Apollo Global Management Inc. has surpassed US$1 trillion in assets under management for the first time, driven by record first-quarter inflows and earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Record Inflows and Earnings
Adjusted net income rose 8% from a year earlier to US$1.21 billion, or US$1.94 per share, the New York-based alternative asset manager reported on Tuesday. This surpassed the US$1.88 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Inflows totaled US$115 billion in the quarter and US$300 billion over the past 12 months, according to the statement. By comparison, Blackstone Inc. took in US$68.5 billion during the first three months of the year, while KKR & Co. and Ares Management Corp. collected US$27.8 billion and US$29.5 billion, respectively.
CEO Statement
“Our first quarter results set a strong tone for the year,” chief executive Marc Rowan said in the statement.
Apollo shares rose 1.3% in early trading in New York.
Asset-Backed Finance Performance
The firm reported that its asset-backed finance strategy lost 1% in the quarter, attributed to a lower contribution from its structured-credit firm Atlas SP Partners. Bloomberg previously reported that Atlas SP Partners has about £400 million (US$545 million) of exposure to the MFS saga.
Including investment losses and a one-time tax expense, Apollo’s results swung to a US$1.9 billion loss in the first quarter.
Capital Solutions Business
Fees from Apollo’s capital solutions business — which originates loans across direct lending, asset-backed finance, and opportunistic credit deals — surged 60%. Fee-related earnings jumped 30% to US$728 million, also exceeding estimates, while fee-generating AUM rose 40% to US$836 billion.
Performance fees from portfolio company sales out of the firm’s flagship private equity and hybrid funds “continue to remain prudently delayed” as it waits for the dealmaking climate to improve, Apollo said.
Dry Powder and Strategy Returns
The firm reported having US$74 billion of dry powder on hand at the end of March. Roughly US$55 billion of that has future management fee potential, according to the statement.
Apollo’s flagship private equity strategy posted a loss of 0.3% in the quarter, while opportunistic credit gained 2.5%. Hybrid value — which sits between debt and equity — had the strongest showing, with a 4% return.
