Cousins Properties Reports Results for Second Quarter 2002.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2002

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

-- Funds From Operations increased 9% to $1.10 per share for the six months ended June 30, 2002 and 12% to $0.57 per share for the second quarter of 2002

-- 96% occupancy level for total portfolio

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) today reported improved operating results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2002.

All per share amounts are reported on a diluted basis; basic per share data is included in the financial tables accompanying this release.

FFO per share increased 12% to $0.57 per share for the second quarter of 2002 from $0.51 per share for the second quarter of 2001. FFO increased 13% to $28.7 million for the second quarter of 2002 from $25.5 million a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, 2002, FFO per share increased 9% to $1.10 per share from $1.01 for the same period last year. FFO increased 9% to $55.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2002 from $50.9 million for the same period last year.

Increases in rental property revenues from properties that had been under development but became partially or fully operational as well as increases in management fees and profits from residential lot sales contributed to the positive results in FFO for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2002. Approximately $0.03 per share of the results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2002 represent termination fees paid by six tenants in order to effect an early termination of their lease obligations. The overall positive results for the second quarter were partially offset by decreases in development income and leasing and other fees and an increase in interest expense. The overall positive results for the six months ended June 30, 2002 were partially offset by a decrease in development income and increases in interest expense, general and administrative expenses and the provision for income taxes.

The termination fees recognized during the second quarter were primarily from the termination of two leases, Harry's in Hurry's 13,750 square foot lease at The Avenue Peachtree City, a retail center located in Atlanta, and Reflect.com's 14,625 square foot lease at 101 Second Street, an office building located in San Francisco. Books-a-Million has executed a lease with the Company for the Harry's in a Hurry space and should begin paying rent in January 2003. The Company has not yet re-leased Reflect.com's space in 101 Second Street. The Company expects additional termination fees will be recognized during the second half of 2002 as a result of its ongoing negotiations to terminate leases with other tenants in certain of its properties.

Income before gain on sale of investment properties and extraordinary loss for the second quarter of 2002 was $11.7 million compared with $11.5 million for the same period last year. Income before gain on sale of investment properties and extraordinary loss was $0.23 per share for both the second quarter of 2002 and the same period last year.

Income before gain on sale of investment properties and extraordinary loss for the six months ended June 30, 2002 decreased to $23.4 million, or $0.47 per share, from $24.5 million, or $0.49 per share, for the same period last year. For the six-month periods, Cousins recognized gain on sale of investment properties of $2.1 million, or $0.04 per share, in 2002 and $19.4 million, or $0.39 per share in 2001. The $19.4 million gain on sale of investment properties for the six months ended June 30, 2001 included the February 2001 sale of Colonial Plaza MarketCenter, an approximately 480,000 square foot power center in Orlando, Florida. Colonial Plaza MarketCenter was sold for $54.0 million, which was approximately $10.8 million over the cost of the center. Including depreciation recapture of approximately $6.2 million, the net gain on the sale was approximately $17.0 million.

Tom Bell, president and chief executive officer of Cousins, said, "During the second quarter, we were pleased to announce two significant leasing transactions which occurred in two of the most challenging real estate markets in which we operate." The Company signed a 227,000 square foot lease at its Ten Peachtree Place Class "A" office building located in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. AGL Resources' subsidiary Atlanta Gas Light Company and telecommunications subsidiary AGL Networks, will occupy 17 floors in Ten Peachtree Place bringing its occupancy to 100%. Also during the second quarter, the Company signed a lease with Bombardier Aerospace Corporation for its FlexJet division headquarters at The Points at Waterview, a Class "A" office building located in the Richardson/Plano submarket of Dallas, Texas. Bombardier Aerospace Corporation will occupy 86,000 square feet in The Points at Waterview, bringing its occupancy to 88%. "While we are pleased with our recent success in Atlanta and Dallas, both of these markets as well as San Francisco and Austin continue to suffer from vacancies and a difficult leasing environment" stated Tom Bell.

