(Bloomberg) — Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, posted a fourth-quarter loss on costs tied to restructuring, currency fluctuations and reserves. The stock fell in extended trading.
The loss widened to $1.46 billion from $460 million a year earlier, the Newark, New Jersey-based insurer said today in a statement. Operating earnings, which exclude some investing results, were $2.12 a share, missing the $2.38 average estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer John Strangfeld, 61, is working to keep return on equity at the company's 13 percent to 14 percent target. Results have been pressured by a decline in foreign currencies like the yen relative to the dollar and by interest rates near record lows.
"Rates are lower, so there's more pressure on investment income," Randy Binner, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, said by phone before results were announced. "The biggest thing that's beyond their control that people worry about is the yen."
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