Principal Financial Profit Tops Estimates

(RTTNews) - Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG), a provider of retirement, asset management and insurance services, on Thursday reported second-quarter net earnings of $241.1 million or $0.81 per share compared with $306.3 million or $1.03 per share last year.

Excluding net realized capital losses and other one-time items, operating earnings for the quarter were $1.09 per share compared with $1.08 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter increased 34 percent to $3.41 billion from $2.54 billion in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.04 per share on revenues of $2.57 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The strong financial performance further demonstrates the strength of our diversified business model and the underlying fundamentals of our business, said CEO says Larry Zimpleman. "We achieved these strong results despite continued macroeconomic volatility, including ongoing pressure from foreign exchange rates."

The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per common share.