Shares in CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. soared nearly 15 percent Wednesday after the world’s largest real estate broker reported a 62 percent surge in revenue.
That boost came despite CBRE’s report of first quarter net income of $12 million (5 cents per share), a 68 percent drop from $37 million (16 cents) from the same period a year earlier, marking the firm’s first decline in three years. However, excluding charges associated with the company’s $2 billion acquisition of Trammell Crow Co., net income rose 62 percent to $65 million (27 cents) for the quarter.
CBRE’s purchase of Dallas-based Trammell Crow, a real estate management company, has made it the world’s largest real estate services company.
Revenue for the El Segundo-based company rose 62 percent to $1.2 billion.
“Our first-quarter results were bolstered by extremely strong growth in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region” and were also bolstered by higher asset management revenue, CBRE’s Chief Executive Brett White said in a statement.
Shares in CBRE added $4.84, or 14 percent, to $38.49 in afternoon trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
