CB Richard Ellis announced a strong first quarter today, boosting earnings per share by 59% during one of the strongest global real estate markets in history. CBRE generated revenue of $1.2 billion, up 61.6% over the $751.3 million posted in the first quarter of 2006. The company also drew its revenues from a diverse mosaic of business lines and markets.
“For the past 18 quarters, the company has been the acknowledged market leader in most major business centers worldwide,” says Brett White, president and CEO of CB Richard Ellis, who led the first quarter earnings call today. “This dominant geographic footprint coupled with the industry’s most extensive offering of client services and business lines, has allowed us to leverage a favorable global marketplace into exceptionally strong growth.”
White says that the Trammell Crow integration is “going extremely well and ahead of schedule.” Last Halloween, CBRE paid $2.2 billion for Trammell Crow. The Trammell acquisition (and others) helped generate roughly half of the 61% revenue growth that CBRE achieved during the first quarter. Revenue for CBRE’s development services segment — acquired through the Trammell Crow merger — totaled $17 million for the first quarter. CBRE also had $5.5 billion in development projects underway at the end of March.