Close

BlackRock (BLK) Tops Q4 EPS by 12c; Boosts Qtr. Dividend, Bolsters Stock Buyback Plan

January 15, 2015 6:31 AM EST

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) reported Q4 EPS of $4.82, $0.12 better than the analyst estimate of $4.70. Revenue for the quarter came in at $2.78 billion versus the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion.

Management Commentary:

“BlackRock’s full year 2014 results demonstrate the significant investments we have made in recent years to build the depth and breadth of our global platform,” commented Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “In an environment of heightened market uncertainty, our clients’ investment challenges are increasingly complex. Our ability to leverage active and index strategies to deliver global solutions to clients, backed by our unifying Aladdin technology platform, creates a distinct competitive advantage, and resulted in strong organic growth and consistent financial results.

“Our long-term net inflows of $181 billion in 2014, up 55% from the prior year, are the strongest annual net inflows in BlackRock’s history. In addition, our cash management business had more than $25 billion of net inflows in 2014. These results demonstrate the power of the business model that we deliberately built to perform in all market environments.

“Strong institutional results in 2014 were driven by creating and expanding partnerships with leading global institutions seeking solutions across index, active, multi-asset and alternative strategies. The breadth of our global platform enables BlackRock to design and deliver these client-centric investment solutions and to enhance our relationship with institutional clients by also offering investment advice, Aladdin analytics, and risk management and advisory capabilities.

“In Retail and iShares, we reached significant milestones in 2014, crossing $500 billion in Retail and $1 trillion in iShares assets under management. We did this by strengthening global distribution partnerships and expanding our global market share. We had 56 distinct Retail and iShares products that each generated more than $1 billion in net inflows, up from 43 such products in 2013. We captured the number one share of industry ETF flows in the US, in Europe and globally. Further highlighting our global reach, there were 13 countries where we had net inflows in excess of $1 billion in 2014, and we now manage assets in excess of $1 billion for clients domiciled in each of 41 countries.

“Investment performance is the core driver of our ability to meet clients’ needs. In fixed income, BlackRock is generating consistent alpha in strategies that span geography, duration and exposure, with 91% of our active fixed income assets above benchmark or peer median for the three-year period. We also continue to make progress on the reinvigoration and globalization of our fundamental active equity business.

“I would like to thank all of our employees for their hard work and incredible dedication in 2014. Together, we remain focused on reaffirming our principles and values that drive our fiduciary duty to clients and commitment to value creation for shareholders.”

Dividend & Buyback:

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) declared a quarterly dividend of $2.18 per share, or $8.72 annualized. This is a 13% increase from the prior dividend of $1.93.

The dividend will be payable on March 24, 2015, to stockholders of record on March 6, 2015, with an ex-dividend date of March 4, 2015.

The annual yield on the dividend is 2.5 percent.

BlackRock also added 6 million shares to its existing buyback plan.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on BlackRock (BLK) click here.



Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

Dividend Hike, Dividends, Earnings, Management Comments, Private Equity, Stock Buybacks

Related Entities

Dividend, Stock Buyback, Earnings