MetLife, Prudential Report Drops in Profit
MetLife Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit slumped 74%, mostly because of wider losses tied to its financial-hedging program, but the big life insurer posted a stronger-than-expected gain in operating earnings.</br></br>Rival Prudential Financial Inc. also posted a steep quarter-over-quarter decline in net income and higher-than-expected operating profit, with sales of its retirement-income annuities continuing at a heady pace.</br></br>MetLife's U.S. operating earnings, which exclude capital gains and losses, fell about 5% as premiums, fees and other revenue declined about 8%. But in international markets, premiums surged 75% because of growth in MetLife's businesses and its purchase of Alico, a major life-insurance unit, from American International Group Inc. In November, MetLife significantly expanded its footprint in Asia, Europe and Latin America as it closed the $16.2 billion deal.</br></br>MetLife posted a profit of $82 million, or five cents a share, compared with $320 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier. Operating earnings, which exclude capital gains and losses, rose to $1.14 a share from 96 cents a share.</br></br>Operating revenue rose 6.7% to $14.21 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted operating earnings of $1.10 a share and operating revenue of $13.5 billion.