BlackRock quarterly profit slips on lower fee income

BLACKROCK reported an 18 per cent drop in fourth-quarter profit on Friday (Jan 13), hit by a global market rout that squeezed fee income.

The world’s largest asset manager posted adjusted earnings of US$1.36 billion, or US$8.93 per share, in the three months to Dec 31, down from US$1.65 billion, or US$10.68 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of US$8.11 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Assets under management (AUM) stood at US$8.59 trillion at the end of the quarter, down from a little more than US$10 trillion a year earlier but up from US$7.96 trillion in the third quarter.

Financial markets were slammed last year by a swift rise in interest rates and growing fears of global recession, hurting businesses such as BlackRock, which makes most of its money from fees on investment advisory and administration services.

Full-year revenue declined by 8 per cent last year, “primarily driven by the impact of significantly lower markets and US dollar appreciation on average AUM and lower performance fees”, a BlackRock statement said.

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The company registered US$146 billion in long-term net inflows in the fourth quarter. For the whole of 2022 BlackRock inflows reached more than US$300 billion. REUTERS