BNP Paribas Real Estate has posted an 11% hike in operating profit to €156m in its full-year results.
The real estate division of the French bank, which encompasses development, transactional agency, property management, investment management, consulting and valuation, delivered the increased profit on the back of a 6% rise in turnover, at €658m.
The division’s UK arm reported a £1m drop in turnover, at £62m, but said profit improved by an undisclosed amount as it focussed on higher-margin work.
Property development was the group’s strongest division, with a business volume of €851m, up 78% compared with 2010, and a stable turnover of €87m.
In 2011, it delivered 206,000 sq m of office space in Europe and 250,000 m2 will be started in 2012, which the firm said was “a record results compared to the annual average of 100,000 m2 over the last 10 years”.
The transactional business increased its turnover by 9% to €176m, with 51% of this derived from France.
In property management, turnover was up 10% compared with 2010, at €83m, and in consulting and valuation the group generated €76m, with the UK generating 39% of these fees.
A geographical split of the division’s revenue shows that 64% was derived from France, 11% from Germany and 11% from the UK. This was mainly due to a strong performance from the development division.
BNP Paribas Real Estate president Philippe Zivkovic said: “BNP Paribas Real Estate has performed well in 2011, increasing performance from 2010, despite the market having become more difficult.”
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com