CBRE’s Q2 revenue rose by one-fifth this year, as the agency continued to bounce back from last year’s Covid-induced slump.
Turnover for the three months ended 30 June was $6.5bn (£4.6bn) – a 20% year-on-year jump – while adjusted profit rocketed to $718m, a 159% increase.
The surge comes after the pandemic affected every part of the business during the same period last year, with much of the world in lockdown.
The figures compare favourably to the first three months of 2021, in which CBRE brought in $5.9bn in revenue, its highest ever first-quarter revenue.
CBRE’s workplace solutions arm recorded an 8% increase to $4.1bn in turnover, up from $3.8bn last year. However, the biggest jump came from its advisory services business, which grew revenue 48% to $2.14bn, up from $1.45bn last year.
The division was hit particularly hard by the first wave of the pandemic last year. Capital markets advisory led the arm’s recovery, with global property sales revenue surging 152%.
Chief executive Bob Sulentic said: “Our growth in the second quarter was strong, even compared with prior peak-year performance in 2019. Each segment experienced significant margin expansion over this period.”
Sulentic added that CBRE’s continued plan to diversify the company had benefited its earnings, pointing to this week’s announcement that it had picked up a majority stake in consultant Turner & Townsend for £960m.
Sulentic said: “The commercial real estate market has offered up significant opportunity to diversify across asset type, business lines, client type and geography. We have moved decisively to capitalise on this opportunity and are making investments and driving organic growth initiatives that will continue this trend.”
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