MetLife Beats 4Q Profit Forecasts

NEW YORK (AP) _ MetLife Inc. (MET) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.14 billion, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had net income of $1.97. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.11 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.10 per share.

The insurer posted revenue of $15.75 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $15.79 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $3.75 billion, or $3.38 per share. Revenue was reported as $63.21 billion.

MetLife shares have decreased 11 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $45.20, a drop of 16 percent in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MET at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MET