Realogy Nets $87M for Q3

PARSIPPANY, NJ – Realogy Corp. posted a Q3 EBITDA of $277 million, or $0.52 per share, before separation, restructuring and legacy costs of its former parent company. As reported by GlobeSt.com , Realogy is the former real estate franchise business of Cendant, that spun off as a separate company earlier this year. Net income after subtracting those legacy costs, most of which are non-cash, came down to $87 million. The final Q3 results were posted on the basis of revenues of $1.73 billion.

The Q3 results declined year-over-year, with company officials blaming the residential market’s recent slump, notably the slowdown of existing homes. “During Q3, year-over-year home sales declined by 22% at Realogy Franchise Group and by 23% at NRT, the company’s owned brokerage unit,” says Richard A. Smith, Realogy’s vice chairman and president. “The larger decline at NRT reflects its concentration in the major coastal markets, such as California and Florida.

‘The decline was marginally offset by slightly higher year-over-year home prices at NRT,” Smith says. “We continue to expect full-year 2006 home sale sides to be down 15% to 20% at RFG and 13% to 16% at NRT. During the current down cycle, we are continuing to strengthen our position. For example, we continue to grow our franchise network and rationalize our fixed cost base so that we are a stronger company when growth resumes.