NU Online News Service, May 1, 4:10 p.m. EDT

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. posted a first quarter net income loss of $1.2 billion and said it will respond to the economic downturn by curtailing international sales and changing its variable annuities.

The loss by Hartford Financial, Hartford, Conn. came on $5.4 billion in revenue, in 2008 the firm had $145 million in net income for the period on $1.5 billion in revenue.

Management said total revenue increased because of shifts in where certain results appeared in the income statement. Premium revenue held steady at $3.8 billion.

Property-casualty operations did better than the life operations, and some life operations did better than the other life operations.

On the life side, the group benefits division increased fully insured sales 5 percent , to $400 million, and it reported $66 million in core earnings on $1.2 billion in revenue, down only slightly from $70 million in core earnings on $1.2 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2008.

Retirement plan deposits fell just 1 percent, to $2.2 billion, and individual life revenue fell just 1 percent, to $289 million.
Fixed annutiy deposits increased to $633 million, from $69 million.
But variable annuity deposits plunged to $702 million, from $2.5 billion; individual annuity revenue fell 30 percent, to $509 million; and institutional markets group revenue fell 16 percent, to $523 million. International markets revenue fell 15 percent, to $258 million.

Hartford said it is responding to the results by suspending new sales in the United Kingdom and Japan, dropping efforts to move into Germany, and "pursuing options for its institutional markets business with the goals of preserving capital and reducing risks."

At the institutional markets business, Hartford "will be taking appropriate steps to align the business cost structure" with the measures taken to preserve capital and reduce risk, the company said.

Hartford also said it "is postponing the launch of its new variable annuity product suite originally scheduled for May and is instead introducing a series of product modifications effective May 1, 2009."

The company also said it has implemented a "company-wide expense and efficiency program" that could save about $250 million per year, according to Hartford Chairman Ramani Ayer.

"The financial markets remain difficult, and the outlook for the economy is uncertain," Mr. Ayer said in a statement.

"In light of these conditions, even as a well-capitalized company, we are taking additional measures. We are considering a range of potential options with the goals of preserving capital, stabilizing ratings and reducing risks. However, after evaluation of our opportunities, we may determine that the best course for The Hartford is to continue with a diversified business model."

Andrew Kligerman, a securities analyst at UBS Investment Research, New York, and other UBS analysts wrote in a comment that Hartford's results were "much worse than expected."

John Nadel and Jason Weyeneth, analysts at Sterne Agee Group Inc., New York, gave their comment the headline "another sobering quarter," but they write that Hartford's book value per share was better than they had expected.

Special Reports /

Hartford Reports $1.2 Billion Loss For First Quarter

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