MetLife quarterly profit nosedives on lower premiums, private equity losses
Reuters
Published Aug 05, 2020 05:45PM ET
By Suzanne Barlyn
(Reuters) - U.S. insurer MetLife Inc (N:MET) on Wednesday posted a 43% drop in quarterly adjusted earnings, spurred by declining premium income and private equity investment losses.
Adjusted earnings fell to $758 million in the second quarter from $1.3 billion a year earlier, MetLife said. Excluding items, MetLife earned 83 cents per share compared with $1.46 per share a year ago.
Analysts estimated earnings of 91 cents per share for the second quarter ending June 30, according to Factset, the company said.
Premiums and fees dropped 13% to $10.4 billion, from $12 billion a year ago.
Adjusted premiums and fees in MetLife's U.S. retirement income unit dropped 58%, to $511 million from $1.2 billion a year earlier, mainly because of lower activity in its business that takes over corporate pension assets.
MetLife's net investment income was $4.1 billion, down 13% from $4.7 billion a year ago. The decline was driven by a loss in variable investment income, reflecting a reporting lag from the first quarter for private equity results.
"The decline in our private equity portfolio was squarely within our expectations," MetLife Chief Executive Officer Michel Khalaf said in a statement.
MetLife's businesses include group workplace life insurance programs.
MetLife said it had higher COVID-related claims during the quarter, but did not provide specifics. The disease's effects in the third quarter would be largely offset by underwriting margins, the company said.
MetLife reported $710 million in net derivative losses, compared with $724 million in derivative gains a year ago.
Adjusted earnings at most of MetLife's businesses including the U.S., Asia and Latin America, dropped from the previous year because of declining variable investment income.
MetLife's EMEA unit reported an adjusted profit of $116 million, up 51% from $77 million a year ago, driven by favorable underwriting and expense margins, the company said.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.