Dallas-Ft. Worth CEOs, CFOs and board chairmen all say most first-quarter expectations had been met. And, they've issued optimistic statements practically in sync with a stock market rebound.

Ft. Worth-based Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. is reporting 59 cents per share FFO and "solid first quarter earnings results," says John C. Goff, Crescent CEO. Office properties, he says, have resulted in same-store NOI growth of more than 8% and 20% on FFO net effective rental rate growth on expiring rents.

Debt refinancing commitments of $970 million has been extended to Crescent. Those pledges will position the firm for future investment opportunities, he says. "In today's economy, we face the same challenge as everyone in predicting the degree to which a national slowdown will affect us," says Goff. But, he continues, office assets are poised to deliver favorable results whereas Crescent is cautiously eyeing the risks associated with destination resort and upscale residential projects that have been hit hard in the economic downturn. Crescent's Desert Mountain fell short of first-quarter expectations while the Woodlands near Houston is holding its own. Colorado properties too are on track, says the company.

Crescent's AmeriCold Logistics is feeling the brunt from a mediocre economy, with EBITDAR down 10% from first quarter 2000. The decline is blamed on manufacturers' reductions of inventory levels in refrigerated storage warehouses.

Dallas-based REIT, Prentiss Properties, has signed off on a plan for a 10.3% hike in its regularly quarter dividend, taking it to 0.535 cents per share. The increase takes effect in this quarter. Prentiss, like Trammell Crow Co., is purchasing its common stock. Prentiss has the OK to buy up to 4.5 million instead of the previous 3.25 million under the extended repurchase program. Dallas-based Trammell Crow plans to purchase up to $15 million of its shares.

According to Trammell Crow's first quarter report, diluted earnings broken even, with diluted earnings per share coming in at 10 cents. Revenues totaled $174.5 million, up from $163.2 million in 2000's first quarter. EBITDA, however, has dropped to $11.3 million from $14.3 million.

Robert Sulentic, Trammell Crow's president and CEO, says initial data gathering had shown "lower-than-expected transaction volume associated with an increasing reluctance on the part of customers to make new real estate commitments" for leasing and new developments. However, the quarter picked up and resulted in "some nice, multi-service wins in our outsourcing business," he notes.

Development and investment revenues dipped to $19.5 million in comparison to $24.4 million in first quarter 2000. Income before taxes came in at a $2.7 million loss in first quarter 2001 for this segment, according to the company. Sulentic says transaction activity will not pick up "until our customers' confidence in the economic outlook is restored."

Turner Corp., also Dallas-based, is just reporting its figures for the 2000 close. The company had completed construction valued at nearly $5.8 billion for the year, breaking 1999's record of $4.8 billion. And, the report says, new contracts at year-end tallied $5.4 billion, reflecting a 27% jump over the prior year.

Earnings came in $177 million, up from $133 million in 1999 while income from construction operations is riding at $61 million, up $6 million from the previous year. With the outstanding year has come a staff increase to about 4,200, an increase of about 700 employees.

The New York office has landed a 353,000-sf, 25-story office building for Tishman Speyer Properties and started construction on Steeplechase Stadium in Coney Island. The San Francisco crew is pushing dirt on a 775,000-sf office building and the Washington, DC team has snagged a 350,000-sf research facility for Johns Hopkins in Baltimore as well as two parking garages at Washington Dulles International Airport. Boston's team holds the 550,000-sf contract for the West Office Building-World Trade Center.

Also, Turner's Los Angeles office has a 90,000-sf production facility for Baxter Biotech in the pipeline and a 188,000-sf Southwest County Justice Court building in Murrietta, CA. The Miami office is teaming with the Lathrop Co. for a mixed-use complex in Coral Gables. The Columbus team is finishing out 1.2 million sf for Bank One. And in Dallas, work has started on the Grand Treviso, a 246-unit apartment tower in Irving as well as a 1.2-million sf conversion of a shopping mall into a telecom carrier center. Seattle has secured a pact for the 72,000-sf Washington State football and soccer stadium in Kansas City, and a 240,000-sf convention center and 317,000-sf Sheraton in Overland Park, KS.