MBIA Profit Falls

(RTTNews) - MBIA Inc (MBI), a provider of financial guarantee insurance services to public finance markets, on Monday reported first-quarter net earnings of $69 million or $0.37 per share compared with $256 million or $1.32 per share last year.

The decline in earnings was due mainly to lower net gains on insured derivatives.

Excluding items, operating earnings for the quarter were $34 million compared with $40 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.16 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter were $219 million compared with $577 million in the prior year.