Blackstone’s Fourth-Quarter Earnings Rise 4% Thanks To Asset Sales

(CTN News) – The world’s largest private equity firm, Blackstone Inc, posted a 4% rise in its fourth-quarter distributable earnings on Thursday as the firm cashed out on more assets across real estate, credit, and hedge funds, according to its quarterly report.

In the three months to Dec. 31, the company’s distributable earnings, which represent the cash available to pay dividends to shareholders, rose from $1.3 billion a year earlier to nearly $1.4 billion in the three months to Dec. 31.

According to data from LSEG, this translated to distributable earnings per share of $1.11, which was slightly ahead of the average Wall Street analyst estimate of 95 cents, according to LSEG.

High interest rates, economic uncertainty, and market volatility continue to impact the ability of private equity firms to liquidate their investments, leading to a 16% increase in the company’s net profit from asset sales.

Blackstone’s opportunistic real estate portfolio lost a total of 3.8% during the fourth quarter, while corporate private funds gained 3.5%, and private credit and liquid credit funds gained respectively 3.9% and 3.3%.

The hedge funds of Blackstone gained 2.3% during this period. The S&P 500 index, which is considered to be a benchmark for the stock market, rose 11.2% during this period.

According to generally accepted accounting principles, Blackstone’s net income fell nearly 73% to $151.8 million, primarily as a result of principal investment losses of over $300 million.

During the quarter, Blackstone’s assets under management reached $1.04 trillion, while its unspent capital reached $197.3 billion.

This company raised $52.7 billion of new capital during the quarter, spent $31.1 billion on new investments, and declared a dividend of 94 cents per share.

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