Eurazeo, the Paris-listed private equity firm, signalled its intention to diversify away from the French market after investing a record €1.3bn ($1.7bn) last year, despite profits almost halving in the absence of one-off gains from exits and recapitalisations in 2005.
Profits after tax fell by almost a half, from €700.6m to €305.2m. Eurazeo said recurrent income, which it regards as a sustainable figure for its future profits, rose 36% to €302.5m.