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AXA Equitable Holdings Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2018 Results

February 28, 2019 4:30 PM

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Full year Net income of $1.8 billion; Net income per diluted share of $3.27. Non-GAAP Operating Earnings1 of $2.2 billion; Non-GAAP Operating Earnings per diluted share of $3.89

Fourth quarter Net income of $1.9 billion; Net income per diluted share of $3.57. Non-GAAP Operating Earnings of $504 million; Non-GAAP Operating Earnings per diluted share of $0.93

Returned over $1 billion to shareholders since IPO

Announced new $800 million share repurchase authorization; intend to increase dividend 15% to $0.15 per share payable in the second quarter of 20192

Revised target payout range upward from 40-60% to 50-60% of Non-GAAP Operating Earnings

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. (“AXA Equitable Holdings”, or the “Company”) (NYSE: EQH) today announced financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December�31, 2018.

“AXA Equitable Holdings’ solid 2018 financial results reflect a strong debut year, in which we completed our initial public offering, effectively executed against our long-term strategic priorities, and created value for our clients, partners and shareholders,” said Mark Pearson, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The value we provide our more than five million clients is clearly resonating, as evidenced by sustained momentum and sales across all segments, with strong operating earnings in our Individual Retirement and Group Retirement businesses, continued margin improvement in Investment Management and Research, and ongoing stabilization of our Protection Solutions segment. For the full-year, we generated approximately $2.2 billion in Non-GAAP Operating Earnings, reflecting continued execution against our focused strategy. Additionally, our balance sheet remained robust amidst recent market volatility, with solid capitalization at CTE98 for our VA business, bolstered by the effectiveness of our hedging program.”

Mr. Pearson continued, “In less than a year as a publicly traded company, AXA Equitable Holdings has returned more than $1 billion to our shareholders in the form of quarterly dividends and share repurchases. Continuing this capital return approach, our Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program of $800 million, and we intend to increase the dividend per share by 15% in the second quarter. The upward revision of our annual target payout range from 40-60% to 50-60% reflects the strength of our results, continued momentum from our differentiated businesses, and our unique positioning to deliver value across market cycles. We are confident we can achieve our long-term strategic priorities while empowering growing numbers of customers to achieve their goals for financial security and protection.”

Consolidated Results

Fourth Quarter Full Year
(in millions, except per share amounts or unless otherwise noted) 2018 2017 2018 2017
Total Assets Under Management (“AUM”, in billions) $ 619 $ 672 $ 619 $ 672
Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings 1,938 483 1,820 834

Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings per diluted share

3.57 0.86 3.27 1.48
Non-GAAP Operating Earnings (loss) 504 921 2,166 2,035

Non-GAAP Operating Earnings (loss) per diluted share (“EPS”)

0.93 1.64 3.89 3.63

As of December 31, 2018, total AUM was $619 billion, down by 8% from December�31, 2017 driven by adverse markets during the fourth quarter of 2018.

On a full year basis, Net income attributable to Holdings increased to $1.8 billion in 2018 from $0.8 billion in 2017 benefiting from gains related to our variable annuity hedging program. Non-GAAP Operating Earnings increased to $2.2 billion in 2018 from $2.0 billion in 2017 and includes favorable impacts from actuarial assumption updates in both periods.

Net income attributable to Holdings for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $1.9 billion, an increase of $1.5 billion compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP Operating Earnings decreased to $504 million from $921 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 which included a $405 million favorable impact in 2017 related to pre-IPO actuarial assumption updates in our Protection Solutions segment.

As of December�31, 2018, Book value per share, including accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”), was $26.22. Book value per share, excluding AOCI, increased 15% from September 30, 2018 to $28.86 per share as of December 31, 2018.

Business Highlights

Business Segment Results

Individual Retirement

(in millions, unless otherwise noted) Q4 2018 Q4 2017
Account value (in billions) $ 94.6 $ 103.4
Segment net flows (329 ) (314 )
Operating earnings (loss) 348 408

Group Retirement

(in millions, unless otherwise noted) Q4 2018 Q4 2017
Account value (in billions) $ 32.4 $ 33.9
Segment net flows (56 ) 20
Operating earnings (loss) 102 90

Investment Management and Research

(in millions, unless otherwise noted) Q4 2018 Q4 2017
Total AUM (in billions) $ 516.4 554.5
Segment net flows (in billions) 0.8 4.2
Operating earnings (loss) 107 74

Protection Solutions

(in millions) Q4 2018 Q4 2017
Gross written premiums $ 770 $ 768
Annualized premiums 67 61
Operating earnings (loss) 37 448

Corporate and Other

Operating loss of $90 million, an improvement of $9 million year-over-year, driven by lower expenses and higher revenues from increased asset balances due to net inflows and market appreciation in our broker-dealer business.

