Janus revenues jump 7%

Janus Capital Group Inc. today announced its profits rose 1% and its revenues increased 7% in the first quarter. Janus Capital reported first-quarter net income of $35.6 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with profit of $35.3 million, or 17 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2006. Total revenue, which includes fees for managing portfolios plus a cut of clients' returns, rose 7 percent to $247.9 million from $232.5 million. Wall Street expected revenue of $256.2 million. Profit matched analysts' expectations, according to a Thomson Financial poll. Janus' relative investment management performance remained strong during the first quarter. Approximately 74%, 73% and 76% of the funds in the company's primary retail fund family, Janus Investment Fund, ranked in the top half of their Lipper categories on a one-, three- and five-year total-return basis, respectively Six of those funds ranked in the top 10% of their Lipper peers during the same one-, three- and five-year periods. "We're encouraged that the marketplace seems to be responding to our continued strong investment performance," said Janus chief executive Gary Black, in a statement. "It's especially gratifying to see break-even flows from our Janus-managed products."