Douglas Elliman revenue tops $637M in 2015

Parent company Vector Group generated $1.66B in revenue

A rendering of 111 Murray and Howard Lorber
A rendering of 111 Murray and Howard Lorber

Douglas Elliman’s revenues hit $637 million in 2015, a 17 percent year-over-year jump from $543.2 million in 2014, the brokerage’s parent company Vector Group reported Monday.

Overall, Vector Group Ltd. generated $1.66 billion in 2015 revenue as income from real estate operations soared, up from $1.59 billion in 2014. Vector’s profit was $57.7 million last year, a jump from $36.9 million in 2014.

Vector’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was down to $35.7 million for 2015, down from $50.7 million in 2014. Vector chair Howard Lorber attributed the drop in EBITDA to a heavy investment in marketing, which saw the firm dive heavily into sponsorships and publishing and expand into new high-end markets across the country.

“We have continued to invest in our business for growth, so … our marketing budget has gone up substantially and that was also done to support the new development group and new markets,” Lorber said during an earnings call Monday. “We opened in L.A. and Aspen, and we continue to grow in South Florida.”

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Douglas Elliman closed sales worth $22.4 billion in 2015, compared with $18.2 billion in 2014. In the fourth quarter, the brokerage sold $6.2 billion worth of real estate, up from $4.9 billion year-over-year.

In 2015, Vector’s New Valley subsidiary invested $67 million in new or continuing real estate developments, adding projects in the Hamptons, West Chelsea, Long Branch, N.J., and Miami. In New York City, Vector is an investor in 14 development projects.

Vector also has a tobacco business, which generated just over $1 billion in 2015, down nominally from a year earlier.

Elliman’s annual awards ceremony, the Ellies, were held last week at Radio City Music Hall, where the ceremony included a performance by the Rockettes.