JONES Lang LaSalle has reported a fall in net income for the quarter ended September 30, however, the Australian business is still showing revenue growth.
JLL reported net income on a US GAAP basis of $US15 million compared with net income of $US47 million for the third quarter of 2007. On a year-to-date basis, 2008 net income was $US42 million compared with net income of $US152 million in 2007.
But JLL Australia chief executive Christine Bartlett said the revenue growth was delivered even after taking into account a significant transaction in 2007 for LaSalle Investment Management at
“Transactional activity in Australian commercial property has been down in the first half of 2008 by 56% compared to the first half of 2007, but despite this the Australian business continues to perform solidly. We have made significant strategic investments this year in non-transactional areas of the business to proactively protect our revenues in the current economic environment.
“This strategy is paying off and non-transactional areas of the business have performed significantly over and above 2007 levels. Our property and facilities management business recorded a 17% increase in revenue on a year-to-date basis,” she added.
The valuations practice also performed particularly well, increasing revenue 25% year-to-date over 2007 levels.
Another good performer was the project and development services business, recording a 10% increase in revenue on a year-to-date basis.
“Our profit has largely been protected because we took early action in the first half of this year to curb discretionary spending in the Australian business and monitored existing headcount. This has helped us weather the economic uncertainty,” she concluded.
Australian Property Journal
