Cousins Weathers Rough Q2

ATLANTA-Cousins Properties Inc. president and CEO Tom Bell sees no silver lining yet in the office market even though his company’s second-quarter performance showed a 91% occupancy level and record net income.

Bell attributes the $143.5 million, or $2.92 per diluted share, in net income directly to the California sales of Mira Mesa MarketCenter and the two-building Cerritos Corporate Center which generated a combined gain of $43 million. The company plans to close on the sale of Presidential MarketCenter and Perimeter Expo later this year, he says. Both properties are under contract.

The California sales “are a great example of our strategy of creating and harvesting value, where we take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace to realize the value created through development,” Bell says.