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Lincoln Financial Group Reports Third Quarter 2016 Results and Announces Increase in Dividend

November 2, 2016 4:18 PM

Net income EPS of $2.00; Operating EPS of $1.89

Book value per share (BVPS), including AOCI, of $71.43, up 23%; BVPS, excluding AOCI, of $56.65, up 10%

Net income ROE, including AOCI, of 11.6%; Operating ROE, excluding AOCI, of 13.7%

Common stock dividend increases 16%

RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) today reported net income for the third quarter of 2016 of $467 million, or $2.00 per diluted share available to common stockholders, compared to net income in the third quarter of 2015 of $227 million, or $0.87 per diluted share available to common stockholders. Third quarter income from operations was $441 million, or $1.89 per diluted share available to common stockholders, compared to $289 million, or $1.11 per diluted share available to common stockholders, in the third quarter of 2015.

The board of directors of Lincoln National Corporation approved raising the quarterly dividend on its common shares to $0.29 per share. The dividend represents a 16% increase over the prior-year level. The increased dividend on the common stock will be payable on February 1, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 10, 2017.

“Strong earnings from all four of our businesses combined with share buybacks resulted in record earnings and EPS, a 10% increase in book value per share, and nearly a 14% ROE,” said Dennis R. Glass, president and CEO of Lincoln Financial Group. “Strong Life mortality and good Group Protection loss ratios contributed to this quarter’s high quality results. We are tackling industry headwinds through expense management, active capital deployment, product innovation, and distribution efficiency.”

As of or For the As of or For the
Quarter Ended Nine Months Ended
(in millions, except per share data) 2016 2015 2016 2015
Net Income (Loss) $ 467 $ 227 $ 999 $ 871
Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders 467 220 998 865
Net Income (Loss) per Diluted Share Available to Common Stockholders 2.00 0.87 4.16 3.37
Revenues 3,525 3,716 10,076 10,400
Income (Loss) from Operations 441 289 1,128 1,013
Income (Loss) from Operations per Diluted Share Available to Common Stockholders 1.89 1.11 4.70 3.92
Average Diluted Shares 233.6 253.2 239.9 256.6
ROE, including AOCI (Net Income) 11.6% 6.2% 8.8% 7.6%
ROE, excluding AOCI (Income from Operations) 13.7% 9.1% 11.8% 10.7%
Book Value per Share, Including AOCI $ 71.43 $ 58.19 $ 71.43 $ 58.19
Book Value per Share, Excluding AOCI 56.65 51.47 56.65 51.47

Operating Highlights – Third Quarter 2016 versus Third Quarter 2015

Notable items in the current quarter included net favorable items of approximately $0.06 per share related primarily to tax adjustments and the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions. The prior-year quarter included net unfavorable items of approximately $0.55 per share related primarily to the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions and legal expenses.

Third Quarter 2016 – Segment Results

Annuities

The Annuities segment reported income from operations of $240 million in the quarter, down 7%. Excluding notable items in both periods, income from operations decreased 2%.

Gross annuity deposits in the third quarter of $1.9 billion decreased 41% from the prior-year quarter. Variable annuity sales continue to be negatively impacted by various market factors; however, sales of $1.5 billion in the quarter were generally consistent with the $1.6 billion of sales in the second quarter. The percentage of variable annuity sales from products without living benefits increased to 31% from 27% in the prior-year quarter. Fixed annuity sales of $420 million were down 12% sequentially driven by the impact of low interest rates. End-of-period account values increased 6% versus the prior-year quarter to $126 billion as $868 million of net outflows in the quarter were more than offset by favorable equity market performance.

This quarter included net unfavorable items of $10 million related to the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions. The prior-year quarter included net favorable items of $5 million related to the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions and taxes.

Retirement Plan Services

Retirement Plan Services reported income from operations of $32 million compared to $42 million in the prior-year quarter and in line with recent experience. The change in earnings compared to the prior-year quarter is primarily driven by a decrease in spread income and an increase in amortization expenses as a result of the company’s annual review of DAC assumptions.

