Jones Lang LaSalle net climbs as broker cuts costs

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., the second- largest publicly traded commercial property broker, said fourth- quarter profit climbed as the company cut expenses.

Net income rose to $52 million, or $1.19 a share, from $41 million, or $1.17, a year earlier, the Chicago-based company said today in a statement. Revenue increased 2.3 percent to $815 million.

"While the operating environment remains challenging, we believe that there were signs of improvement during the fourth quarter and we expect 2010 to be a year of revenue growth for property services companies," JMP Securities analysts William C. Marks and Susan Gutierrez wrote in a Jan. 28 note to investors. They rate the stock "market outperform."

Worldwide commercial property sales tumbled in 2008 and 2009 as tight credit standards and falling prices for office space, hotels, retail centers and apartment buildings prevented landlords from selling unless they had to. That forced property brokers including Jones Lang to retool their services to help clients consolidate space, renegotiate or sell loans, sell distressed properties and value illiquid assets.

Chief Executive Officer Colin Dyer told CNBC television on Jan. 28 that the company is preparing for a turnaround and starting to rehire. He spoke in an interview at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had an average estimate for fourth-quarter earnings of $1.38 a share.

The net loss for the 2009 was $4.1 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a profit of $84 million, or $2.44, a year earlier, Jones Lang LaSalle said.

The company announced results after the close of regular U.S. trading. The shares fell 27 cents to $57.99 today in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They've more than doubled in the past 12 months, compared with a 34 percent rise in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.