Conseco Inc. said it will delay its fourth-quarter earnings report for a week to review its internal controls and claim reserves.
The Carmel, Ind., insurer said Friday that even though it is delaying the report until March 6, it expects to report "break-even" results.
Conseco said it is conducting an "extended" review of its reserves and controls over financial reporting related to business it is running off. After taxes, it expects to add $39 million to reserves for long-term care claims and $14 million to reserves for core insurance operations.
The average forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Financial calls for Conseco to report a quarterly profit of 36 cents a share. In terms of growth from the third quarter, "break-even" results would be more in line with earnings of 18 cents a share.
