Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE: RGA) reported Q4 EPS of $3.43, $0.23 worse than the analyst estimate of $3.66.

• Earnings per diluted share: $3.68 from net income, $3.43 from adjusted operating income*
• Full-year earnings per diluted share: $13.62 from net income, $13.35 from adjusted operating income*
• ROE 8.4% and adjusted operating ROE* 10.5% for the full year
• Deployed capital of $78 million into in-force and other transactions in the quarter, $465 million in the year

Anna Manning, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our operating results were modestly below our expectations this quarter, while the full-year results were above our expectations. We can point to strong organic growth and active capital deployment as favorable indicators of the strength of our business, and we continue to benefit from the earnings diversity that comes from our global platform.

“In the quarter, we produced strong overall results in EMEA, excellent results from Financial Solutions across all geographies, and the U.S. Group business performed above expectations. These areas of strength partially offset a loss in Australia and unfavorable U.S. Individual Mortality experience.

“We had an active quarter as we deployed approximately $78 million of capital into in-force and other transactions, bringing the year-to-date total to $465 million. We remain well positioned and optimistic about the environment and our pipeline. We ended the quarter with an excess capital position of approximately $900 million.

“The full year featured numerous highlights, including excellent Financial Solutions results across all geographies, strong overall results in EMEA and Canada, a strong rebound in our U.S. Group operations, vibrant top-line growth and in-line adjusted operating income in Asia.

“Looking forward, we remain optimistic about the future and our business prospects, as RGA is well positioned in its markets and we are executing on our proven strategy. We have a long track record of successful execution and strong financial results, and our intermediate-term financial outlook remains unchanged.”

Company Guidance

On an annual basis, the Company provides financial guidance based upon the intermediate term rather than giving a range of annual adjusted operating earnings per share for an upcoming year. This better reflects the long-term nature of the business, as the Company accepts risks over very long periods of time, up to 30 years or longer in some cases. While more predictable over longer-term horizons, the Company\'s business is subject to inherent short-term volatility, primarily due to mortality and morbidity experience.

Over the intermediate term, the Company continues to target growth in adjusted operating earnings per share in the 5% to 8% range, and adjusted operating return on equity of 10% to 12%. It is presumed that there are no significant changes in the investment environment from current levels, and the Company will deploy $300 to $400 million of excess capital, on average, annually. These guidance ranges are based upon “normalized” results. The Company currently estimates its effective tax rate on adjusted operating income will be approximately 23% to 24%.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) click here.