Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Retirement Planning > Retirement Investing

Symetra Financial Misses Estimates on Rising Retirement Sales

By Janet Levaux

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Symetra Financial of Bellevue, Wisc., said its second-quarter 2010 net income was $35.8 million, or $0.26 per share, vs. $47.0 million, or $0.42 per share, in the second quarter of 2009.

Adjusted operating income for the financial-services company was $41.5 million, or $0.30 a share, vs. $45.3 million, or $0.40 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

The company’s total revenue for the second quarter was $444.4 million.

Analysts were expecting adjusted EPS of $0.33 on sales of $455.76 million.

“Symetra’s second-quarter performance was highlighted by an excellent loss ratio in the group segment and strong fixed annuity sales in retirement services. While the fundamentals of the business performed well, low interest rates continued to limit investment income and constrain earnings,” said President and CEO of Tom Marra.

In retirement, which includes fixed and variable deferred annuities, sales generated $20.6 million in pretax adjusted operating income in second quarter 2010, up from $16.1 million in second quarter 2009.

Total account values reached $9.3 billion at quarter-end, compared with $7.7 billion at the end of second quarter 2009.

Retirement-services sales totaled $623.9 million in the second quarter of 2010, up 10% over sales of $568.5 million in the second quarter 2009.

Sales in this segment grew 65% from first quarter 2010 levels as the company worked with new and existing bank partners to increase penetration and add new Symetra products to their sales platforms, according to the company.

“I see untapped potential at Symetra in several areas — from broadening the financial planning distribution channel and achieving even better product penetration on bank platforms to reinvigorating our individual life insurance business,” Marra said in a statement.

The company is revising its 2010 guidance for full-year adjusted operating income per diluted share to be between $1.15 and $1.30. Factors contributing to this revision include the sustained low interest rate environment and slower deployment of primary proceeds from Symetra’s initial public offering, the company said in a press release.

Symetra is one of the last financial-service companies to report its second-quarter earnings in July.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.