Lazard Fourth-Quarter Profit Falls 36%

NEW YORK -- Asset manager and financial advisory firm Lazard (LAZ Quote) said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 36% as revenue and assets under management declined amid market turmoil.

For the final three months of the year, the company reported net income of $38 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with $59.1 million, or $1.04 per share, a year earlier.

Despite the decline, results managed to beat analysts' expectations for earnings of 42 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Shares jumped $2.63, or 10%, to $28.63 in morning trading.

Total operating revenue fell 35% to $402.5 million from $617.6 million.

Assets under management at the end of the fourth quarter totaled $91.1 billion, a 36% decline from year-end 2007. This was due primarily to market depreciation and the impact of a strengthening U.S. dollar during the fourth quarter, the company said. Asset management operating revenue sank 46% to $125.4 million from $231.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Operating revenue in its M&A and strategic advisory segment fell 39% to $192.7 million from $313.6 million in the year-ago period. Operating revenue from the company's restructuring unit rose slightly to $47.1 million from $32.3 million.

For the full year, Lazard earned $3.1 million, or 6 cents per share, down 98% from $155 million, or $2.79 per share, in 2007.