2023-10-19 11:05:05
Blackstone Inc, the world’s largest private equity firm, said on Thursday its third-quarter distributable profits fell 12% from a year earlier, larger than expected, due to a decline in asset sales in the real estate sector.
Distributable profit, which represents cash available to pay dividends to shareholders, fell to $1.2 billion in the quarter from $1.4 billion a year earlier. That translated into distributable earnings per share of 94 cents, which beat analysts’ average estimate of $1.01, according to LSEG data.
Blackstone said its net profit from asset sales fell 36% to $259.4 million, due to rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions that limited merger activity and acquisition on a global scale.
The collapse in asset sales was concentrated in Blackstone’s real estate division, where realized performance revenue fell 88% to $17.4 million. Fee-related revenue, including revenue from lucrative management and advisory fees, fell 5% to $1.12 billion.
During the quarter, Blackstone became the first private equity firm to join the benchmark S&P 500. Its market capitalization stands at $125 billion and its total assets under management remain above $1 trillion. dollars.
Blackstone said its private equity portfolio grew 2.4%, while the S&P 500 index fell 3.65% during the same period.
Infrastructure funds gained 11% and private credit funds appreciated 4.6%. Opportunistic real estate funds fell 2%.
Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Blackstone’s net income jumped to $552 million in the quarter from $2.3 million a year earlier, driven by performance fees and revenue from investment.
Blackstone raised $25.3 billion in new capital during the quarter, spent $12.4 billion on new acquisitions and retained $200.6 billion in unspent capital.
It declared a dividend of 80 cents per share. (Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Writing by Savio D’Souza)
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