FBL operating earnings rise 4.5 percent in fourth quarter
February 7, 2014 by Victor Epstein
That worked out to operating earnings of $1 a share in October, November and December vs. 93 cents for the same period of 2012 and 65 cents for the same period of 2011. FBL reported Thursday that its operating income for all of 2013 rose 22 percent from the prior year to $100.6 million.
Operating earnings are the preferred performance metric for most insurers because they reflect earnings without one-time gains and losses.
FBL reported a 19 percent year-over-year gain in net income in the fourth quarter, when it reached $26.95 million, or $1.07 a share. FBL reported that its net income for all of 2013 rose 36 percent from the prior year to $108.49 million.
“FBL Financial Group delivered very strong financial performance in the fourth quarter,” FBL Chief Executive Officer James Brannen said in a statement. “These results cap off a year where we achieved record highs in full- year net income and operating income, deployed excess capital with the payment of a $2-per-share special dividend and the repurchase of 1.4 million shares, and maintained a very strong capital position.”
Financial fortunes of the West Des Moines-based insurer have surged forward since it sold its EquiTrust Life Insurance Co. annuities business to Guggenheim Partners LLC for $471 million in January 2012 to focus on its core businesses. About 955 FBL staffers are in the Des Moines region, making it the area’s 24th-largest employer, according to the Greater Des Moines Partnership.
FBL reported its revenues rose 5.1 percent to $173 million in the fourth quarter from the same period a year earlier. Total assets ended the fourth quarter at $8.46 billion as of Dec. 31, after finishing the third quarter at $8.34 billion on Sept. 30.
FBL collected $144.5 million in premiums during the fourth quarter, a slight decline from the $145.3 million recorded a year earlier. Net investment income ticked up 2.3 percent to $93.6 million during that span.
FBL shares rose 36 cents each to $37.15 in trading Thursday before the earnings report, which was released after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They started the year at $44.79.