The stock price of American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) increased by nearly 4 percent to around $47.07 a share after hours of Thursday propelled by strong financial results of the insurance giant for the second quarter.
Based on the financial statement of American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), its net income was $2.7 billion or $1.84 diluted earnings per share. In the same period a year ago, AIG posted a profit of $2.33 billion or $1.33 earnings per share.
According to the insurance giant, its earnings per share was $1.12 excluding special items, higher than its $0.96 EPS in the same period a year ago. Its operating income increased by 21 percent to $2.3 billion during the quarter.
The board of directors of the insurance giant approved a quarterly dividend payout of $0.10 per share and shares repurchase program worth $1 billion. According to American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), the board made its decision without considering the sale of International Sale Corporation.
AIG managed to reduce its debt by $931 million in the second quarter
American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) managed to reduce its debt by $931 million in the second quarter aided by its liability management.
In a statement, Robert H. Benmosche, president and CEO of the insurance giant said, “AIG’s solid performance this quarter demonstrates the strength of our diverse global operations. These results underscore our businesses’ strong fundamentals and reflect our continued commitment to meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers across all facets of our organization.
Benmosche added that the property casualty, life and retirement, and mortgage insurance businesses of the company generated strong operating results during the quarter. He also emphasized that its financial results showed that AIG’s focus on its core insurance operations and on-going capital management is successful.
Furthermore, Benmosche said, ‘We witnessed strength this quarter in underwriting improvement and successful continuation in the shift in our business mix in AIG Property Casualty, disciplines spread management in AIG Life and Retirement, strong performance in our investments, and continued improvement in our mortgage insurance business…”
In an interview with CNBC, Benmosche said the insurance giant hasn’t completed that sale of International Lease Finance Corp, but it is continuing its negotiations with the Chinese group that agreed to acquire 80.1 percent stake in the airline leasing business unit.for $4.23 billion. He said there is always a possibility that the deal will not go through.
The United States government rescued American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) from collapsing by providing $182 billion bailout during the 2008 financial crisis. In December, the insurance giant managed to repay the taxpayers money by selling assets (worth more than $60 billion) such as AIA Group Ltd (HKG:1299).
