Life insurer MetLife expected to turn profit in 4th quarter, could seek acquisition

Ahead of the Bell: MetLife 4Q earnings

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — MetLife Inc. is expected to continue to show that it’s one of the strongest national life insurers when it reports fourth-quarter results Tuesday afternoon.

In December, the New York-based insurer projected fourth-quarter operating earnings mostly above analyst estimates.

The New York-based life insurer said it expects fourth-quarter operating earnings — which excludes one-time charges and investment gains and losses — to range between 90 cents and 95 cents per share.

Its results should be helped by an increase of roughly 7 percent in revenue from premiums and fees, MetLife said. That could amount to between $8.5 billion and $9.1 billion from money derived from writing new policies, fees and other revenues.

FBR Capital Markets analyst Randy Binner predicts MetLife will record a profit of 93 cents per share for the fourth quarter. Positive hedge fund returns and solid annuity and international segment results should contribute to favorable results, Binner said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, estimate a profit of 95 cents per share and $12.56 billion in revenue during the last three months of the year.

Last month, MetLife was supposedly in talks with American International Group Inc. to purchase one of AIG’s insurance units for between $14 billion and $15 billion, according to news reports citing people familiar with the matter. The two companies have been in discussions for months about a potential deal for AIG’s American Life Insurance Co., known as Alico, the reports said.

Alico is an international life and health insurance business that operates in more than 50 countries.

Spokesmen for AIG and MetLife would not comment “on rumors and speculation,” but MetLife spokesman Chris Breslin said in an e-mail: “MetLife does not need to enter into any M&A transaction to meet its business objectives.”