Cousins Properties Inc. (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), reported dismal fourth quarter 2009 results, with FFO (fund from operations) of $7.3 million or 7 cents per share, compared to $10.2 million or 20 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. Fund from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

The year-over-year decrease in FFO was primarily due to large impairment charges recorded in the quarter. Excluding the one-time charges, FFO for the quarter was $11.5 million or 11 cents per share. For full year 2009, FFO was approximately ($92) million or ($1.40) per share. Excluding the non-recurring items, FFO for full year 2009 was 50 million or 77 cents per share.

Total revenues were $65.5 million during the quarter versus $52.7 million in the year-ago period. For full year 2009, total revenues of Cousins Properties were $224.9 million compared to $214.7 million in the previous year. Same-store net operating income (cash basis) during the year decreased 3.7% in the office segment, decreased 11.0% in retail, and decreased 6.9% overall compared to the preceding year.

During the quarter, Cousins Properties executed or renewed leases totaling 190,000 square feet of office space and 191,000 square feet of retail space. The company also sold 35 units of 10 Terminus, a mixed-use project at Atlanta, and 23 residential units of 60 North Market, a condo project in downtown Asheville. At year-end 2009, the office portfolio was 87% leased, while the retail and industrial portfolio was 84% and 51% leased, respectively. The company has an office property (565,000 square feet) in Atlanta under its development pipeline. Cousins Properties has a 50% ownership stake in the development property. The estimated cost of development is $177.3 million.

At year-end 2009, Cousins Properties had a total debt burden of $1 billion, with a debt-to-market cap ratio of 47%, leverage ratio of 40% and fixed charge ratio of 1.7x. Cash and cash equivalents at year-end 2009 was $9.5 million, compared to $83 million in the year-ago period.

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