CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. late Tuesday said that it moved from a loss to a profit in the first quarter as the commercial real estate market continued to recover from the recession.

After the markets closed, the Los Angeles real estate services giant reported net income of $34.4 million (11 cents per share), compared with a net loss of $6.6 million (-2 cents) a year earlier. Revenue increased 16 percent to $1.2 billion, with revenue rising 16 percent in the Americas, 9 percent in Europe and 19 percent in Asia-Pacific.

Excluding charges, net income was $40.6 million (13 cents). Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected per-share profit of 12 cents on revenue on $1.27 billion.

Global property sales gained a robust 34 percent as capital flows continued to improve and credit standards returned to historically normal levels, the company noted. Global leasing revenue was up a more modest 8 percent.

“Our results for the quarter reflect a very nice start for the year,” said Chief Executive Brett White in a statement. “This is particularly significant because the first quarter typically sets the tone for the rest of the year and historically is our seasonally weakest quarter.”

Shares earlier closed down 2 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $28.55 on the New York Stock Exchange. They fell another 2 percent in after-hours trading.