As expected, BlackRock Inc.'s employee incentive plan caused it a net loss for the third quarter, the New York money management company reported Monday.
The company announced a net loss of $9.8 million, compared with a $40.1 million profit the year earlier. BlackRock said its earnings would have risen 18%, to $47.3 million, if not for a $57.1 million charge for the employee incentive program.
PNC Financial Services Group Inc., the Pittsburgh banking company that owns 71% of BlackRock, had announced this month that it would take a $42 million charge for BlackRock's incentive plan.
The charge trimmed third-quarter earnings at the banking company by 15 cents a share. PNC's incentive plan for BlackRock provides for awards of up to $240 million to a group of key BlackRock employees during the five years that began in January 2002. The awards fully vest if BlackRock stock trades at an average closing price of $62 during any three months from Jan. 1, 2005, through Dec. 31, 2006.
