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CHICAGO-The LaSalle Investment Management division and the addition of Spaulding & Slye are being credited with giving Jones Lang LaSalle an atypically profitable first quarter. The real estate services firm posted net income of $4.6 million, compared to a loss of $8.6 million during the first three months of 2005.

Because of the seasonal nature of the company's business, Jones Lang LaSalle officials note they have usually posted losses during the first quarter. However, the first three months of 2006 saw LaSalle Investment Management close the $3.4-billion acquisition with joint venture partner California Public Employees Retirement System of Oak Brook-based industrial REIT CenterPoint Properties Trust, while revenue rose 40% across all of Jones Lang LaSalle's business lines. In the Americas region, the global firm saw a 53% increase in revenue, attributed to the acquisition of New England and Washington, DC market leader Spaulding & Slye.

Spaulding & Slye accounted for more than 50% of Jones Lang LaSalle's revenue growth, says chief operating and financial officer Lauralee E. Martin. "They are not as seasonal as our business on an operational basis," she says during Wednesday's earnings conference call.