Blackstone Group LP said its first-quarter profit fell 77 per cent as rocky markets curbed asset sales and new buyouts.
Economic net income (ENI), a measure of earnings that reflects both realised and unrealised investment gains, dropped to $370.7 million, or 31 cents a share, from $1.62 billion, or $1.37, a year earlier. Analysts had expected ENI of 40 cents a share, according to the average of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. A year after it notched record results amid buoyant markets, Blackstone rode out a global stock plunge in January and February that hobbled deal making and hurt the value of companies it had taken public and still owned.
A market rebound in March allayed some of the damage. The firms mark the value of the investments they hold -- a key determinant of ENI -- in line with the market.
