In Brief: Principal Financial Profit Rises 19.5%

November 01, 2006, 2:00 a.m. EST 1 Min Read

Principal Financial Group Inc. of Des Moines said its third-quarter earnings rose 19.5% from a year earlier, to $251 million.

Earnings per share were 92 cents a share, 9 cents below the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson First Call.

Assets under management rose 14%, to $215 billion.

Principal, which announced its results late Monday, said sales of retirement products such as 401(k)s rose 20%, to $5.4 billion, in the nine months that ended Sept. 30. Mutual fund sales rose 16% and individual annuity sales 24% in the nine months.

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