By Chibuike Oguh

(Reuters) – Blackstone (NYSE) Inc announced Thursday that its first quarter distributable earnings rose 63%. This was due to a strong showing by its credit and real estate businesses, which offset a poor performance from the hedge fund unit.

Distributable earnings, or the amount of cash that is used to pay dividends, increased to $1.9Billion from $1.2B in 2017. This was the world’s biggest manager of alternative assets.

Distributable earnings per share were $1.55 which was higher than an average estimate (1.06 per share) compiled from Refinitiv’s analysts.

Blackstone reported that it made $23.2 billion from assets divestments in its portfolio. That included the sale of its majority stake in medical services provider Apria Healthcare to Owens & Minor (NYSE:) Inc in a $1.6 billion take-private deal.

Blackstone spent $22.8 Billion on new acquisitions during the quarter. This included its $6.4 billion purchase of Crown Resorts in Australia and a $5.8B deal to acquire a real estate income trust. Preferred Apartment Community (NYSE:) Inc private.

Blackstone reported that its core plus and real estate opportunistic funds performed well for its quarterly fund performance. They also saw a 10.3% increase in its net profit and 7.9% growth, respectively. The private credit portfolio of Blackstone rose 2.8%, and its private credit fund gained 1.7%. This compares to a decrease of almost 5% in the benchmark.

Blackstone stated that earnings from its hedge funds unit (the world’s biggest) fell to $110.8M, an increase of $157M a year prior. The decrease was partly due to lower management fees.

Blackstone’s net income was $1.22 Billion according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This is down 30% from the $1.75 Billion reported one year ago. It was due to an increase in compensation expenses, and a slowerdown in investment income.

Blackstone’s total assets under management grew to $915 billion. This was fueled by strong fundraising. It is now closer to reaching its $1 trillion goal. The unspent capital stood in at $139.3 million.

Blackstone paid a quarterly dividend of $1.32 per share compared to $0.82 in the previous quarter.