity issuance and reduced capital spending. At year-end 2009, Jones Lang had $175 million available under its long-term credit facilities and cash and cash equivalents of $69.3 million. Jones Lang is still the best positioned commercial real estate services company. Recent acquisitions should incrementally add to earnings and overall expenses should continue to reduce as operating synergies are realized.

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