Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) on Friday reported a 7 percent increase in profit for the first quarter from last year, reflecting higher investment management fees as well as sales and distribution fees. Earnings per share beat analysts' estimates, while revenues matched their expectations. The company's assets under management increased 17 percent from last year.
San Mateo, California-based Franklin Resources is an asset management holding company that offers investment vehicles for clients, including individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts and partnerships.
The company's investment management fees for the first quarter grew 12 percent from the year-ago period to $1.20 billion, while sales and distribution fees increased 15 percent to $604.1 million.
Meanwhile, shareholder servicing fees edged down 1 percent from last year to $74.4 million, and other revenues declined 14 percent to $23.4 million.
Franklin Resources' net income for the first quarter rose to $516.1 million or $2.42 per share from $480.8 million or $2.20 per share in the same period last year. On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $2.38 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Operating revenues for the quarter grew 12 percent to $1.90 billion from $1.70 billion in the year-ago period and matched analysts consensus estimate of $1.90 billion.
As at December 31, Franklin Resources' total assets under management or AUM were $781.8 billion, up 17 percent from $670.3 billion in the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to $94.0 billion in market appreciation and $13.6 billion of net new flows.
In Friday's regular session, BEN is trading at $137.97, up $1.09 or 0.80 percent on a volume of 147,395 shares.
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