Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore has posted a 27-percent year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2010.
“The Singapore business is in a good position for the year ahead due to the strong performance of our residential project sales, office leasing, investment sales and property and asset management divisions,” said Mr. Chris Fossick, managing director of JLL in Singapore and South East Asia.
“Our newly-formed Singapore residential project sales team is capitalising on the increased demand for luxury residential real estate in Singapore, and during Q1, secured marketing appointments for high-end projects including The Holland Collection, The Marina Collection and Centennia Suites,” he added.
JLL has also been able to ride on the robust recovery in the Singapore office market, keeping marketing agency appointments on the majority of the most selected office developments under construction.
The investment sales unit of the firm has also clinched a number of appointments for collective sales in 2010. “Considering that government efforts to streamline this process are under discussion, we expect to see further en-bloc activity this year,” he added.
“Following on from a remarkable performance in 2009, the property and asset management team added more than one million sq ft of space to their portfolio in a fiercely competitive market, a testament to the teams’ trusted service delivery model,” noted Mr. Fossick.
JLL earned a US$136-million revenue in the Asia-Pacific region during the first three months of the year, up by 29 percent from US$105 million over the same period a year ago. The region’s earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization for Q1 2010 was US$9 million, against a loss of US$1 million incurred during Q1 2009.
“Economic forecasts in the Asia-Pacific region are upbeat and recovery in the business environment is filtering through to real estate…however, there are concerns about inflationary pressures, particularly in the residential market, which has prompted anti-speculative measures like the introduction of a stamp duty for sellers in Singapore,” said Mr. Fossick.
On Tuesday, NYSE-listed Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated posted its Q1 net income (on US GAAP basis) of US$246,000, or one US cent per share. In Q1 2009, it incurred a net loss of US$61.5 million, or US$1.78 per share.
“Net income in the first quarter (of 2010) benefited from continued momentum from the fourth quarter of 2009 and the transition to a more variable compensation structure in a number of the firm’s transactional businesses,” said JLL.
The firm had an adjusted EBITDA of US$37 million in Q1 2010, up from US$11 million in Q1 2009. It also reported an 18 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to US$581 million.