NEW YORK (AP) — MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, said Tuesday its profit climbed in the fourth quarter on higher premium revenue and gains from derivatives.
MetLife earned $1.13 billion, or $1.06 per share, in the latest quarter. The company took more than $1 billion in losses on derivatives in the fourth quarter of 2010, and reported a profit of $51 million, or 5 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, MetLife reported an operating profit of $1.31 per share in the latest quarter. Its total revenue grew 32 percent, to $16.75 billion from $12.69 billion.
Analysts expected the company to report a profit of $1.24 per share and $16.93 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
While MetLife lost more than $1 billion in the final quarter of 2010 on derivatives, in the most recent quarter it reported $351 million in derivate net gains. The company said those gains resulted from lower interest rates and from a variable annuity hedging program. MetLife’s total investment revenue grew 11 percent to $4.94 billion.