BlackRock's Inflows Soar Despite Profit Slip -- Update

By Kirsten Grind And Michael Calia 

BlackRock Inc. said Thursday that it saw the highest investor inflows in its history during 2014, but earnings fell more than 3% in the most recent quarter as performance fees fell.

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, also raised its dividend to $2.18 a share from $1.93, while boosting its share-buyback program by 6 million shares under its existing plan for a total of as many as 9.4 million shares.

Fourth quarter earnings topped analysts' expectations while revenue fell short. Shares of the firm were inactive premarket.

The results "demonstrate the significant investments we have made in recent years to build the depth and breadth of our global platform," Laurence Fink, chairman and chief executive of BlackRock, said in a statement.

BlackRock was expected to show that it has gained inflows as investors pull money from Pacific Investment Management Co., whose clients have been pulling money at a steady clip since star manager Bill Gross left the firm in September to join Janus Capital Group Inc.

During 2014, BlackRock saw $181 billion of inflows, up 55% from the prior year and the strongest annual net inflows in the company's history, according to an earnings release Thursday.

Assets under management rose about 8% to $4.65 trillion from a year ago and about 3% from $4.52 trillion at the end of the previous quarter.

The company's iShares exchange-traded-fund business had net inflows of $44.2 billion, more than half coming from equity. Total long-term net inflows were $87.8 billion, and retail inflows were $23 billion.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the firm reported earnings of $821 million, or $4.77 a share, down from $851 million, or $4.86 a share, a year ago. Excluding certain items, earnings fell to $4.82 a share from $4.92.

Revenue rose slightly to $2.78 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had estimated $4.67 a share in earnings and $2.87 billion in revenue.

Write to Kirsten Grind at [e-mail] and Michael Calia at [e-mail]

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