Capital Management

AXA Equitable Holdings continued executing on its capital management program in the fourth quarter, returning a total of $661 million to shareholders. This included $69 million of quarterly cash dividends, reflecting $0.13 per share, and a $592 million share repurchase from AXA S.A.

On February 28, 2019, the Board of Directors authorized a new $800 million share repurchase program. Additionally, the Company intends to increase its dividend by 15% to $0.15 per share payable in the second quarter.

During the quarter, the Company completed a transfer of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company’s interest in AB to a newly-created wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA Equitable Holdings. This transaction helped streamline the Company’s cash flow and capital management and contributed to the Company’s decision to revise its target payout range upward from 40-60% to 50-60% of Non-GAAP Operating Earnings.

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1 This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. More information on these measures and reconciliations to the most comparable U.S. GAAP measures can be found in the “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of this release.
2 Any declaration of dividends will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our financial condition and other factors.
3 Adjusted Operating Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure used by AB’s management in evaluating AB’s financial performance on a standalone basis and to compare its performance, as reported by AB in its public filings. It is not comparable to any other non-GAAP financial measure used by the Company.
4 Refers to AllianceBernstein L.P. and AllianceBernstein Holding L.P., collectively.

Earnings Conference Call

AXA Equitable Holdings will host a conference call on Friday, March 1, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. ET, to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2018 results. The conference call webcast, along with additional earnings materials will be accessible on the AXA Equitable Holdings Investor Relations website at ir.axaequitableholdings.com. Please log on to the webcast at least 15 minutes prior to the call to download and install any necessary software. To join the conference call via telephone, please use one of the following dial-in numbers:

A webcast replay will be made available on the AXA Equitable Holdings Investor Relations website at ir.axaequitableholdings.com.

About AXA Equitable Holdings

AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH) is one of the leading financial services companies in the U.S. and is comprised of two complementary and well-established principal franchises, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and AllianceBernstein. We have been helping clients prepare for their financial future since 1859 and have a combined total of approximately 12,500 employees and financial professionals, 5.3 million customer relationships and $619 billion of assets under management (as of 12/31/2018).

Forward-looking and cautionary statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “seeks,” “aims,” “plans,” “assumes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “shall” or variations of such words are generally part of forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects upon AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. (“Holdings”) and its consolidated subsidiaries. “We,” “us” and “our” refer to Holdings and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context refers only to Holdings as a corporate entity. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Holdings will be those anticipated by management. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all matters that are not historical facts.

These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and there are certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements, including, among others: (i) conditions in the financial markets and economy, including equity market declines and volatility, interest rate fluctuations, impacts on our goodwill and changes in liquidity and access to and cost of capital; (ii) operational factors, including reliance on the payment of dividends to Holdings by its subsidiaries, remediation of our material weaknesses, fulfilling our obligations related to being a public company, indebtedness, elements of our business strategy not being effective in accomplishing our objectives, protection of confidential customer information or proprietary business information, information systems failing or being compromised and strong industry competition; (iii) credit, counterparties and investments, including counterparty default on derivative contracts, failure of financial institutions, defaults, errors or omissions by third parties and affiliates and gross unrealized losses on fixed maturity and equity securities; (iv) our reinsurance and hedging programs; (v) our products, structure and product distribution, including variable annuity guaranteed benefits features within certain of our products, complex regulation and administration of our products, variations in statutory capital requirements, financial strength and claims-paying ratings and key product distribution relationships; (vi) estimates, assumptions and valuations, including risk management policies and procedures, potential inadequacy of reserves, actual mortality, longevity and morbidity experience differing from pricing expectations or reserves, amortization of deferred acquisition costs and financial models; (vii) our Investment Management and Research segment, including fluctuations in assets under management, the industry-wide shift from actively-managed investment services to passive services and potential termination of investment advisory agreements; (viii) legal and regulatory risks, including federal and state legislation affecting financial institutions, insurance regulation and tax reform; (ix) risks related to our controlling stockholder, including conflicts of interest, waiver of corporate opportunities and costs associated with separation and rebranding; and (x) risks related to our common stock and future offerings, including the market price for our common stock being volatile and potential stock price declines due to future sales of shares by existing stockholders.

Forward-looking statements should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements, risks, uncertainties and other risk factors identified in Holdings’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2018, which Holdings expects to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2019. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as otherwise may be required by law.

