MetLife Profit Beats Estimates, Aided by U.S. Tax-Law Revamp
MetLife Inc. has tax-code changes and a deal with FedEx Corp. to thank for second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ expectations.
Earnings at the U.S. business surged 36 percent from a year earlier, fueled by a reduced corporate-tax rate and a pension-risk transfer contract won from FedEx, the New York-based life insurer said Wednesday in a statement. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.30, beating the $1.17 estimate from 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Steven Kandarian has been seeking to bolster the company amid regulatory investigations and financial-control weaknesses after MetLife lost track of about 13,500 customers owed pension payments. The $6 billion FedEx deal, announced in May, helped ease investor concern that the insurer would be hampered by the pension mishap.
“While there had been some concerns that MET’s issues that arose for missing payments for pension customers may negatively impact the sourcing of this business, so far MET has remained competitive,” Tom Gallagher, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a note to clients before earnings were released.
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