Cousins Properties' FFO Up in '02

ATLANTA-In a difficult leasing transaction year, Cousins Properties Inc. is showing improved operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2002. Funds from operations for the quarter stood at $28.7 million or 59 cents per share compared to $26.8 million or 54 cents per share in the same 2001 period.

For all of 2002, Cousins reported FFO of $114.4 million or $2.29 per share versus $104.4 million or $2.08 per share in 2001.

Despite tenant lease defaults in some major markets, the Atlanta-based developer’s office portfolio ended the year with an average 94% leasing level, with retail properties hitting a 96% leasing mark. “This was in spite of the negative absorption that occurred in some of our major markets such as Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco,” company president/CEO Tom Bell tells shareholders in a statement.