Asset manager BlackRock's quarterly profit falls 1.2 percent

BlackRock Inc , the world's biggest asset manager, reported a 1.2 percent fall in quarterly profit on Friday as investors rushed into low-cost funds.

The New York-based company's net income fell to $851 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $861 million a year earlier.

On a per share basis, BlackRock earned $5.13, up from $5.11 in the prior quarter as the number of shares outstanding fell. On an adjusted basis, earnings amounted to $5.14 per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $5.02 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, although it was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Ted Kerr)