Private equity firm Blackstone Group posted a quarterly profit, topping expectations and reversing a year-earlier loss, and said it expects to do more deals following an improvement in the lending markets.

The firm, which has immense real estate and private equity assets, has increased its deal activity in the past few months, including buying Anheuser-Busch InBev’s theme parks for up to $2.7 billion. It is also considering initial public offerings of a number of its companies.

Blackstone’s third-quarter earnings before income taxes, noncash charges for vesting equity-based compensation, and amortization of intangible assets — a measure it calls "economic net income" (ENI) — was $278.4 million, compared with a loss of $509.3 million a year earlier.

On an after-tax basis, ENI was 25 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, 15 cents a share.

Blackstone shares were down 1 percent to $13.70 in premarket trading. The shares have doubled in price this year, and the company is valued at about $15.6 billion at current levels. It went public in June 2007 at $31 a share.

Blackstone prefers to focus on the measure ENI because of the big payouts associated with its more than $4 billion initial public offering.

On a GAAP basis, its third-quarter net loss was $176 million, compared with a loss of $340 million a year earlier.

The company said it would pay its regular quarterly distribution of 30 cents a share to unitholders.