At August 5, 2002, Cousins' portfolio of operational office buildings was 97% leased; its operational retail centers were 95% leased; and its operational medical office buildings were 91% leased.

Cousins Properties Incorporated, headquartered in Atlanta, has extensive experience in the real estate industry including the development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing of properties. The property types that Cousins actively invests in include office, retail, medical office and land development projects. The Company's portfolio consists of interests in 13.3 million square feet of office space, 3.1 million square feet of retail space and .9 million square feet of medical office space, and more than 300 acres of strategically located land for future commercial development. Cousins is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been public since 1962 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CUZ." For more information on the Company, please visit Cousins' web site at www.cousinsproperties.com.

Included with this press release are Consolidated Statements of Income and Funds From Operations. Supplemental financial and property information, including Funds From Operations Supplemental Detail, a Portfolio Listing and a Development Pipeline schedule are available on the Company's web site, www.cousinsproperties.com, or via fax by calling the Company's Investor Relations Department, [phone].

The Company will conduct a conference call at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern time) on August 6, 2002, to discuss the results of the second quarter of 2002. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is [phone]. A replay of the conference call will be available until August 20, 2002, by dialing [phone] and entering the passcode, 610853.

The Company will provide an online Web simulcast and rebroadcast of its second quarter 2002 earnings release conference call. The live broadcast of Cousins' quarterly conference call will be available online at www.cousinsproperties.com, www.streetevents.com and www.companyboardroom.com on August 6, 2002, beginning at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern time). The online replay will be available at these sites for 14 days.

Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, general economic conditions, local real estate conditions, interest rates, the Company's ability to obtain favorable financing, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Form 8-K filed on March 9, 2001. The words "believes," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.

       COUSINS PROPERTIES INCORPORATED AND CONSOLIDATED ENTITIES
                         FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS
       FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2002 AND 2001
                              (UNAUDITED)
               (In thousands, except per share amounts)

                                     Three Months       Six Months
                                    Ended June 30,    Ended June 30,
                                   ----------------  ----------------
                                     2002     2001     2002     2001
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
Income before gain on sale of
 investment properties and
 extraordinary loss                $11,670  $11,481  $23,416  $24,503

Depreciation and amortization       17,919   15,051   34,217   29,680

Amortization of deferred financing
 costs and depreciation of
 furniture, fixtures and equipment    (528)    (324)  (1,053)    (722)

Elimination of the recognition
 of rental revenues on a
 straight-line basis                  (110)    (487)  (1,036)  (2,013)

Adjustment to reflect stock
 appreciation right expense on
 a cash basis                         (239)    (248)    (254)    (509)
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------

Consolidated Funds From
 Operations                        $28,712  $25,473  $55,290  $50,939
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======

Weighted Average Shares             49,617   49,256   49,493   49,178
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======
Consolidated Funds From
 Operations Per Share - Basic         $.58     $.52    $1.12    $1.04
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======

Diluted Weighted Average Shares     50,621   50,395   50,447   50,301
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======

Consolidated Funds From
 Operations Per Share - Diluted       $.57     $.51    $1.10    $1.01
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======

The table above shows Funds From Operations ("FFO") for Cousins Properties Incorporated and Consolidated Entities and its unconsolidated joint ventures. On a consolidated basis, FFO includes the Company's FFO and the Company's share of FFO of its unconsolidated joint ventures, but excludes the Company's share of distributions from such ventures. The Company calculates its FFO using the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") definition of FFO adjusted to (i) eliminate the recognition of rental revenues on a straight-line basis and (ii) reflect stock appreciation right expense on a cash basis. The Company believes its FFO presentation more properly reflects its operating results.

Management believes the Company's FFO is not directly comparable to other REITs which own a portfolio of mature income-producing properties because the Company develops projects through a development and lease-up phase before they reach their targeted cash flow returns. Furthermore, the Company eliminates in consolidation fee income for developing and leasing projects owned by consolidated entities, while capitalizing related internal costs. In addition, unlike many REITs, the Company has considerable land holdings which provide a strong base for future FFO growth as land is developed or sold in future years. Property taxes on the land, which are expensed currently, reduce current FFO.

