Nationwide Financial Services Inc. said its fourth-quarter earnings declined 53% from a year earlier, to $74.2 million, or 52 cents a share, because of investment losses and the planned sale of a stake in a distribution business.
The results, released last week, included a $21.3 million charge from the planned sale of Nationwide's stake in a life insurance distribution business. The Columbus, Ohio, company also took a $66.2 million charge related to investment losses. Excluding those charges, Nationwide earned $161.7 million, or $1.16 a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 4 cents.
Total sales increased 3%, to $4.8 billion, because of stronger variable annuity and public sector retirement plan sales.
