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ATLANTA-Despite a drop in residential lot sales, locally basedCousins Properties Inc. reported net income of $14.4 million, or 27cents per share, for the first quarter, during a Tuesday conferencecall. This compares with net income of $8.4 million, or 16 centsper share, for the same quarter last year.

Cousins executive president and CFO James Fleming said duringthe conference call that two transactions helped to buoy earningsfor the quarter. These included the sale of five ground-leasedoutparcels at the company's North Point property for an aggregateprice of $10.1 million. The $8.2-million aggregate gain on the saleof these outparcels was included in the company's calculation ofFFO, as these properties had not previously been depreciated. Thecompany also sold 41 acres of land adjacent to the Avenue CarriageCrossing in Metropolitan Nashville for $11.7 million generating FFOof $4.4 million. "The sale of the land helped to offset a decreasein profit from residential lot sales," Fleming said.