Jones Lang LaSalle suffered a 68% plunge in net profit last year as property markets around the world deteriorated.

The New York-listed property services firm today reported a net profit of $84m (£58m), or $2.44 a share, in 2008, compared with $256m (£178m), or $7.64 a share in 2007. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were $233m (£162m), 44% lower than in 2007.

The firm’s fourth quarter figures missed analysts’ consensus forecast of $1.28 a share.

Net profit was $41m (£28m), or $1.17 a share, which was 63% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2007, which followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

The full-year results included $18m (£12m) of intangible amortisation and $7m (£5m) of integration costs related to the acquisitions of Staubach in the US and Kemper’s in Germany.

They also included severance charges of $23m (£16m), which resulted from the need to reduce staffing. Total restructuring charges were $30m (£21m).

Full-year revenue remained at $2.7bn (£1.9m), despite substantial decreases in capital markets and hotels transaction levels. Transaction services revenue decreased by 8% to $1.4bn (£970m). Management services revenue increased 22% to $882m (£612m). LaSalle Investment Management’s EBITDA dropped 26% to $84.3m (£59m).

‘Through focused execution for our clients, we gained market share and maintained revenues in 2008 while aggressively managing our own costs,’ said CEO Colin Dyer.

'We will remain flexible across our operations to align the company to current market conditions.’

By region, the Americas was the top performer, increasing EBITDA by 9% to $114.9m (£80m). The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region’s EBITDA more than halved to $50m (£35m).

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