Net profits at BlackRock quintupled in the final three months of last year, the world's largest asset manager revealed in its first set of quarterly results since its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors last month.

BlackRock reported net profits of $256m (€182m) for the fourth quarter, up from $52m in the same period the previous year. The quarterly figures mean that total net profit for 2009 reached $1bn, an increase of 19% from the year before.