Cousins Properties Reports Results for Quarter Ended December 31, 2008

February 9, 2009

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) today reported its results of operations for the three months and year ended December 31, 2008. All per share amounts are reported on a diluted basis; basic per share data is included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income accompanying this release.

Funds from Operations Available to Common Stockholders ("FFO") was $10.2 million, or $0.20 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with FFO of $7.3 million, or $0.14 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2007. FFO was $61.0 million, or $1.18 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to $48.4 million, or $0.92 per share, for the same period in 2007.

For the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company generated a Net Loss Available to Common Stockholders ("Net Loss Available") of $4.1 million, or $0.08 per share, as compared to Net Loss Available of $5.0 million, or $0.10 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2007. For the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company generated Net Income Available to Common Stockholders ("Net Income Available") of $7.6 million, or $0.15 per share, compared with Net Income Available of $17.7 million, or $0.33 per share, for the same period in 2007.

Included in FFO and Net Income (Loss) Available for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2008 is a $2.1 million pre-tax, non-cash impairment charge related to the Company's 10 Terminus Place condominium project whose units are complete and held for sale. The Company was required to record these units at their estimated fair value on December 31, 2008.

Fourth quarter highlights of the Company included the following:

    --  Sold its 3100 Windy Hill Road office building for $12.5 million,
        recognizing a gain on sale of approximately $2.5 million.
    --  Through its CL Realty joint venture, recognized pre-tax FFO of
        approximately $566,000 from a land tract sale.
    --  Commenced operations of Building 1 at Palisades West, a 216,000 square
        foot office building in Austin, Texas. Building 2, which is still
        partially under development, contains 157,000 square feet.
    --  Continued closings of units at its 10 Terminus Place multi-family
        project. The Company recognized approximately $370,000 of pre-tax gain
        on closings of four of the original 137 units.
    --  Sold three of the seven remaining commercial units at its 50 Biscayne
        multi-family project, generating FFO before taxes and minority interest
        of approximately $496,000.
    --  Entered into two $75 million interest rate swaps on floating-rate,
        LIBOR-based borrowings at 2.995% and 2.69% for two years.
    --  Purchased approximately 1.2 million shares of the Company's Series A and
        Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock for approximately $15.8
        million.
    --  Entered into new leases on 183,000 square feet and renewed leases on
        44,000 square feet of office space.

At December 31, 2008, the Company's portfolio of operational office buildings was 97% leased, its portfolio of operational retail centers was 84% leased and its operational industrial buildings were 40% leased.

"In spite of the difficult economic times, we were able to make progress by selling our vacant 3100 Windy Hill Road building and signing several office leases," said Tom Bell, Chairman and CEO of Cousins. "Looking to 2009, we are committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet with liquidity, working diligently to lease the remaining space in our development projects and holding the line on occupancy at our existing properties. We will also continue to seek distressed acquisitions and development opportunities, but to date have yet to see projects that meet our requirements."

The Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income, Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and a schedule entitled Funds From Operations, which reconciles Net Income Available to FFO, are attached to this press release. More detailed information on Net Income Available and FFO results is included in the "Net Income and Funds From Operations-Supplemental Detail" schedule which is included along with other supplemental information in the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, which the Company is furnishing to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and which can be viewed through the "Quarterly Disclosures" and "SEC Filings" links on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website at www.cousinsproperties.com. This information may also be obtained by calling the Company's Investor Relations Department at (404) 407-1984.

The Company will conduct a conference call at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, to discuss the results of the quarter ended December 31, 2008. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (303) 228-2960. A replay of the conference call will be available for 14 days by dialing (303) 590-3000 and entering the passcode 11124059#. The replay can be accessed on the Company's website, www.cousinsproperties.com, through the "Q4 2008 Cousins Properties Incorporated Earnings Conference Call" link on the Investor Relations page, as well as at www.streetevents.com and www.earnings.com. The rebroadcast will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website for 14 days.

Cousins Properties Incorporated is a leading diversified real estate company with extensive experience in development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing. Based in Atlanta, the Company actively invests in office, multi-family, retail, industrial and land development projects. Since its founding in 1958, Cousins has developed 20 million square feet of office space, 20 million square feet of retail space, more than 4,000 multi-family units and more than 60 single-family neighborhoods. The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUZ. For more, please visit www.cousinsproperties.com.

Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risk. These include, but are not limited to, general and local economic conditions (including the current general recession and state of the credit markets), local real estate conditions (including the overall condition of the residential markets), the activity of others developing competitive projects, the risks associated with development projects (such as delay, cost overruns and leasing/sales risk of new properties), the cyclical nature of the real estate industry, the financial condition of existing tenants, interest rates, the Company's ability to obtain favorable financing or zoning, environmental matters, the effects of terrorism, the ability of the Company to close properties under contract and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. The words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.

