By Allison Prang 
 

MetLife Inc.'s (MET) earnings in the fourth quarter fell from a year earlier, hurt by a spike in costs.

Net income at MetLife decreased 71% from a year earlier to $593 million. Earnings were 58 cents a share, down from $2.04 a share.

Adjusted earnings were $1.98 a share, up from $1.35 a share. Adjusted earnings beat analysts' consensus from FactSet of $1.37 a share.

Revenue was $17.14 billion, up over 9%. Analysts were expecting $16.82 billion.

Expenses at the company climbed to $17.18 billion, up from $13.19 billion. They rose due to an increase in policyholder benefits and claims, and an increase in interest credited to policyholder account balances. Other expenses also rose to $3.46 billion, up from $3.12 billion.

The company reported an income-tax benefit of $625 million compared with expense a year earlier of $409 million.

 

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2020 16:55 ET (21:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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