Carlyle reports better-than-expected third-quarter earnings

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Buyout firm Carlyle Group Inc (NASDAQ: CG) reported on Thursday a smaller-than-expected 6% drop in third quarter distributable earnings as growth in its private equity and credit businesses partly offset a decline in asset sales from its real estate and energy divisions.

Carlyle said distributable earnings (DE) - the cash available for paying dividends - fell to $151.8 million from $160.7 million a year earlier. This translated to DE per share of 40 cents, which surpassed the Wall Street consensus average of 36 cents, according to data from Refinitiv.

The Washington, D.C.-based firm said its overall fund portfolio rose by 5% during the quarter, driven by private equity funds, which climbed 5%, while credit funds appreciated by 4%. Its real estate and energy funds rose 3% and 1% respectively.

By contrast, Blackstone Group Inc (NYSE: BX), the world's largest private equity firm, said its private equity portfolio appreciated 12.2% in the quarter, while opportunistic and core real estate funds rose 6.4% and 3.5% respectively.

Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Carlyle reported a net income of $295.5 million, driven by a steep rise in investment income.

The firm said its total assets under management totaled $230 billion at the end of September, up from $221 billion three months earlier. It also closed the quarter with $74 billion in unspent capital.

Carlyle declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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