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May 03, 2013 at 08:54 AM
NEW YORK (AP) — Insurer MetLife Inc. on Wednesday posted a profit in the first quarter as business grew in the U.S. and abroad.
MetLife reported net income of $956 million, or 87 cents a share, in the January-March period. That compares with a net loss of $174 million, or 16 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2012. The earnings in the latest quarter take into account $410 million in after-tax losses on derivatives. Insurance companies often use those financial instruments to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates and foreign-exchange rates.
Operating earnings were up 12 percent to $1.6 billion, or $1.48 per share.
New York-based MetLife has said it expects its income to shrink this year as low interest rates hurt its business. Interest rates have hurt insurance companies, because they often make it difficult to pay customers the rates guaranteed in contracts such as annuities, which the companies sold in rosier economic times.
MetLife’s total first-quarter revenue rose 2.4 percent to $17 billion.
Analysts expected earnings of $1.30 a share on revenue of $17.03 billion.
