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MetLife hits lowered target
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November 6, 2001: 8:44 a.m. ET
Attack hits 3Q profits but insurer sees better 4Q profit at or above forecast.
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - Insurer MetLife Inc. said Tuesday the Sept. 11 terrorist attack reduced third-quarter earnings in line with lowered Wall Street expectations, and it said it was on track to meet or beat fourth-quarter earnings forecasts.
The company said it earned $227 million, or 30 cents a share, in the period, excluding investment losses. That matched the forecasts of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call, but was down from the $384 million, or 49 cents a share, earned a year earlier.
The company said that without losses of $208 million associated with the Sept. 11 attack it would have seen earnings of $435 million, or 57 cents a share, which would have matched the pre-attack forecasts of analysts. Unlike other industries, where the cost of the attacks is excluded from results for purposes of comparison to forecast, insurance-industry attack losses are generally considered to be a cost of doing business.
The company said that while the downturn in the economy will hurt fourth-quarter results, it now expects earnings per share of 58 to 60 cents, excluding a previously-announced charge of $356 million to cover job cuts. First Call's EPS forecast is for 58 cents a share in the fourth quarter, up from the 51 cents earned a year ago. The fourth-quarter forecast had been for EPS of 60 cents a share before the attack.
The company said that net income including investment losses in the third quarter came to $162 million, or 21 cents a share, down from $241 million, or 31 cents a share on the same basis, a year earlier. Revenue edged up to $8.1 billion from $7.9 billion a year earlier.
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Shares of MetLife (MET: Research, Estimates) , one of the most widely-held U.S. stocks, gained 78 cents to $27.90 in trading on Monday, ahead of the report. 
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