KKR sees AUM rise 7% in quarter

KKR & Co. said Tuesday that its assets under management as of Sept. 30 totaled $459 billion, a 7% increase from June 30, and a 96% jump from a year earlier.

Private market assets amounted to $248 billion at the end of the third quarter, an 83% jump from the end of the third quarter of 2020; while public market assets totaled $211 billion as of Sept. 30, a 116% year-over-year increase.

KKR said it posted diluted net income of $1.80 per share in the third quarter, vs. $2.05 in the second quarter and $1.79 in the third quarter of 2020, according to an earnings release.

Fee-related earnings amounted to $530 million in the third quarter, a 12.6% increase from the previous quarter and a 63.4% surge from the year-earlier quarter, according to the release.

KKR recorded total revenues of $4.48 billion in the third quarter, a 136% jump from the third quarter of 2020. The latest third-quarter revenue figure was boosted by insurance segment revenues of $2.24 billion, the release said.

Management fees totaled $559 million in the third quarter, a 51.3% jump from the year-ago quarter. KKR attributed the increase in fees to "record fundraising activity."

KKR also said in the release that it realized income of $448 million from asset sales in the third quarter, including disposition of stakes in Bountiful Co., a dietary supplement manufacturer; industrial equipment maker Ingersoll Rand; and Academy Sports & Outdoors, a chain of sporting goods stores.

KKR's private equity portfolio returned 9% in the third quarter, while its flagship funds gained 11%, vs. 0.2% in the S&P 500 index.

Craig Larson, head of investor relations, noted that KKR raised new capital of $28 billion "organically" in the third quarter, bringing the year-to-date figure to $102 billion, compared with a figure of $44 billion for all of 2020, according to the transcript.

"We've raised over two times what we raised for all of last year and that's with an active pipeline of fundraising initiatives as we look forward," Mr. Larson said.

Year-to-date, KKR shares have appreciated by 93% through Monday, vs. a 22.8% rise in the S&P 500 index.