Evercore reverses 4Q loss, advising on GM, CIT restructurings & Wyeth takeover boosts revenue

Evercore Partners reverses 4Q loss; revenue jumps

NEW YORK — Boutique investment management and M&A advisory firm Evercore Partners Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, reversing a year-ago loss, as the company’s assistance on huge deals for Wyeth, Hearst and General Motors generated tens of millions in revenue.

Revenue in the company’s core advisory business nearly tripled as more customers sought help on corporate acquisitions and restructuring. In addition to advising on the restructurings of General Motors and business lender CIT Group, Evercore advised Wyeth on its $68 billion takeover by rival drugmaker Pfizer Inc. and Burlington Northern on its sale to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

The company’s investment management group also improved. Evercore had $4.5 billion in assets under management at the end of the quarter, up 26 percent from the 2009 third quarter.

“We have strong momentum as we move into 2010 in an environment that we expect will gradually improve,” said Chairman Roger Altman. “We’re in the early stages of a classic five-to-seven-year M&A up cycle. We don’t expect this year to be like the space shuttle as far as global or US M&A volume is concerned, but we expect it to be better than last year.”

Evercore earned $1.6 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5.3 million, or 39 cents per share, a year ago. Adjusted profit totaled 41 cents per share in the latest period.

Revenue surged to $109.1 million from $33.2 million.

Results topped Wall Street forecasts. On average, analysts expected adjusted profit of 38 cents per share on sales of $101 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

Looking ahead, Evercore said it expects restructuring activity, overall, to be weaker in 2010, while M&A activity ramps up.

Evercore shares slipped $1.21, or 4 percent, to close at $29.