Blackstone Group LP reported a 43 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, capping what it called its best year as a publicly listed alternative asset manager, despite a lackluster performance by its flagship real estate business.Blackstone's shares closed up 6.1 percent at $18.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. They had previously risen 11.9 percent this month, outperforming the S&P 500 Index, which rose 5.3 percent.Blackstone's private equity business made a strong comeback in 2012 on the back of higher fund valuations, rising 14.3 percent for the year, as markets rallied. Its real estate portfolio rose 14.4 percent, but earnings were roughly flat based on how the firm booked performance fees last year.Real estate remained the largest earnings contributor even as private equity profits rose 86 percent in the fourth quarter.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (Blackstone) is a manager of private capital and provider of financial advisory services. Shares of BX traded higher by 6.08% or $1.06/share to $18.50. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $11.13 and as high as $18.42. On average, 4188850 shares of BX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 11937603.
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