Global agent CBRE has posted a 12% increase in revenues to $23.9bn (£18.5bn) in the year ended 31 December.
Fee revenues increased by 9.4% to $11.bn and EBITDA were up by 8.3% to $2.6bn.
Bob Sulentice, president and chief executive, said: “We ended 2019 with solid growth, highlighting the benefits of our diverse business.
“Our performance for the fourth quarter was led by very strong property sales and occupier outsourcing growth, which more than offset a decline in leasing activity and lower contributions from our real estate investments segment.
“Despite the decline, we had our second-highest quarter of leasing revenue in company history in the fourth quarter. Our solid performance to close out 2019 contributed to our 10th consecutive year of double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth and helped us attain new revenue and earnings milestones.”
Within its advisory business, Q4 revenues were up by 3.4% to $2.8bn, which CBRE said was driven by a global property sales. The UK and continental Europe led the growth, up by 44% and 34%, with sales in the US up by 20%.
Global capital markets revenue, which combines property sales and commercial mortgage origination, grew by 13% for the quarter, while advisory leasing revenue declined by 7%.
The businesses global workspace solutions segment reported double-digit growth of 18.6% in Q4 to top $4bn, with strong performance again from the UK, Asia Pacific and the Americas.
CBRE’s real estate investments segment saw revenues increase by 62.7% to $247m, while EBITDA fell by 18.2% to $43m. It said the decline in EBITDA was due to a number of large asset sales being delayed from the final quarter of 2019 into the first quarter of 2020. It said the results also reflected investments in the start up of the company’s flexible workspace business, Hana, and the contribution from Telford Homes, which it bought in October.
For 2020, CBRE said it expected earnings to be driven by advisory services, both leasing and capital market, and that its EBIDTA for real estate investments would increase significantly to around $250m at the mid-year point as a result of a flurry of deals early this year, the expected contribution from Telford Homes, and continued investment in the ramp-up of Hana. T
Sultenic said: “We continue to see a backdrop that supports our business performance. Based on what we know today, the global economy is expected to grow this year on par with 2019, though we are closely watching the potential impact of ongoing risks, particularly the coronavirus.
“With this in mind, we expect that continued favourable macro conditions and our ability to take market share across business lines should drive our 11th consecutive year of solid double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth in 2020.”
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