Real estate and investment banking helped propel the Blackstone Group to yet another profitable quarter.
The investment giant said on Thursday that it earned $640.2 million in the third quarter, up 3 percent from the same time last year.
That profit, which is reported as economic net income and includes unrealized gains from investments, amounts to 56 cents a share. That matched the average analyst estimate as compiled by Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ.
Other earnings measures showed much more growth. The firm’s distributable earnings, which track what the firm will pay out to its investors and are becoming the favored pro forma metric for buyout firms, rose 59 percent in the quarter, to $312.7 million.
And the firm’s total assets under management hit a new record of $248 billion, up 21 percent, as it benefited both from fresh investor money and a rise in the value of investments.
The results reflect continued growth in two of Blackstone’s core businesses, particularly real estate, its biggest unit. That division reported a 42 percent gain in revenue for the quarter, to $660.8 million. The firm said that the carrying value of its real estate investments rose 5.8 percent.
The firm is exploring sales or initial public offerings of some of its biggest holdings, including Hilton Hotels and the La Quinta chain of hotels.
Blackstone’s advisory unit, the firm’s first business, also showed strong growth. Its revenues rose 40 percent during the quarter, to $87.2 million, as the firm secured big-ticket restructuring assignments like OGX, one of the businesses run by the Brazilian investor Eike Batista.
But the firm cautioned that the general environment for advisory businesses, including mergers and acquisitions, is still weak.
Blackstone’s private equity arm, one of the biggest in the industry, suffered in the quarter. Its revenue fell 54 percent, to $149.9 million, though they remained up for the year to date. The firm said that the overall carrying value of its holdings rose 4.2 percent in the quarter.
Its hedge fund solutions arm reported a 10 percent gain in revenue for the quarter, to $146 million, as it benefited from higher fees.
Using generally accepted accounting principles, Blackstone earned $171.2 million, up 33 percent from the year-ago period.
