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Cousins Properties Incorporated 2006 Annual Report - SNL Financial

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General and Administrative Expenses have increased by $15.1 million in 2005, $13.2 million in 2004, $10.6 million<br />

in 2003 and $10.6 million in 2002, when compared to amounts previously reported.<br />

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of <strong>Financial</strong> Condition and Results of Operations<br />

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Selected <strong>Financial</strong> Data included<br />

in Item 6 and the Consolidated <strong>Financial</strong> Statements and Notes thereto included in Item 8 of this <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on<br />

Form 10-K.<br />

Overview of <strong>2006</strong> Performance and Company and Industry Trends. During <strong>2006</strong>, the Company<br />

continued to execute its strategy of developing high quality real estate and harvesting the value of more mature<br />

projects through sale or contribution to joint ventures. The Company invested approximately $494 million in<br />

development or predevelopment projects, land acquisitions or operating properties including eight new projects that<br />

upon completion are estimated to result in an aggregate investment of $476 million. The Company or its joint<br />

ventures also sold six properties, several land tracts and contributed five properties to a joint venture that resulted in<br />

proceeds of approximately $824 million. These proceeds were used to fund current developments and acquisitions,<br />

to reduce indebtedness, thereby creating additional capacity to reinvest capital into new development projects, and<br />

to pay a special dividend to common stockholders in the amount of $3.40 per share. As a result of this activity, the<br />

Company’s consolidated aggregate indebtedness decreased from $468 million at December 31, 2005 to<br />

$315 million at December 31, <strong>2006</strong> and the consolidated debt to total market capitalization ratio decreased from<br />

22% at December 31, 2005 to 13% at December 31, <strong>2006</strong>. The Company believes that these relatively low debt<br />

levels provide it with the ability to fund its development pipeline for the foreseeable future.<br />

In <strong>2006</strong>, the Company completed substantial construction and commenced operations of San Jose Market-<br />

Center, The Avenue Webb Gin (Phase I), the second phase of The Avenue West Cobb, and Building 3A of King Mill<br />

Distribution Park. In addition, the Company completed construction and closed the sale of all units in 905 Juniper,<br />

its first multi-family project. The Company acquired land and commenced construction of projects in each of the<br />

Company’s operating divisions in <strong>2006</strong>. The Office/Multi-Family Division began construction of its Palisades West<br />

project in Austin and acquired 191 Peachtree Tower, a 1.2 million square foot office building in Downtown Atlanta.<br />

The Retail Division began construction of The Avenue Murfreesboro near Nashville, with a joint venture partner<br />

and received final approvals to commence the first phase of The Avenue Forsyth, just north of Atlanta. The<br />

Industrial Division began Jefferson Mill Distribution Center, just north of Atlanta and, with a joint venture partner,<br />

commenced construction of Lakeside Ranch, a project in Dallas. The Land Division began construction of Blalock<br />

Lakes, a community south of Atlanta, and an additional phase of its Callaway Gardens project with a joint venture<br />

partner.<br />

As these new products were being created, the Company and its joint ventures sold three assets and contributed<br />

five assets into a joint venture to capture the value of these properties in what management believed to be favorable<br />

market conditions. From its Office portfolio, the Company sold Bank of America Plaza and Frost Bank Tower. The<br />

Retail Division sold The Avenue of the Peninsula, a property in Southern California that it acquired and converted<br />

into its Avenue format in 1999. The Company also formed a venture with an institutional investor and contributed<br />

five retail properties while the investor contributed cash to be used for future development by the Company. This<br />

transaction allowed the Company to realize a value for these assets significantly in excess of their original cost.<br />

Consistent with past practices, the Company returned a portion of the proceeds from its <strong>2006</strong> sales transactions<br />

to common stockholders in the form of a special dividend in the fourth quarter. This dividend represents the third<br />

such dividend the Company has paid since 2003, the total of which is $12.62 per share. When combined with its<br />

regular quarterly dividends of $0.37 per share over this same period, the Company has paid an aggregate of<br />

$18.54 per share in dividends to common stockholders since January of 2003.<br />

Also in <strong>2006</strong>, the Company experienced a decline in its residential lot business as a result of an overall<br />

softening of the housing markets in which the Company does business. The Company’s markets that were most<br />

affected were Tampa and Texas. The Tampa area has recently experienced an expansion of completed home<br />

inventories and a decline in new home closings. While we expect housing demand to return to this market in the<br />

future because of job growth and migration of retirees to the area, the large inventories caused a slow down in<br />

builders purchasing the Company’s lots. The Texas markets were adversely affected. Management expects these<br />

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