Blackstone Group reported first-quarter profit that beat expectations thanks to strong growth in fee-related earnings, though its results faded compared with a blockbuster quarter a year ago.

The private equity firm’s economic profit, which reflects changes in the value of unrealised investments, fell to $792m, or 65 cents a share from $967.9m, or 81 cents a share, a year earlier. This year’s figure exceeded the 47-cent consensus estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.