Use of Non-GAAP financial measures

In addition to our results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we report Non-GAAP Operating Earnings, Non-GAAP Operating EPS and Book value per share, excluding AOCI, each of which is a measure that is not determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Management believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures, together with relevant U.S. GAAP measures, provides a better understanding of our results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers and trends of our business. These non-GAAP financial measures are intended to remove from our results of operations the impact of market changes (other than with respect to equity method investments) as well as certain other expenses which are not part of our underlying profitability drivers or likely to re-occur in the foreseeable future, as such items fluctuate from period-to-period in a manner inconsistent with these drivers. These measures should be considered supplementary to our results that are presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be viewed as a substitute for the U.S. GAAP measures. Other companies may use similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures that are calculated differently from the way we calculate such measures. Consequently, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies.

Non-GAAP Operating Earnings

Non-GAAP Operating Earnings is an after-tax non-GAAP financial measure used to evaluate our financial performance on a consolidated basis that is determined by making certain adjustments to our consolidated after-tax net income attributable to Holdings. The most significant of such adjustments relates to our derivative positions, which protect economic value and statutory capital, and are more sensitive to changes in market conditions than the variable annuity product liabilities as valued under U.S. GAAP. This is a large source of volatility in net income.

In the first quarter of 2018, the Company revised its Non-GAAP Operating Earnings definition as it relates to the treatment of certain elements of the profitability of its variable annuity products with indexed-linked features to align to the treatment of its variable annuity products with GMxB features. In addition, adjustments for variable annuity products with index-linked features previously included within Other adjustments in the calculation of Non-GAAP Operating Earnings are now included with the adjustments for variable annuity products with GMxB features in the broader adjustment category, Variable annuity product features. The presentation of Non-GAAP Operating Earnings in prior periods was revised to reflect this change in definition.

Non-GAAP Operating Earnings equals our consolidated after-tax net income attributable to Holdings adjusted to eliminate the impact of the following items:

Because Non-GAAP Operating Earnings excludes the foregoing items that can be distortive or unpredictable, management believes that this measure enhances the understanding of the Company’s underlying drivers of profitability and trends in our business, thereby allowing management to make decisions that will positively impact our business.

We use our prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 21% in 2018 and 35% in 2017, while taking into account any non-recurring differences for events recognized differently in our financial statements and federal income tax returns as well as partnership income taxed at lower rates when reconciling Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings to Non-GAAP Operating Earnings.

The table below presents a reconciliation of Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings to Non-GAAP Operating Earnings for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Years Ended
December 31,

(in millions) 2018 2017 2018 2017
Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings $ 1,938 $ 483 $ 1,820 $ 834
Adjustments related to:
Variable annuity product features (1,898 ) 369 (70 ) 1,107
Investment (gains) losses 130 159 86 191
Goodwill impairment 369
Net actuarial (gains) losses related to pension and other postretirement benefit obligations 33 34 215 135
Other adjustments 69 58 299 119
Income tax expense (benefit) related to above adjustments 350 (198 ) (111 ) (644 )
Non-recurring tax items (118 ) 16 (73 ) (76 )
Non-GAAP Operating Earnings $ 504 $ 921 $ 2,166 $ 2,035

Non-GAAP Operating EPS

Non-GAAP Operating EPS is calculated by dividing Non-GAAP Operating Earnings by weighted average diluted common shares outstanding. The table below presents a reconciliation of GAAP EPS to Non-GAAP Operating EPS for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Years Ended
December 31,

(per share amounts) 2018 2017 2018 2017
Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings $ 3.57 $ 0.86 $ 3.27 $ 1.49
Adjustments related to:
Variable annuity product features (3.49 ) 0.66 (0.13 ) 1.97
Investment (gains) losses 0.24 0.28 0.15 0.34
Goodwill impairment 0.66
Net actuarial (gains) losses related to pension and other postretirement benefit obligations 0.06 0.06 0.39 0.24
Other adjustments 0.13 0.10 0.54

0.22

Income tax expense (benefit) related to above adjustments 0.64 (0.35 ) (0.20 ) (1.15 )
Non-recurring tax items (0.22 ) 0.03 (0.13 ) (0.14 )
Non-GAAP Operating Earnings $ 0.93 $ 1.64 $ 3.89 $ 3.63

Book Value Per Share, excluding AOCI

We use the term “book value” to refer to Total equity attributable to Holdings. Book Value Per Share, excluding AOCI, is our Total equity attributable to Holdings, excluding AOCI, divided by ending common shares outstanding - diluted.

December 31,
2018

December 31,
2017

Book value per share $ 26.22 $ 23.92
Per share impact of AOCI 2.64 0.20
Book Value Per Share, excluding AOCI $ 28.86 $ 24.12

Other Operating Measures

We also use certain operating measures which management believes provide useful information about our businesses and the operational factors underlying our financial performance.

Account Value

Account value generally equals the aggregate policy account value of our retirement products.

Assets Under Management (“AUM”)

AUM means investment assets that are managed by one of our subsidiaries and includes: (i) assets managed by AB, (ii) the assets in our general account investment assets portfolio and (iii) the separate account assets of our Individual Retirement, Group Retirement and Protection Solutions businesses. Total AUM reflects exclusions between segments to avoid double counting.

