Business Context and Reporting Period
Company: The Blackstone Group L.P.
Filing Type: Form 8-K (Current Report)
Date of Report: August 6, 2009
Reporting Period: Quarter ended June 30, 2009
This filing announces the release of financial results for the second quarter of 2009. The detailed results are contained in a press release attached as Exhibit 99.1, which is furnished but not filed with the SEC.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing text does not provide specific numerical values for revenue, profit, cash flow, margins, debt, or liquidity. Instead, it defines the non-GAAP financial measures used by management to assess performance:
- Economic Net Income (ENI): Segment net income excluding income taxes, IPO/acquisition-related items, equity-based compensation charges, and intangible amortization. Used as a key benchmark for value creation.
- Economic Net Income After Taxes: ENI adjusted for an implied income tax provision.
- Net Fee Related Earnings from Operations: Earnings from operations excluding performance fees, allocations, carry plan costs, and income from Blackstone Funds investments. Used to assess if recurring revenue covers operating expenses.
- EBITDA-NFRE: Net Fee Related Earnings from Operations before segment interest, depreciation, amortization, and cash taxes. Used as a segment performance indicator.
- Adjusted Cash Flows from Operations: A supplemental liquidity measure adjusted for IPO/acquisition actions, operating asset/liability changes, fund-related investment activity, realized gains/losses, and tax timing differences.
Material Changes
The filing text does not disclose specific material changes in financial condition or operations compared to prior periods. It references the attached press release for the actual results and reconciliations to GAAP measures.
Guidance, Outlook, and Management Commentary
Management Commentary:
- Management utilizes ENI for resource deployment and compensation decisions across four segments.
- Liquidity and capital requirements are managed by focusing on cash flows before the consolidation of Blackstone Funds and normal changes in short-term assets and liabilities.
- Normal movements in short-term assets and liabilities do not affect distribution decisions due to current balance sheet liquidity, including available cash, marketable securities, and borrowing capability.
The filing text does not contain specific forward-looking guidance, risk factors, or contingencies beyond the standard definitions of non-GAAP measures and the reference to the attached press release.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Review the attached press release (Exhibit 99.1) for specific numerical values of ENI, Net Fee Related Earnings, and Adjusted Cash Flows.
- Verify the reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures as required by the filing.
- Confirm the specific impact of the 2009 economic environment on the firm's liquidity and borrowing capabilities as detailed in the full press release.
- Check for any updates on the firm's distribution policy to unitholders and personnel.