Total deposits for the quarter of $1.8 billion were down 5% versus the prior year due to timing of first-year sales in the Mid-Large market. Net flows totaled $97 million in the quarter, continuing a trend of positive quarterly net flows in 2016. Favorable market performance resulted in end-of-period account values of $57 billion, up 8%.

This quarter included net unfavorable items of $2 million related to the company’s annual review of DAC assumptions. The prior-year quarter included net favorable items of $2 million related to the company’s annual review of DAC assumptions.

Life Insurance

Life Insurance reported income from operations of $167 million versus $36 million in the prior-year quarter. Excluding notable items in both periods, earnings were consistent with the prior-year period. Both quarters benefited from strong variable investment income.

Total Life Insurance sales in the quarter were $193 million, a 12% increase from the prior-year quarter driven by growth in Term, VUL, IUL, and MoneyGuard®.

Total Life Insurance in-force of $685 billion grew 5% over the prior-year quarter, and average account values of $45 billion increased 4%.

This quarter included net favorable items of $17 million from the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions. The prior-year quarter included net unfavorable items of $117 million related to the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions.

Group Protection

Group Protection income from operations was $28 million in the quarter compared to $17 million in the prior-year period. The increase in earnings was driven by loss ratio improvement combined with a net favorable impact from a review of disability reserves and DAC. Excluding the impact of the reserve refinement, the total non-medical loss ratio improved to 70.2% from 74.5% in the prior-year period as all major product lines reported improvements.

Group Protection sales of $78 million were up 28% from the same period last year as sales momentum continues following the disruption caused by our prior repricing actions. Employee-paid product sales as a percentage of total sales were 44% in the quarter.

Non-medical net earned premiums were $485 million in the third quarter, down 7% from the year-ago period, though up 1% sequentially as sales and persistency continue to improve.

This quarter included net favorable items of $5 million from a review of disability reserves and DAC assumptions.

Other Operations

Other Operations reported a loss from operations of $26 million versus a loss of $65 million in the prior-year quarter.

This quarter included net favorable items of $4 million primarily related to tax adjustments, partially offset by higher benefits from a legacy business. The prior-year results included net unfavorable items of $30 million related to legal expenses.

Realized Gains and Losses

Realized gains/losses (after-tax) in the quarter included:

Unrealized Gains and Losses

The company reported a net unrealized gain of $8.9 billion, pre-tax, on its available-for-sale securities at September 30, 2016. This compares to a net unrealized gain of $4.6 billion at September 30, 2015, with the year-over-year increase driven by a decline in interest rates and a tightening of credit spreads.

Capital

During the quarter, the company repurchased 4.3 million shares of stock at a cost of $200 million. The quarter’s average diluted share count of 233.6 million was down 8% from the third quarter of 2015, the result of repurchasing 19.7 million shares of stock at a cost of $875 million since September 30, 2015.

Book Value

As of September 30, 2016, book value per share, including accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”), of $71.43 increased 23% from a year ago. Book value per share, excluding AOCI, of $56.65 increased 10% from the prior-year period.

The tables attached to this release define and reconcile income from operations, return on equity (“ROE”), and book value per share excluding AOCI, non-GAAP measures, to net income, ROE, and book value per share including AOCI calculated in accordance with GAAP.

This press release may contain statements that are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially, especially given the current economic and capital market conditions. Please see the Forward Looking Statements – Cautionary Language that follow for additional factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.

For other financial information, please refer to the company’s third quarter 2016 statistical supplement available on its website, www.LincolnFinancial.com/earnings.

Lincoln Financial Group will discuss the company’s third quarter results with investors in a conference call beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 3, 2016. Interested persons are invited to listen through the internet. Please go to www.LincolnFinancial.com/webcast at least fifteen minutes prior to the event to register, download and install any necessary streaming media software. Interested persons may also listen to the call by dialing the following numbers:

Dial: (866) 394-4575 (Domestic)
(678) 509-7536 (International)
Ask for the Lincoln National Conference Call.