Conditional Tail Expectation (“CTE”) 98

CTE98 is defined as the amount of assets required to satisfy contract holder obligations across market environments in the average of the worst two percent of scenarios over the life of the contracts.

Segment net flows

Net change in segment customer account balances in a period including, but not limited to, gross premiums, surrenders, withdrawals and benefits. It excludes investment performance, interest credited to customer accounts and policy charges.

Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Years Ended
December 31,

2018 2017 2018 2017
(in millions)
REVENUES
Policy charges and fee income $ 943 $ 883 $ 3,824 $ 3,693
Premiums 271 299 1,094 1,124
Net derivative gains (losses) 2,057 (18 ) (231 ) 214
Net investment income (loss) 825 705 2,693 3,082
Investment gains (losses), net:
Total other-than-temporary impairment losses (38 ) (42 ) (15 )
Other investment gains (losses), net (93 ) (159 ) (44 ) (176 )
Total investment gains (losses), net (131 ) (159 ) (86 ) (191 )
Investment management and service fees 1,050 1,123 4,268 4,093
Other income 140 89 516 445
Total revenues 5,155 2,922 12,078 12,460
BENEFITS AND OTHER DEDUCTIONS
Policyholders’ benefits 1,103 466 2,915 4,366
Interest credited to policyholders’ account balances 273 252 1,090 995
Compensation and benefits 473 488 2,079 1,980
Commissions and distribution related payments 296 289 1,160 1,081
Interest expense 60 45 231 160
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs 158 140 333 503
Other operating costs and expenses 463 466 1,809 2,069
Total benefits and other deductions 2,826 2,146 9,617 11,154
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before income taxes 2,329 776 2,461 1,306
Income tax (expense) benefit (330 ) (149 ) (307 ) (49 )
Net income (loss) 1,999 627 2,154 1,257
Less: net (income) loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest (61 ) (144 ) (334 ) (423 )
Net income (loss) attributable to Holdings $ 1,938 $ 483 $ 1,820 $ 834

Earnings Per Share

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Years Ended
December 31,

2018 2017 2018 2017
(in millions, except per share data)
Earnings per share - Common stock:
Basic $ 3.57 $ 0.86 $ 3.27 $ 1.49
Diluted $ 3.57 $ 0.86 $ 3.27 $ 1.48
Weighted Average Shares:
Weighted average common stock outstanding for basic earnings per common share 543.3 561.0 556.4 561.0
Weighted average common stock outstanding for diluted earnings per common share 543.7 561.0 556.5 561.0

Results of Operations by Segment

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Years Ended
December 31,

2018 2017 2018 2017
(in millions)
Operating earnings (loss) by segment:
Individual Retirement $ 348 $ 408 $ 1,555 $ 1,252
Group Retirement 102 90 389 283
Investment Management and Research 107 74 381 211
Protection Solutions 37 448 197 502
Corporate and Other (90 ) (99 ) (356 ) (213 )
Non-GAAP Operating Earnings $ 504 $ 921 $ 2,166 $ 2,035

Select Balance Sheet Statistics

December 31,
2018

December 31,
2017

(in millions)
ASSETS
Total investments and cash and cash equivalents $ 85,802 $ 86,596
Separate accounts assets 110,337 124,552
Total assets 220,797 235,615
LIABILITIES
Short-term and Long-term debt $ 4,955 $ 2,408
Future policy benefits and other policyholders’ liabilities 30,998 30,330
Policyholders’ account balances 49,923 47,171
Total liabilities 205,178 218,471
EQUITY
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (1,396 ) (108 )
Total equity attributable to Holdings $ 13,866 $ 13,421
Total equity attributable to Holdings excluding Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 15,262 13,529

Assets Under Management

December 31,
2018
December 31,
2017
(in millions)
Assets under management
AB AUM: $ 516,353 $ 554,491
Exclusion for General Account and Other (61,483 ) (59,669 )
Exclusion for Separate Accounts (32,399 ) (33,748 )
AB Third Party $ 422,471 $ 461,074
Total Company AUM
AB Third Party $ 422,471 $ 461,074
General Account and Other(1) 85,802 86,596
Separate Accounts(2) 110,337 124,552
Total AUM $ 618,610 $ 672,222

(1)

“General Account and Other Affiliated Accounts” refers to assets held in the general accounts of our insurance companies and other assets on which we bear the investment risk.

(2)

“Separate Accounts” refers to the separate account investment assets of our insurance subsidiaries excluding any assets on which we bear the investment risk.

Investor Relations

Kevin Molloy

+1 212-314-2476

Media Relations

Matt Asensio

+1 212-314-2010

Source: EQH Investor Relations

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