COUSINS PROPERTIES INCORPORATED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)

                                Three Months Ended      Years Ended

                                December 31,            December 31,

                                2008        2007        2008         2007

REVENUES:

Rental property revenues        $ 38,050    $ 32,370    $ 147,394    $ 112,645

Fee income                        10,566      7,875       47,662       36,314

Multi-family residential sales    2,985       -           8,444        20

Residential lot and outparcel     247         2,496       6,993        9,949
sales

Interest and other                867         1,490       4,158        6,429

                                  52,715      44,231      214,651      165,357

COSTS AND EXPENSES:

Rental property operating         13,944      13,028      56,607       46,139
expenses

General and administrative        9,441       9,129       42,174       40,643
expenses

Reimbursed general and            4,534       3,668       16,279       17,167
administrative expenses

Depreciation and amortization     15,777      11,687      52,925       39,796

Multi-family residential cost     2,615       (100   )    7,330        (124    )
of sales

Residential lot and outparcel     81          2,125       3,776        7,809
cost of sales

Interest expense                  10,804      5,020       33,151       8,816

Loss on extinguishment of debt    -           -           -            446

Impairment loss                   2,100       -           2,100        -

Other                             1,770       650         6,049        2,822

                                  61,066      45,207      220,391      163,514

INCOME (LOSS) FROM CONTINUING
OPERATIONS BEFORE TAXES,
MINORITY INTEREST AND INCOME      (8,351 )    (976   )    (5,740  )    1,843
FROM UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT
VENTURES

BENEFIT FOR INCOME TAXES FROM     4,293       517         8,770        4,423
OPERATIONS

MINORITY INTEREST IN INCOME OF    (690   )    (238   )    (2,378  )    (1,656  )
CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES

INCOME (LOSS) FROM                1,168       (815   )    9,721        6,096
UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT VENTURES

INCOME (LOSS) FROM CONTINUING
OPERATIONS BEFORE GAIN ON SALE    (3,580 )    (1,512 )    10,373       10,706
OF INVESTMENT PROPERTIES

GAIN ON SALE OF INVESTMENT
PROPERTIES, NET OF APPLICABLE     408         678         10,799       5,535
INCOME TAX PROVISION

INCOME (LOSS) FROM CONTINUING     (3,172 )    (834   )    21,172       16,241
OPERATIONS

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, NET
OF APPLICABLE INCOME TAX
PROVISION:

Income (loss) from                82          (413   )    (1,097  )    (1,414  )
discontinued operations

Gain on sale of investment        2,472       81          2,472        18,095
properties

                                  2,554       (332   )    1,375        16,681

NET INCOME (LOSS)                 (618   )    (1,166 )    22,547       32,922

DIVIDENDS TO PREFERRED            (3,520 )    (3,813 )    (14,957 )    (15,250 )
STOCKHOLDERS

NET INCOME (LOSS) AVAILABLE TO  $ (4,138 )  $ (4,979 )  $ 7,590      $ 17,672
COMMON STOCKHOLDERS

PER COMMON SHARE INFORMATION -
BASIC:

Income (loss) from continuing   $ (0.13  )  $ (0.09  )  $ 0.12       $ 0.02
operations

Income (loss) from                0.05        (0.01  )    0.03         0.32
discontinued operations

Basic net income (loss)
available to common             $ (0.08  )  $ (0.10  )  $ 0.15       $ 0.34
stockholders

PER COMMON SHARE INFORMATION -
DILUTED:

Income (loss) from continuing   $ (0.13  )  $ (0.09  )  $ 0.12       $ 0.02
operations

Income (loss) from                0.05        (0.01  )    0.03         0.31
discontinued operations

Diluted net income (loss)
available to common             $ (0.08  )  $ (0.10  )  $ 0.15       $ 0.33
stockholders

CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER     $ 0.25      $ 0.37      $ 1.36       $ 1.48
COMMON SHARE

WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES           51,262      51,588      51,202       51,705

DILUTED WEIGHTED AVERAGE          51,262      51,588      51,621       52,932
SHARES



COUSINS PROPERTIES INCORPORATED AND SUBSIDIARIES

FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2008 AND 2007

(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)

                                Three Months Ended      Years Ended

                                December 31,            December 31,

                                2008        2007        2008         2007

Net Income (Loss) Available to  $ (4,138 )  $ (4,979 )  $ 7,590      $ 17,672
Common Stockholders

Depreciation and amortization:

Consolidated properties           15,777      11,687      52,925       39,796

Discontinued properties           -           174         486          846

Share of unconsolidated joint     2,010       1,273       6,495        4,576
ventures

Depreciation of furniture,
fixtures and equipment and
amortization of specifically
identifiable intangible
assets:

Consolidated properties           (1,004 )    (769   )    (3,724  )    (2,768  )

Discontinued properties           -           (6     )    (19     )    (25     )

Share of unconsolidated joint     (1     )    (4     )    (79     )    (5      )
ventures

Gain on sale of investment
properties, net of applicable
income tax provision:

Consolidated                      (408   )    (678   )    (10,799 )    (5,535  )

Discontinued properties           (2,472 )    (81    )    (2,472  )    (18,095 )

Share of unconsolidated joint     -           12          -            (1,186  )
ventures

