Apollo Global Management is the latest firm to prove that the third quarter was a boon to the private equity industry, swinging to a profit from the same time last year as the value of its holdings improved.
Apollo reported a $434 million profit for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a $1.2 billion loss in the year-ago period. The figure was reported as economic net income, a metric favored by publicly traded buyout firms because it includes unrealized gains.
The profit amounted to 98 cents a stock unit. That far outstrips the average analyst estimate of 72 cents a share, as calculated by Standard & Poor's Capital IQ.
Revenue moved into positive territory, with the firm reporting $712.4 million for the quarter.
Using generally accepted accounting principles, Apollo earned $83 million for the period.
Private equity firms like the Blackstone Group and the Carlyle Group have also reported gains thanks to the rising value of their port folio companies. Apollo said that its leveraged buyout funds appreciated by 8 percent during the quarter.
Apollo also reported an enormous 69 percent rise in assets under management, to $44.6 billion. The increase was primarily in the value of its debt investments, one of the firm's core businesses.
The firm's real estate division also narrowed its loss for the quarter, to $1.7 million, as its properties rose in value.
“Amid a volatile and uncertain market, Apollo has generated strong returns for our investors by relying on our value-oriented and flexible investing approach across the firm's integrated global platform,†Leon D. Black, Apollo's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Apollo's stock has risen nearly 7 percent over the past 12 months, closing on Thursday at $14.05. That performance trails only the Carlyle Group among the big publicly traded private equity firms.
