Carlyle Group posts 4Q net income of $12M

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Carlyle Group on Thursday said its profit fell 28 percent in the fourth quarter as the investments held in its funds appreciated at a slower pace, and it collected lower performance fees.

The private equity firm posted fourth-quarter net income of $12 million, or 25 cents per common unit, for the last three months of 2012. The company, which went public in May, didn't provide a comparable figure for the final quarter of 2011.

Carlyle posted economic net income, which excludes some charges from its initial public offering and other one-time costs, of $182.2 million, or 47 cents per unit, down from $254.2 million in the prior-year period.

Distributable earnings fell to $187.5 million, or 49 cents per unit, from $247.4 million.

That was well short of the 69 cents per share expected, on average, by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Total revenue fell 9 percent to $755.3 million from $831.8 million. Revenue from fund management fees increased 13 percent to $263.5 million, while total performance fees dropped 31 percent to $264.4 million.

Assets under management rose to $170.2 billion, a 16 percent jump from $147 billion the prior year. The increase reflected several acquisitions, market appreciation, the impact of foreign exchange and new investments from clients. The company said it had total "dry powder," or cash and other liquid assets available for investment, of $43.9 billion at the end of the quarter.

Carlyle lost $2.3 million on its investments compared with gains of $21.8 million in the same quarter of 2011.

The firm said it would pay a quarterly distribution of 85 cents per common unit, payable March 13 to holders of record on March 4.

For the full year 2012, Carlyle earned $20.3 million, or 41 cents per share. Revenue rose to $2.97 billion from $2.85 billion.

Carlyle Group shares closed Wednesday at $36.67, up 41 percent since the start of the year.