Gain on sale of undepreciated     388         622         10,611       13,161
investment properties

Funds From Operations
Available to Common             $ 10,152    $ 7,251     $ 61,014     $ 48,437
Stockholders

Per Common Share - Basic:

Net Income (Loss) Available     $ (.08   )  $ (.10   )  $ .15        $ .34

Funds From Operations           $ .20       $ .14       $ 1.19       $ .94

Weighted Average Shares-Basic     51,262      51,588      51,202       51,705

Per Common Share - Diluted:

Net Income (Loss) Available     $ (.08   )  $ (.10   )  $ .15        $ .33

Funds From Operations           $ .20       $ .14       $ 1.18       $ .92

Weighted Average                  51,262      52,401      51,621       52,932
Shares-Diluted

The table above shows Funds From Operations Available to Common Stockholders
("FFO") and the related reconciliation to Net Income (Loss) Available to Common
Stockholders ["Net Income (Loss) Available"] for Cousins Properties Incorporated
and Subsidiaries. The Company calculated FFO in accordance with the National
Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts' ("NAREIT") definition, which is
net income available to common stockholders (computed in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP")),
excluding extraordinary items, cumulative effect of change in accounting
principle and gains or losses from sales of depreciable property, plus
depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and after adjustments for
unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures to reflect FFO on the same basis.

FFO is used by industry analysts and investors as a supplemental measure of an
equity REIT's operating performance. Historical cost accounting for real estate
assets implicitly assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes
predictably over time. Since real estate values instead have historically risen
or fallen with market conditions, many industry investors and analysts have
considered presentation of operating results for real estate companies that use
historical cost accounting to be insufficient by themselves. Thus, NAREIT
created FFO as a supplemental measure of REIT operating performance that
excludes historical cost depreciation, among other items, from GAAP net income.
Management believes that the use of FFO, combined with the required primary GAAP
presentations, has been fundamentally beneficial, improving the understanding of
operating results of REITs among the investing public and making comparisons of
REIT operating results more meaningful. Company management evaluates operating
performance in part based on FFO. Additionally, the Company uses FFO and FFO per
share, along with other measures, to assess performance in connection with
evaluating and granting incentive compensation to key employees.



COUSINS PROPERTIES INCORPORATED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

                                                    December 31,   December 31,

                                                    2008           2007

ASSETS

PROPERTIES:

Operating properties, net of accumulated
depreciation of $182,050 and $142,955 in 2008 and   $ 853,450      $ 654,633
2007, respectively

Projects under development                            172,582        358,925

Land held for investment or future development        115,862        105,117

Residential lots                                      59,197         44,690

Multi-family units held for sale                      70,658         -

Total properties                                      1,271,749      1,163,365

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS                             82,963         17,825

RESTRICTED CASH                                       3,636          3,587

NOTES AND OTHER RECEIVABLES,net of allowance for
doubtful accounts of $2,764 and $883 in 2008 and      51,266         44,414
2007, respectively

INVESTMENT IN UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT VENTURES           200,850        209,477

OTHER ASSETS                                          91,794         70,943

TOTAL ASSETS                                        $ 1,702,258    $ 1,509,611

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' INVESTMENT

NOTES PAYABLE                                       $ 942,239      $ 676,189

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AND ACCRUED LIABILITIES              73,489         57,208

DEFERRED GAIN                                         171,838        171,931

DEPOSITS AND DEFERRED INCOME                          6,485          5,997

TOTAL LIABILITIES                                     1,194,051      911,325

MINORITY INTERESTS(includes redeemable minority
interests with a book value of $2,981 and a           40,520         45,783
maximum redemption amount of $3,945 as of December
31, 2008)

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

STOCKHOLDERS' INVESTMENT:

Preferred stock, 20,000,000 shares authorized, $1
par value:

7.75% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred
stock, $25 liquidation preference; 2,993,090 and      74,827         100,000
4,000,000 shares issued and outstanding in 2008
and 2007, respectively

7.50% Series B cumulative redeemable preferred
stock, $25 liquidation preference; 3,791,000 and      94,775         100,000
4,000,000 shares issued and outstanding in 2008
and 2007, respectively

Common stock, $1 par value, 150,000,000 shares
authorized, 54,922,173 and 54,850,505 shares          54,922         54,851
issued in 2008 and 2007, respectively

Additional paid-in capital                            368,829        348,508

Treasury stock at cost, 3,570,082 shares in 2008      (86,840   )    (86,840   )
and 2007

Accumulated other comprehensive income                (16,601   )    (4,302    )

Cumulative undistributed net income (distributions    (22,225   )    40,286
in excess of net income)

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' INVESTMENT                        467,687        552,503

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' INVESTMENT      $ 1,702,258    $ 1,509,611



 

 

    Source: Cousins Properties Incorporated
Contact: Cousins Properties Incorporated James A. Fleming, 404-407-1150 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer jimfleming@cousinsproperties.com or Cameron Golden, 404-407-1984 Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications camerongolden@cousinsproperties.com www.cousinsproperties.com