MetLife sees profit dip as it prepares for reinsurance deal

by Max Reyes

MetLife Inc., the biggest US life insurer, said second-quarter profit dipped year-over-year as softer investment income from real estate brought down results.

Total revenue came in at $16.6 billion, compared with $15.4 billion for the same time last year, the New York-based firm said Wednesday in a statement. Adjusted earnings decreased to $1.94 a share from $2.13 a year earlier, but still beat the $1.87 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Key insights

• Premiums, fees and other revenues clocked in at $13.6 billion in the period, a slight uptick from the prior year quarter.
• Net investment income gained 42% year over year, as certain securities gained value.
• Variable investment income came in at $221 million, improving from the prior quarter but trailing “historical returns,” Chief Financial Officer John McCallion said in a video released alongside earnings.
• The company reported net investment losses of $1 billion, primarily due to accounting adjustments linked to a forthcoming reinsurance transaction with Global Atlantic Financial Group.
• “The resilience of our all weather strategy and our focus on what we can control how we execute, how we invest, and how we deploy capital were on full display in the quarter,”

Chief executive officer Michel Khalaf said in the statement. “The momentum of our market leading businesses is driving strong underlying growth.”

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