Audio replay will begin by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 3, 2016, and it will remain available through midnight Eastern Time on November 10, 2016. To access the re-broadcast:

(855) 859-2056 (Domestic)
(404) 537-3406 (International)
Enter conference code: 81280036

A replay of the call will also be available by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 3, 2016 at www.LincolnFinancial.com/webcast.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower Americans to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $228 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2016. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. To sign up for email alerts, please visit our Newsroom at http://newsroom.lfg.com.

Explanatory Notes on Use of Non-GAAP Measures

Management believes that income from operations, return on equity and operating revenues better explain the results of the company’s ongoing businesses in a manner that allows for a better understanding of the underlying trends in the company’s current business because the excluded items are unpredictable and not necessarily indicative of current operating fundamentals or future performance of the business segments, and, in most instances, decisions regarding these items do not necessarily relate to the operations of the individual segments. Management also believes that using book value excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) enables investors to analyze the amount of our net worth that is primarily attributable to our business operations. Book value per share excluding AOCI is useful to investors because it eliminates the effect of items that can fluctuate significantly from period to period, primarily based on changes in interest rates.

For the historical periods, reconciliations of non-GAAP measures used in this press release to the most directly comparable GAAP measure may be included in this Appendix to the press release and/or are included in the Statistical Reports for the corresponding periods contained in the Earnings section of the Investor Relations page on our website: www.LincolnFinancial.com/investor.

Definitions of Non-GAAP Measures Used in this Press Release

Income (loss) from operations, operating revenues and return on equity (including and excluding average goodwill within average equity), excluding AOCI, using annualized income (loss) from operations are financial measures we use to evaluate and assess our results. Income (loss) from operations, operating revenues and return on equity (“ROE”), as used in the earnings release, are non-GAAP financial measures and do not replace GAAP revenues, net income (loss) and ROE, the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Income (Loss) from Operations

We exclude the after-tax effects of the following items from GAAP net income (loss) to arrive at income (loss) from operations:

Operating Revenues

Operating revenues represent GAAP revenues excluding the pre-tax effects of the following items, as applicable:

Return on Equity

Return on equity measures how efficiently we generate profits from the resources provided by our net assets.

Definition of Notable Items

Income (loss) from operations, excluding notable items is a non-GAAP measure that excludes items which, in management’s view, do not reflect the company’s normal, ongoing operations.

Book Value Per Share Excluding AOCI

Book value per share excluding AOCI is calculated based upon a non-GAAP financial measure.

Special Note

Sales

Sales as reported consist of the following:

Lincoln National Corporation

Reconciliation of Net Income to Income from Operations

(in millions, except per share data)
For the Three For the Nine
Months Ended Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015
Total Revenues $ 3,525 $ 3,716 $ 10,076 $ 10,400
Less:
Excluded realized gain (loss) (7 ) (18 ) (252 ) (146 )
Amortization of DFEL on benefit ratio unlocking 1 (2 ) 1 (2 )

Amortization of deferred gains arising from reserve changes on business sold through reinsurance

1 1 2 2
Total Operating Revenues $ 3,530 $ 3,735 $ 10,325 $ 10,546

Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders – Diluted

$ 467 $ 220 $ 998 $ 865
Less:

Adjustment for deferred units of LNC stock in our deferred compensation plans(1)

- (7 ) (1 ) (6 )
Net Income (Loss) 467 227 999 871
Less (2):
Excluded realized gain (loss) (4 ) (11 ) (164 ) (95 )
Benefit ratio unlocking 30 (51 ) 34 (48 )

Income (loss) from reserve changes (net of related amortization) on business sold through reinsurance

- - 1 1
Income (Loss) from Operations $ 441 $ 289 $ 1,128 $ 1,013

Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share – Diluted

Net income (loss) $ 2.00 $ 0.87 $ 4.16 $ 3.37
Income (loss) from operations 1.89 1.11 4.70 3.92
Average Stockholders' Equity
Average equity, including average AOCI $ 16,122 $ 14,550 $ 15,183 $ 15,331
Average AOCI 3,286 1,804 2,412 2,659
Average equity, excluding AOCI 12,836 12,746 12,771 12,672
Average goodwill 2,273 2,273 2,273 2,273
Average equity, excluding AOCI and goodwill $ 10,563 $ 10,473 $ 10,498 $ 10,399
Return on Equity, Including AOCI
Net income (loss) with average equity including goodwill 11.6 % 6.2 % 8.8 % 7.6 %
Return on Equity, Excluding AOCI

