BlackRock, one of the world’s largest money manager reported earnings and organic growth rate for the fourth quarter that beat the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts.
BlackRock financial results
During the quarter, BlackRock generated $4.82 in adjusted earnings per share compared with the consensus estimate of $4.70 per share on $2.784 billion in revenue.
The global investment management firm said its assets under management (AUM) during the period increased 8% to $4.65 trillion. BlackRock said its net inflows during the period were $87.8 billion, which represents an annualized organic growth rate of 8.3%.
Its fourth quarter base fees increased 5% year-over-year. Its performance fees were $144 million. According to the company, its total expense was flat year-over year.
BlackRock said its long-term net inflows for the full year were $181.3 billion, an increase of 55% from the previous year. The investment management firm said it organic growth rate for 2014 was 4.5%.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said, BlackRock’s 2014 net inflows were the strongest in history of the company. According to him, the company’s results “demonstrate the power of the business model that we deliberately built to perform in all market environments.”
BlackRock increased its quarterly cash dividend by 13% to $2.18 per share, which will be paid to shareholders in record at the close of business on March 6, 2015. The board of the company also approved the repurchase of additional 6 million shares.
BlackRock capital return remains robust
Bernstein Research analysts Luke Montgomory and Anojja Shah commented that BlackRock’s overall revenue was slightly below consensus estimate. Its performance fees of $144 million were significantly below the $202 million consensus estimate.
Montgomery and Shah noted that BlackRock’s annualized growth rate of 8% was robust given the fact that its long-term net inflows of $87.8 billion “handily beat” consensus expectation of $66 billion for the quarter. The analysts also observed that the expenses of BlackRock were well-contained.
Furthermore, Montgomery and Shah commented that BlackRock’s capital return remains robust and predictable.
BlackRock organic growth rate exceeded expectations
On the other hand, Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck and her team noted that the fourth quarter adjusted EPS of BlackRock was largely in line with their estimate while annualized organic growth rate exceeded their expectations.
