Apollo Global Beats Street on Surging Revenue

Apollo Global Management’s (NYSE:APO) fourth-quarter profit soared past Wall Street estimates, driven by a significant jump in revenue.

Profit was $171.5 million, or $1.12 a share, well above the $10.9 million, or 5 cents a share, recorded a year earlier. Revenue surged 79% to $1.16 billion.

Private-equity firms like Apollo use economic net income, which accounts for all units rather than just those that are publicly traded, to gauge performance. For the quarter, Apollo’s economic net income was up to $1.69 a share from 80 cents a share.

Analysts were looking for revenue of $889 million and economic net income of $1.05 a share.

The asset management company, which made its New York Stock Exchange debut in 2011, sold stakes in LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Charter Communications (CHTR) during the last period.

Assets under management also rose sharply, climbing to $113.4 billion from the prior-year period’s $75.2 billion.

“As we look to 2013 and beyond, we believe Apollo is well-positioned to continue to pursue a range of alternative investment strategies and deliver strong returns to our investors,” chief executive Leon Black said in a statement.

Black added that Apollo generated $1.94 in cash distributions for shareholders, while returning $11 billion to its fund investors.