AIG Posts Q1 Loss - Update

(RTTNews) - American International Group Inc (AIG) on Monday posted a loss for the first quarter, hurt largely by losses in hedge fund investments and other investment losses. AIG's earnings fell far short of Wall Street estimates.

New York-based AIG reported a first-quarter loss of $183 million or $0.16 per share, compared with a profit of $2.5 billion or $1.78 per share a year ago.

Excluding items, operating earnings for the quarter dropped to $773 million or $0.65 per share from $1.7 billion or $1.22 per share in the prior year. On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.00 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The drop in bottom line reflects the negative impact of market volatility on investments that totaled $0.48 per share, the company said.

"Although our first quarter results were impacted by market volatility on investments, the underlying operating results demonstrate progress on our strategic objectives," said CEO Peter Hancock.

The company reported loss on hedge funds of $537 million for the quarter. The results also included $1.11 billion in net realized losses, compared with a gain of $1.34 billion last year.

AIG said it repurchased $3.5 billion of shares and $173 million of warrants and paid $363 million in shareholder dividends in the first quarter.

AIG closed Monday's trading at $56.59, up $0.77 or 1.38%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, slipped $1.84 or 3.25% in the after-hours trade.