CBRE revenue rises 13% to $11.5 billion as property sales revenue climbs 28%

CBRE Group (NYSE: CBRE), the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, said third-quarter revenue rose 13% to $11.5 billion, helped by a 28% rise in property sales revenue, according to its earnings release.

What happened

Revenue was $11.517 billion, up 12.7% from $10.221 billion. GAAP net income was $443 million, up 22.0%, and GAAP earnings per share were $1.52, up 25.6% from $1.21. Core earnings per share, an adjusted measure, were $2.05, up 28.1% from $1.60. Core EBITDA was $1.001 billion, up 28.5%.

Chair and Chief Executive Bob Sulentic said both "resilient" and "transactional" businesses grew by double digits.

Sales and leasing

Global property sales revenue rose 28% (29% in local currency). U.S. revenue was up 37%, driven by "accelerated growth in industrial and retail." In Asia-Pacific it rose 10% and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa it rose 8%.

Global leasing revenue increased 6%. EMEA revenue grew 21%, driven by the United Kingdom. U.S. leasing revenue rose 4% overall, led by industrial, up 16%, while office was down 2%. APAC leasing revenue was up 2%.

Advisory Services segment revenue was $2.441 billion, up 11.0%. CBRE said infrastructure services revenue was up 50% to $4.5 billion on a trailing 12-month basis.

Cash flow

Cash flow provided by operations was $869 million in the quarter, up 5.1%, and free cash flow was $927 million, up 19.0%, which includes a $184 million gain on disposition of real estate.

Trailing cash flow

On a trailing 12-month basis, CBRE reported cash flow from operations of $1.4 billion and free cash flow of $1.8 billion.