WEST DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: FFG):

Financial Highlights
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
	Three months ended June 30,
	2019				2018
Net income attributable to FBL Financial Group	$	32,298			$	32,803
Adjusted operating income(1)	31,737				31,915
Earnings per common share (assuming dilution):
Net income	1.30				1.31
Adjusted operating income(1)	1.28				1.28

FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: FFG) today reported net income attributable to FBL Financial Group for the second quarter of 2019 of $32.3 million, or $1.30 per diluted common share, compared to $32.8 million, or $1.31 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2018. Adjusted operating income⁽¹⁾ totaled $31.7 million, or $1.28 per common share, for the second quarter of 2019, compared to $31.9 million, or $1.28 per common share, for the second quarter of 2018. Second quarter 2019 earnings per share reflects:

• Mortality results better than expected in the Life segment
• Lower amortization of acquisition costs in the Corporate and Other segment due to the positive impact of equity markets on separate account performance
• The benefit of other investment-related income of $0.05 per share
• Lower spread income in the Annuity segment

Adjusted operating income differs from the GAAP measure, net income attributable to FBL Financial Group, in that it excludes realized gains and losses on investments, and the change in net unrealized gains and losses on derivatives and equity securities. For further information on this non-GAAP financial measure, please refer to Note (1) and the reconciliation provided within this release.

"FBL Financial Group’s second quarter 2019 earnings results were very strong with second quarter net income of $1.30 per share and adjusted operating income of $1.28 per share,” said James P. Brannen, Chief Executive Officer of FBL Financial Group, Inc. “We continue to focus on the fundamentals: serving the needs of the Farm Bureau niche market and providing products and services to protect what our customers value most. This focus, along with financial discipline, drives our consistently strong results, allowing us to fulfill our purpose of protecting livelihood and futures."

Product Revenues Increase from 2018. Premiums and product charges for the second quarter of 2019 increased to $83.5 million compared to $82.0 million in the second quarter of 2018. Interest sensitive product charges increased 5 percent while traditional life insurance premiums decreased slightly during the quarter. Premiums collected⁽²⁾ in the second quarter of 2019 totaled $152.2 million compared to $171.4 million in the second quarter of 2018. Life insurance premiums collected increased two percent while annuity premiums collected decreased 25 percent, impacted by the low market interest rate environment.

Investment Income of $105 Million in Second Quarter. Net investment income in the second quarter of 2019 totaled $104.9 million, compared to $104.0 million in the second quarter of 2018. This increase reflects an increase in average invested assets, partially offset by lower investment yields. The annualized yield earned on average invested assets, with securities at amortized cost, including investments held as securities and indebtedness of related parties, was 5.00 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to 5.18 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2018. At June 30, 2019, 98 percent of the fixed maturity securities in FBL Financial Group's investment portfolio were investment grade debt securities.

Benefits and Expenses. Benefits and expenses totaled $156.5 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to $153.0 million in the second quarter of 2018. Death benefits, net of reinsurance and reserves released, totaled $25.1 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to $26.6 million in the second quarter of 2018. By its nature, mortality experience can fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

Net Realized Gains in the Second Quarter. In the second quarter of 2019, FBL Financial Group recognized net realized gains on investments of $0.4 million. This is attributable to realized gains of $0.2 million, realized losses of $0.3 million and a gain from the increase in fair value of equity securities of $0.5 million.

Stock Repurchases. During the second quarter of 2019, FBL Financial Group did not repurchase any shares of its Class A or Class B common stock. FBL Financial Group has $36.3 million remaining under its current stock repurchase program.

Capital and Book Value. As of June 30, 2019, the book value per share of FBL Financial Group common stock totaled $56.55, compared to $47.78 at December 31, 2018. Book value per share, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income⁽³⁾, totaled $44.27 at June 30, 2019, compared to $44.09 at December 31, 2018. The June 30, 2019 company action level risk based capital ratio of FBL Financial Group's wholly owned subsidiary, Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, was approximately 553 percent.

Further Financial Information. Further information on FBL Financial Group's financial results, including results by segment, may be found in FBL Financial Group's financial supplement, available on its website, www.fblfinancial.com.

Conference Call. FBL Financial Group will hold a conference call with investors tomorrow, August 2, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be webcast and a replay will be available on FBL Financial Group's website.

Certain statements in this release concerning FBL Financial Group's prospects for the future are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the “safe harbor” from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements generally can be identified by their context, including terms such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” or similar words. These statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in FBL Financial Group's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include, but are not limited to, changes in interest rates, difficult conditions in financial markets and the economy, lack of liquidity and access to capital, investment valuations, competitive factors, a decrease in ratings, changes in laws and regulations, differences between actual claims experience and underwriting assumptions, relationships with Farm Bureau organizations, the ability to attract and retain sales agents and adverse results from litigation. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which FBL Financial Group believes to be reasonable; however, no assurance can be given that the assumptions will prove to be correct. FBL Financial Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

FBL Financial Group is a holding company whose purpose is to protect livelihoods and futures. Operating under the consumer brand name Farm Bureau Financial Services, it offers a broad range of life insurance, annuity and investment products distributed by multiline exclusive Farm Bureau agents. In addition, FBL Financial Group manages all aspects of two Farm Bureau affiliated property-casualty insurance companies for a management fee. Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, FBL Financial Group is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FFG. For more information, please visit www.fblfinancial.com and www.fbfs.com.

- FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND NOTES FOLLOW -

(1) Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to FBL Financial Group to Adjusted Operating Income - Unaudited

FBL Financial Group consistently utilizes adjusted operating income, a financial measure common in the life insurance industry that is not prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), as a primary economic measure to evaluate its financial performance. Adjusted operating income consists of net income attributable to FBL Financial Group adjusted to exclude realized gains and losses on investments, and the change in fair value of derivatives and equity securities, which can fluctuate greatly from period to period. These fluctuations make it difficult to analyze core operating trends. In addition, for derivatives not designated as hedges, there is a mismatch between the valuation of the asset and liability when deriving net income (loss). Specifically, call options relating to indexed business are one-year assets while the embedded derivatives in the indexed contracts represent the rights of the contract holder to receive index credits over the entire period the indexed products are expected to be in force. This non-GAAP measure is used for goal setting, determining short-term incentive compensation and evaluating performance on a basis comparable to that used by many in the investment community. FBL Financial Group believes the presentation and evaluation of adjusted operating income provides information that may enhance an investor's understanding of FBL Financial Group's underlying results and profitability. A reconciliation is provided in the following table:

(2) Premiums Collected - Net statutory premiums collected is a non-GAAP measure and includes premiums collected from annuities and universal life-type products. It is a useful metric for investors as it is a measure of sales production. For GAAP reporting, these premiums received are not reported as revenues.

(3) Reconciliation of Book Value Per Share Excluding Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income - Unaudited

Book value per share excluding accumulated other comprehensive income is a non-GAAP financial measure. Accumulated other comprehensive income totaled $302.8 million at June 30, 2019 and $91.3 million at December 31, 2018. Since accumulated other comprehensive income fluctuates from quarter to quarter due to unrealized changes in the fair value of investments caused principally by changes in market interest rates, FBL Financial Group believes this non-GAAP financial measure provides useful supplemental information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190801005830/en/

Kathleen Till Stange, V.P. Corporate & Investor Relations

(515) 226-6780, [email protected]

Source: FBL Financial Group, Inc.

Continued economic turmoil is a market concern, but life insurance and annuity sales are expected to remain solid throughout 2026, LIMRA projects.

Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of LIMRA research, and Sean Grindall, chief member relations and solutions officer, hosted a LinkedIn Live event last week to discuss sales projections.

LIMRA is projecting solid growth this year in both life insurance and annuities.

“For the past several years, if you're looking at the U.S. retail life insurance and annuity markets, we’ve seen some pretty remarkable growth,” Hodgens said.

Life insurance new premium set records in three of the past four years, Hodgens noted, and is poised to set a record when the 2025 data is finalized.

Still, LIMRA projects as many as 100 million Americans live with a life insurance coverage gap.

“We've had some great growth that awareness has helped,” Grindall said, “but there's just still so much opportunity in front of us.”

On the annuity side, LIMRA is projecting sales to exceed $450 billion for 2025, which is double the sales of just four years ago. It is expected to be the fourth consecutive year of record annuity sales.

“So, both the life and the annuity have a lot of momentum,” Hodgens said.

Sales keep rolling on

While life insurance products are flying off the shelves, those sales are not taking place in a trouble-free environment. The market is actually quite disrupted with both positive and negative factors.

The economy, for one.

“We've had favorable economic conditions,” Grindall said. “Interest rates have been more elevated than we've seen in a while for several years. We've had a robust equity market that's particularly helped things like index universal life and VUL [variable universal life].”

A stronger job market and some wage growth have helped many Americans find the money for life insurance premiums, he added.

On the other hand, a LIMRA survey of Americans found that 52% say that they're extremely concerned about the economy right now, Hodgens noted. The continued inflation and stubborn unemployment in certain sectors are other areas of concern, he added.

“I think that this plays into our growth projections, and the sentiment certainly plays into where we think consumers are going to be thinking about, particularly in that middle market for insurance,” Hodgens said.

Life product projections

Hodgens and Grindall discussed LIMRA projections for every life insurance category.

LIMRA cooks up forecasts based on household income, inflation, economic conditions, equity markets, interest rates, unemployment, consumer demand, geopolitical risks, the need gap, and past projections of sales by product.

“All of that gets factored into some of these forecasts and these assumptions here,” Hodgens explained.

Term life: Growth will range from 0% to 4%, “constrained by economic activity and rising unemployment.”

Whole life: Expected to grow 1% to 5%, supported by short-pay sales but tempered by a slowing economy and by mutual carriers shifting some focus to universal life.

Fixed universal life: Continues to decline, with premiums expected to fall 3% to 7%.

Indexed universal life: Growth slows from 21% to 25% in 2025, to 8% to 12% as premium financing benefits from lower rates but forces competition from new IUL products.

Variable universal life: After surging nearly 30% in 2025, VUL growth will drop to 1% to 7%, reflecting equity and market volatility and saturation in private placement sales.

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