Carlyle’s fourth-quarter earnings jump
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2 min read . Updated: 03 Feb 2022, 06:42 PM IST - The private-equity firm has focused on expanding businesses that generate predictable management fees
Carlyle Group Inc. reported a big jump in fourth-quarter earnings, driven by strong investment performance in some of its businesses and an upswing in fee-related revenue.
The Washington, D.C.-based firm reported net income of $647.6 million, or $1.77 a share, in the period. That compares with net income of $518.8 million, or $1.44 a share, a year earlier.
As with larger rival Blackstone Inc., which reported results last week, Carlyle’s real-estate business led the way in terms of performance, returning 11%, roughly in line with the S&P 500.
The firm’s private-equity portfolio appreciated by 6%.
Carlyle’s fourth-quarter distributable earnings, or the portion of profit that could be returned to shareholders, came in at a record $902.8 million, or $2.01 a share. That compares with $236.9 million, or 64 cents a share, a year earlier.
The firm said its board approved an increase in the annual dividend to $1.30 per share, up from $1.
Under Chief Executive Kewsong Lee, Carlyle has been focused on expanding businesses such as credit investing that generate steady management fees, which have traditionally been more highly valued by investors than more volatile performance fees.
Fee-related earnings climbed 20% to $174.5 million as fee-earning assets under management increased by 14% to $193 billion. Overall assets under management rose to $301 billion, up 22% year over year.
Shares of Carlyle and its private-equity peers posted strong gains in 2021 but have wavered during the first few weeks of the year as investors fret about rising interest rates, which raise the cost of borrowing for leveraged buyouts and can hinder fast-growing portfolio companies.
Mr. Lee said the firm’s increasing reliance on management fees should give investors comfort.
“We’re entering 2022 with strength and a better platform than we’ve ever had before," he told The Wall Street Journal.
Carlyle, which set a goal last year of raising $130 billion in fresh capital by 2024, raised $51.3 billion in 2021, including $11.4 billion during the fourth quarter.
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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
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