Adds CEO comment in paragraph 6
April 25 (Reuters) - Lazard LAZ.N reported a first-quarter profit on Thursday, compared with a loss a year earlier, buoyed by a growth in dealmaking and assets at the boutique investment bank.
Growing expectations of lower borrowing costs and a flurry of large deals set the stage for a recovery in dealmaking since the start of the year, even though industry executives have expressed guarded optimism.
Lazard's profit was boosted by a string of high-profile mergers and acquisitions it advised on in the first quarter, such as ImmunoGen's $10.1 billion acquisition by AbbVie ABBV.N and CymaBay Therapeutic's $4.3 billion acquisition by Gilead GILD.O.
Revenue at Lazard's financial advisory segment, which advises on stock sales and mergers and acquisitions, rose 63% to $454 million in the quarter.
Major U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs GS.N, Bank of America BAC.N, Citigroup C.N, and Morgan Stanley MS.N have reported similar gains from investment banking in the first quarter.
"Lazard's record first-quarter revenue reflects an improving M&A environment and reinforces our outlook for a productive year ahead," CEO Peter Orszag said.
Net revenue at Lazard rose 40% to $785 million.
Profit attributable to the company was $36 million, or 35 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $22 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Lazard's restructuring practice dealt with companies including Lumen Technologies, Orpea, Rite Aid and SVB Financial Group in the reporting quarter, according to the bank.
In February, Lazard said it conducted firm-wide cost-saving initiatives in 2023 that will continue through the first quarter of this year.
The company's asset management revenue rose 4% to $295 million in the first quarter. Lazard's assets under management rose to $250 billion in the quarter from $232 billion a year earlier.
(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)