DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Invesco Ltd.'s (IVZ) third-quarter earnings rose 47%, beating analysts' views, as the money manager's results were aided by its recent acquisition of Morgan Stanley's (MS) retail asset-management business. "Driven by consistent, long-term investment performance, we continue to see strong momentum in our business during the first full quarter after our combination," said President and Chief Executive Martin L. Flanagan. Invesco's deal with Morgan Stanley included the Van Kampen fund unit, though its bottom line has been dinged of late because of merger-related charges. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in July upgraded Invesco, citing its improved performance--including asset diversification, distribution, investment performance and profitability. Invesco reported a third-quarter profit of $154.7 million, or 32 cents a share, up from $105.2 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as merger-related charges, earnings rose to 39 cents from 27 cents as revenue jumped 35% to $953.1 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 35 cents a share on $966 million in revenue. Operating margin fell to 19.2% from 21.5%. Assets under management rose to $604.5 billion as of Sept. 30, from $446.9 billion a year earlier and $557.7 billion in the prior quarter. Several firms have seen assets under management rise of late as stocks have rallied the past several months. Long-term net inflows were $4.9 billion, down from $13.9 billion in the second quarter. Institutional money-market net outflows were $2.4 billion, up from $900 million. Shares closed at $22.32 Friday and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 5% so far this year. -By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com