As indicated above, the Company does not include straight-lined rents in its FFO, as it could under the NAREIT definition of FFO. Furthermore, most of the Company's leases are also escalated periodically based on the Consumer Price Index, which unlike fixed escalations, do not require rent to be straight-lined; under NAREIT's definition straight-lining of rents produces higher FFO in the early years of a lease and lower FFO in the later years of a lease.

FFO is used by industry analysts as a supplemental measure of an equity REIT's performance. FFO should not be considered an alternative to net income or other measurements under generally accepted accounting principles as an indicator of operating performance, or to cash flows from operating, investing, or financing activities as a measure of liquidity.

FFO Supplemental Detail is available from the Company upon request or at the Company's web site at www.cousinsproperties.com.

       COUSINS PROPERTIES INCORPORATED AND CONSOLIDATED ENTITIES
                   CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
       FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2002 AND 2001
                              (UNAUDITED)
               (In thousands, except per share amounts)

                                     Three Months       Six Months
                                    Ended June 30,    Ended June 30,
                                   ----------------  ----------------
                                     2002     2001     2002     2001
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
REVENUES:
 Rental property revenues          $43,412  $35,979  $82,813  $71,635
 Development income                    972    1,636    2,158    3,262
 Management fees                     2,288    1,974    4,642    3,445
 Leasing and other fees                696    1,669    1,853    2,290
 Residential lot and outparcel
  sales                                521    1,519    4,556    3,907
 Interest and other                  1,114    1,498    2,249    3,093
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
                                    49,003   44,275   98,271   87,632
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
INCOME FROM UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT
 VENTURES                            6,601    5,640   13,630   11,145
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
 Rental property operating
  expenses                          12,018   10,480   23,527   21,094
 General and administrative
  expenses                           6,972    6,841   14,267   12,942
 Depreciation and amortization      13,347   11,039   25,366   21,622
 Stock appreciation right expense
  (credit)                              (7)     122       34     (136)
 Residential lot and outparcel
  cost of sales                        444    1,354    3,414    3,353
 Interest expense                    9,557    6,550   18,089   13,721
 Property taxes on undeveloped
  land                                 174      173      350      341
 Other                               1,277    1,648    2,264    2,050
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
                                    43,782   38,207   87,311   74,987
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE
 INCOME TAXES AND GAIN ON SALE OF
 INVESTMENT PROPERTIES AND
 EXTRAORDINARY LOSS                 11,822   11,708   24,590   23,790
PROVISION (BENEFIT) FOR INCOME
 TAXES FROM OPERATIONS                 152      227    1,174     (713)
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
INCOME BEFORE GAIN ON SALE OF
 INVESTMENT PROPERTIES AND
 EXTRAORDINARY LOSS                 11,670   11,481   23,416   24,503
GAIN ON SALE OF INVESTMENT
 PROPERTIES, NET OF APPLICABLE
 INCOME TAX PROVISION                1,042    1,077    2,072   19,422
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
INCOME BEFORE EXTRAORDINARY LOSS    12,712   12,558   25,488   43,925
EXTRAORDINARY LOSS                      --       --    3,501       --
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
NET INCOME                         $12,712  $12,558  $21,987  $43,925
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES             49,617   49,256   49,493   49,178
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======
BASIC NET INCOME PER SHARE:
 Income before extraordinary loss     $.26     $.25     $.51     $.89
 Extraordinary loss                     --       --      .07       --
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
 Basic net income per share           $.26     $.25     $.44     $.89
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======
DILUTED WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES     50,621   50,395   50,447   50,301
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======
DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE:
 Income before extraordinary loss     $.25     $.25     $.51     $.87
 Extraordinary loss                     --       --      .07       --
                                   -------  -------  -------  -------
 Diluted net income per share         $.25     $.25     $.44     $.87
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER SHARE     $.37     $.34     $.74     $.68
                                   =======  =======  =======  =======