Carlyle Group LP on Wednesday said its first-quarter profit rose
60% and beat expectations even as its results were weighted by a
judgment against it by a French tax court.
The Washington, D.C., firm reported profit of $40 million, or 54
cents a share, compared with $25 million, or 41 cents a share, in
the same period last year.
Carlyle's first-quarter economic net income was $273 million, or
80 cents a share, down from $322 million, or 85 cents a share, in
the same period a year ago. The results for that profitability
measure, which includes unrealized gains as well as cash earnings,
beat Wall Street's expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
forecast 70 cents a share.
Economic income climbed in Carlyle's private-equity unit while
it declined in its specialty investing and lending and hedge fund
segments. Its real estate and energy unit's losses widened.
Carlyle said a French tax court ruling against it in a matter
dealing with a real-estate fund transaction cost it $112 million,
which hurt its first-quarter results as the amount exceeded a
previously recorded loss reserve.
Carlyle's funds that can earn the firm a slice of profits
appreciated by 6% in the quarter, as its buyout and real-estate
funds gained 8% and 11%, respectively. The firm's older energy
funds, which are managed by former oil patch investing partner
Riverstone Holdings LLC, lost 3% in the period as low crude prices
continued to take a toll.
The firm's distributable earnings, the portion of profits that
can be paid to shareholders, fell to $148 million, from $183
million during last year's first quarter. The firm said it would
pay out a 33-cent dividend for the quarter.
Carlyle raised $4.4 billion in new money during the quarter,
down from $5.5 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, it reaped $4.6
billion selling assets in the first quarter, compared with $3.1
billion during the same period last year. The firm invested 36%
more during the first quarter than it did a year earlier.
Carlyle said its assets under management at the end of March
were $192.7 billion, down from $198.9 billion a year earlier and
$194.5 billion at year-end.
Carlyle's shares, which are up 9% on the year, closed up 0.5%,
or 16 cents, at $29.95 on Tuesday. The stock lost 21.4% last
year.
Write to Ryan Dezember at ryan.dezember@wsj.com
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