Income (loss) from operations with average equity including goodwill

13.7 % 9.1 % 11.8 % 10.7 %

Income (loss) from operations with average equity excluding goodwill

16.7 % 11.0 % 14.3 % 13.0 %

(1)

The numerator used in the calculation of our diluted EPS is adjusted to remove the mark-to-market adjustment for deferred units of LNC stock in our deferred compensation plans if the effect of equity classification would result in a more dilutive EPS.

(2)

We use our prevailing federal income tax rate of 35% while taking into account any permanent differences for events recognized differently in our financial statements and federal income tax returns when reconciling our non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure.

Lincoln National Corporation

Reconciliation of Notable Items

For the Three Months Ended

For the Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2016 2015 2016 2015
Operating EPS, as reported $ 1.89 $ 1.11 $ 4.70 $ 3.92
Notable items:
Unlocking/Reserve adjustments - (0.45 ) - (0.45 )
Legal expenses - (0.12 ) - (0.15 )
Tax adjustments 0.06 0.02 0.06 0.02
Total notable items 0.06 (0.55 ) 0.06 (0.58 )
Operating EPS, excluding notable items $ 1.83 $ 1.66 $ 4.64 $ 4.50

Lincoln National Corporation

Reconciliation of Book Value per Share

As of September 30,
2016 2015
Book value per share, including AOCI $ 71.43 $ 58.19
Per share impact of AOCI 14.78 6.72
Book value per share, excluding AOCI 56.65 51.47

Lincoln National Corporation

Digest of Earnings

(in millions, except per share data)
For the Three
Months Ended
September 30,
2016 2015
Revenues $ 3,525 $ 3,716
Net Income (Loss) $ 467 $ 227

Adjustment for deferred units of LNC stock in our deferred compensation plans (1)

- (7 )

Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders – Diluted

$ 467 $ 220
Earnings (Loss) per Common Share – Basic $ 2.02 $ 0.91
Earnings (Loss) per Common Share – Diluted 2.00 0.87

Average Shares – Basic

231,041,085 249,227,641
Average Shares – Diluted 233,588,396 253,210,611

For the Nine
Months Ended
September 30,
2016 2015
Revenues $ 10,076 $ 10,400

Net Income (Loss)

$ 999 $ 871

Adjustment for deferred units of LNC stock in our deferred compensation plans (1)

(1 ) (6 )

Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders – Diluted

$ 998 $ 865
Earnings (Loss) per Common Share – Basic $ 4.23 $ 3.45
Earnings (Loss) per Common Share – Diluted 4.16 3.37

Average Shares – Basic

236,374,010 252,167,909
Average Shares – Diluted 239,878,711 256,617,260
(1) The numerator used in the calculation of our diluted EPS is adjusted to remove the mark-to-market adjustment for deferred units of LNC stock in our deferred compensation plans if the effect of equity classification would be more dilutive to our diluted EPS.

Forward Looking Statements — Cautionary Language

Certain statements made in this press release and in other written or oral statements made by Lincoln or on Lincoln's behalf are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"). A forward-looking statement is a statement that is not a historical fact and, without limitation, includes any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words like: "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "project", "will", "shall" and other words or phrases with similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, trends in Lincoln's businesses, prospective services or products, future performance or financial results, and the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings. Lincoln claims the protection afforded by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the PSLRA.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results contained in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially, some of which are described within the forward-looking statements include, among others:

The risks included here are not exhaustive. Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the SEC include additional factors which could impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors.

Further, it is not possible to assess the impact of all risk factors on our businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. In addition, Lincoln disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this presentation.

The reporting of RBC measures is not intended for the purpose of ranking any insurance company or for use in connection with any marketing, advertising or promotional activities.

Lincoln Financial Group

Chris Giovanni

(484) 583-1793

Investor Relations

[email protected]

or

Michael Arcaro

(484) 583-1799

Media Relations

[email protected]

Source: Lincoln Financial Group

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