Shares of Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) have been dropping in early trading after the company reported that dawn a plunge of 89% in its fourth-quarter profit. The company’s quarterly numbers were dragged down by higher write-downs related to its holdings in bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. Wall Street has reacted by pushing the stock down 3.4% to $14.08, and at one point, traded shares down to $13.82, which set a new all-time low for the stock since its debut final June.

Excluding compensation expenses, the manager of the world’s largest leveraged-buyout fund announced that its quarterly profit dropped to $88 million, compared with $808.1 million a year

ago. Blackstone’s income declined through the quarter, hurt by its investment in Financial Guaranty Insurance.

Deterioration in the credit markets, which came with lower takeover fees and reduced the value of its new investments, made the company post adjusted earnings of 8 cents per share. As Trey Thoelcke discussed, analysts had been expecting Blackstone to show quarterly earnings of 19 cents per share. The company losed out again to defeat, or at least to match, analysts’ predictions.

Continue reading Blackstone (BX) fourth-quarter profit plunges 89% on write-downs

Original post by Eliza Popescu

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