The Blackstone Group, the private equity giant, said on Thursday that its first-quarter profit rose 28 percent, to $628 million, as the firm reported growth in total assets under management.
The firm’s quarterly profit, which is reported as economic net income and includes unrealized gains from investments, amounted to 55 cents a share, exceeding estimates. Analysts had expected earnings of 53 cents a share, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Distributable earnings, rose 134 percent in the first quarter, to $378.8 million. The metric, which is becoming popular among publicly traded private equity firms, tracks how much is paid to the limited partners.
Blackstone, the largest alternative investment firm in the world, reported that total assets under management rose 15 percent, to $218.2 billion.
“Although several of our investment businesses are already the largest of their kind in the world, every one reported year-over-year double-digit growth in total assets under management,†Stephen A. Schwarzman, the firm’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The firm’s stock was up nearly 3 percent in premarket trading.
