Federated Investors Net Rises

Federated Investors (FII) said Thursday that second-quarter earnings rose 32%, though assets under management fell $7 billion from the previous quarter as roiled equities markets took their toll.

Federated, one of the nation's largest money managers, said its second-quarter earnings rose to $49.9 million, or 47 cents a share, from $37.8 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.

Earnings from continuing operations totaled $46.7 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with $38 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.

Total assets under management were $210.52 billion at June 30, up from $204.67 billion a year earlier. But assets were down from the $217.5 billion reported at the end of March.

Federated's quarterly revenue increased to $236.4 million from $217.7 million. The company attributed the growth to its 2005 acquisition of Alliance Capital's (AC) cash management business, organic money market growth and increased equity assets under management.

For the second quarter, Federated derived 47% of its revenue from money market assets, 39% from equity assets, 13% from fixed-income assets and 1% from other products.

The company also authorized a 7.5-million-share repurchase program. The newly announced share buyback plan is in addition to the nearly 2.5 million shares that Federated bought during the second quarter for a total of $77.9 million.