CB Richard Ellis projects annual growth and profit
Commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis has surprised Wall Street with a predicted annual revenue growth of 8% – an increase of 2%.
The growth has been attributed to an economic rebound in Asia – the commercial real estate giant had a solid fourth quarter profit for 2009. The company believe that this signals the beginning to a more stable economic environment, as more firms start to look at expanding office space or upgrading facilities.
“This shows things are starting to turn, if corporations were in a hunker-down mode, they wouldn’t be looking for space,” comments Craig Silvers, president of Bricks & Mortar Capital for CB Richard Ellis.
CB Richard Ellis have reported a net income of $64.3 million, the equivalent of 21 cents a share – a vast improvement in comparison to 2008 where the firm lost around $1 billion in the midst of recession as US commercial real estate markets were slumping. They were unable to sell clients’ property, coupled with landlords under the firm who were losing tenants rapidly, and they were seeing a downturn in commissions.
However the cautious predictions for the coming economic year show all the signs of a strong and steady recovery for the firm, which will lead the way for similar businesses and brokers on the way out of the economic crisis.