AXA Equitable Posts First Earnings Since the IPO
Commissions and other distribution-related payments increased 4.1%, year-over-year.
The modern heir to the history of Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States is once again posting its own quarterly earnings statements.
AXA Equitable Holdings Inc. is reporting $291 million in net income for the first quarter on $2.8 billion in revenue, compared with a net loss of $197 million on $2.8 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2017.
The New York-based company began to separate from its parent, AXA S.A. of Paris, earlier this year, through an initial public offering (IPO) of common stock. The company’s shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol EQH, May 10. In part because of transactions related to the separation and IPO, the company has included many unusual gains and charges in its latest earnings.
Operating earnings, which exclude the unusual items, increased to $464 million, from $304 million.
(Related: AXA Equitable Shares Debut on New York Stock Exchange)
Equitable Life was founded in 1859 and became one of the leading players in the world’s life insurance markets. AXA acquired control over it in 1991.
The company now known as AXA Equitable includes both AXA Equitable Life and AllianceBernstein, a large money manager.
The individual retirement unit, which sells annuities and related products, is reporting $360 million in operating earnings on $1.7 billion in gross premiums, compared with $202 million in operating earnings on $1.9 billion in gross premiums for the year-earlier quarter. First-year deposits fell 13%, to $1.6 billion, but higher stock prices helped push up operating earnings.
The protection unit, which sells life insurance and other insurance products, is reporting $23 million in operating earnings on $754 million in premiums for the latest quarter, compared with $39 million in operating earnings on $768 million in premiums for the year-earlier quarter. First-year premiums and deposits fell 2.3%, to $102 million.
— Read Insurance ‘Great Restructuring’ Seeds AXA Equitable’s Giant U.S. IPO, on ThinkAdvisor.
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