Healthy Economy Helps Marcus & Millichap

Calabasas’ fast-growing commercial real estate brokerage business Marcus & Millichap Inc. ended its first quarter with a double-digit jump in profit and a new chief executive. Net income rose 8 percent to $14.8 million (38 cents a share), compared to $13.7 million (35 cents a share) for the year-ago period. That beat analysts’ estimates of 28 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial Network. Quarterly revenue jumped nearly 12 percent to $164 million and exceeded analysts’ estimate of $145 million by more than 13 percent. On March 31, the last day of the quarter, Senior Executive Vice President Hessam Nadji took over as chief executive, replacing John Kerin, who retired. A modestly but steadily-growing economy and healthy real estate fundamentals provided a positive market backdrop for the company during the quarter, Nadji said. “Our $1 million to $10 million private client market segment registered healthy results, which points to additional market share gains,” he added. Marcus & Millichap reported results after market close Thursday. Shares closed Friday up $1.86, or 7.6 percent, to $26.45 on the New York Stock Exchange.