(Reuters) -BlackRock Inc on Thursday posted a 16% drop in third-quarter profit as volatile global markets pressured fee income and sent assets under management further below the $10 trillion mark hit last year.
The threat of a global recession, rapidly rising interest rates and the Ukraine crisis have slammed both bonds and stocks this year, keeping investors on the back foot in a blow to companies such as BlackRock.
The asset manager, which makes most of its money from fees charged for investment advisory and administration services, said revenue in the third quarter fell 15% year-on-year to $4.31 billion.
BlackRock’s assets under management (AUM) dropped 16% to $7.96 trillion as a stronger dollar also piled on pressure by dampening the value of investments in key European and Asian markets.
While overall net inflows were positive in the quarter, coming in at $65 billion, BlackRock’s retail clients withdrew about $5 billion, spooked by the weak market conditions.
Net income fell to $1.4 billion, or $9.25 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, from $1.68 billion, or $10.89 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected the asset manager to report a profit of $7.07 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
It was not immediately clear if the reported numbers were comparable to estimates.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Davide Barbuscia in New York; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
