UPDATE: State Street Q4 Profit Beats Expectations

reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The Boston, Massachusetts-based company posted quarterly earnings of $525 million, compared to $545 million, in the year-earlier quarter. On a per-share basis, State Street's earnings climbed to $1.24 per share from $1.22 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, State Street's profit surged to $1.37 per share from $1.15 per share. Its revenue rose 6.9% to $2.63 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.26 per share on revenue of $2.67 billion. As of December 31, State Street had $2.74 trillion in assets under management. Assets under custody and administration increased to $28.19 trillion versus $27.43 trillion. Servicing fees rose 5.6% to $1.3 billion, while management fees climbed 3.1% to $299 million. In trading-services business, State Street's revenue rose 24%, while revenue in forex trading climbed 34%. State Street purchased around $410 million of common stock at an average price of $73.71 per share. The company also declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.30 per share in the fourth quarter. Joseph L. Hooley, State Street's chairman and chief executive officer said, "Our fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 results reflect strength across our asset servicing and asset management businesses. Despite the low interest rate environment in 2014, our revenue experienced solid growth compared to 2013 from both asset servicing and asset management.” State Street shares rose 3.14% to close at $77.09 yesterday.