Carlyle sees earnings drop in Q1

The decline was largely due to a decline in distributable earnings, which include realized investment gains and accounts for cash available to pay dividends. As of the first quarter, distributable earnings were down 37% to $179 million, reflecting a decrease in asset sales.

In the first quarter of 2012, Carlyle exited Dunkin' Brands Group , Nielsen Holdings and Triumph Group and sold a portion of its stake in India's HDFC, as well as completing a $600 million initial public offering of Allison Transmission Holdings.

The news follows a disappointing initial public offering for the private equity giant. The private equity firm priced the 30.5 million shares - or 10% of its enlarged share capital - at $22 apiece, having originally set an indicate price range of $23-25. It finally raised $671 million, falling significantly short of its already conservative target of $762.5 million.

Carlyle added that it still had $39.9 billion available to invest as of the end of March.

The firm has also started fundraising for its latest Asia buyout fund and expects a first close in the second half of this year.

"This is a fantastic time to make investments. It is precisely at times like this when economic data and markets are sending confusing signals that the best investments can be made," Carlyle co-founder Bill Conway said on a conference call cited by Reuters.

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• Performance
• The Carlyle Group