Asia-Pacific Boosts Jones Lang

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL - Analyst Report) reported third quarter earnings of 61 cents per share, which were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The company earned 66 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues for the quarter came in at $595.3 million compared to $677.08 million recorded in the year-ago quarter. Jones Lang divides its business into two primary segments: Investor and Occupier Services (IOS) and Investment Management (IM). The IOS segment is sub-divided into three geographic regions – the Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and Asia Pacific.
 
Revenues from the EMEA segment declined 26% to $154 million, while in the Americas region revenues came in at $239 million thus reflecting a decline of 6%. However, in the Asia-Pacific region revenues increased 2.9% to $136 million. The IOS division contributed approximately 89% of total revenue in the quarter.

Total operating expenses for the quarter came in at $550.67 million as against $643.60 million in the year-ago period. Operating income increased 33.3 % to $44.62 million in the quarter.

We note that the board of directors of Jones Lang has declared a semi-annual dividend of 10 cents per share of its common stock payable on Dec. 15, 2009, to holders of record at business close on Nov. 13, 2009.

Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle is a leading full-service real estate firm that provides corporate, financial, and investment management services. The company caters to corporations and other real estate owners, users, and investors worldwide.

The company is still the best positioned commercial real estate services company. Recent acquisitions should incrementally add to earnings and overall expenses should continue to reduce as operating synergies are realized. As such, we maintain a Neutral recommendation on the shares of Jones Lang.