 American International Group, the insurer bailed out by the US government, posted its second straight quarterly profit yesterday, helped by recovery in the value of its investments.
Net profit was $455mn, or 68¢ a share, compared with a loss of $24.47bn, or $181.02 a share, in the year-earlier quarter.
The results included $1.95bn in special gains, including from improvement in the value of securities held by AIG Financial Products, the unit largely responsible for AIG’s massive losses in 2008, which led to the US bailout.
Adjusted profit, excluding realised gains and losses, was $1.9bn, or $2.85 a share. On that basis, analysts on average expected $1.98 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Since September 2008, US taxpayers have put up to $180bn at AIG’s disposal, including more than $80bn in loans the company has been trying to repay through asset sales.
Once the world’s largest insurer, AIG nearly collapsed under massive losses and collateral demands from credit default swaps it sold to financial firms to guarantee residential mortgage investments. |
