Brookfield Corp.’s earnings climbed in the second quarter, as strong results in its wealth and insurance business offset a dip in real estate profits.
The Toronto-based investment firm, which owns a majority stake in Brookfield Asset Management, reported distributable earnings of $1.1 billion or 71 cents a share, excluding gains on asset sales. That was an increase of about 10% from the same period a year ago.
Profits from Brookfield’s wealth business, which includes its insurance arm, surged more than 80% after the company closed its acquisition of American Equity Investment Life Holding Co.
Brookfield Reinsurance, led by Sachin Shah, will be renamed Brookfield Wealth Solutions as of next month, according to a separate statement. It’s rapidly becoming one of the parent company’s more lucrative businesses.
But distributable earnings from real estate declined 12%. Brookfield agreed to sell several assets in its real estate portfolio, including an office building in Washington and a U.S. manufactured-housing portfolio, CEO Bruce Flatt said in a letter to shareholders.
Brookfield is one of the world’s largest owners of office real estate, a sector that has faced huge difficulties because of higher interest rates and fewer workers coming in. In its core office portfolio — which includes 16 complexes in major cities including New York and London — occupancy fell slightly to 94.5% from 95% a year earlier.
Including retail, occupancy in core properties was 95.6%, stable from a year earlier.
Cash flows across Brookfield’s asset management, wealth and operating businesses continue to grow, President Nick Goodman said in a statement. “With capital markets improving and a constructive economic backdrop, we expect transaction activity to continue to increase over the coming quarters,” he said.
Overall, distributable earnings totaled $2.13 billion, including the realization of assets. Since the start of the year, Brookfield has repurchased $800 million of shares, Flatt said.
In late 2022, Brookfield Corp. reorganized, spinning off a minority stake in the asset management unit to appeal to investors who wanted a play on the company’s growth without being as exposed to its direct holdings, which include one of the world’s largest portfolios of office real estate.
On Wednesday, Brookfield Asset Management said assets that it oversees rose to a record of about $1 trillion in the second quarter.
Mark Carney, chair of Brookfield Asset Management, is also chair of Bloomberg Inc.