Blackstone has announced its economic net income reached $811.6 million last quarter with the release of its 4Q earnings report, an 86% YoY increase that’s equivalent to 68 cents per share, exceeding the consensus expectations of industry analysts for the third straight quarter. Most of the firm’s other key numbers were strong, too, including 4Q profits of $368 million, an 84% YoY increase.
Blackstone’s private equity portfolio appreciated 4.5% during 4Q, a 50% increase compared to last quarter. For the entirety of 2016, the firm’s PE investment portfolio increased in value by more than 10%. Blackstone realized $3.8 billion during the quarter from its PE unit, bringing full-year realizations to $14.2 billion, and AUM reached the $100 billion mark, increasing 6% YoY.
Interestingly, that figure is almost identical to the firm’s overall dry powder: $101 billion across all units, including $43.6 billion in the private equity sector. But that hasn’t stopped the industry pacesetter from raising evermore pools of capital. Earlier this week, Blackstone closed its seventh Strategic Partners Fund Solutions secondaries vehicle on $7.5 billion.
Article by PitchBook
