FBL Financial Group Inc. today announced that it has delayed the release of its fourth-quarter financial results due, in part, to the current state of the credit markets.

The information, which was scheduled to be released on Thursday, will now be released on Feb. 19. The company’s conference call to discuss the results has been moved to Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. Iowa time.

The new release date will coincide with the regularly scheduled board meeting and the filing of the 2008 Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said the revised release date will prevent possible inconsistencies between results in the earnings release and results in the Form 10-K.

Looking forward, FBL said it expects to record realized losses of $21.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2008; the company recorded losses of $26.3 million in the third quarter. After taxes and other offsets, the company expects the impact of these losses on net income to be approximately $12.5 million.

Additionally, the company said its unrealized losses increased in the fourth quarter. FBL estimated it had a total of $1.54 billion of unrealized losses as of Dec. 31.

The company has already tried to offset some losses by reducing its work force by 76 employees, eliminating open positions and freezing 2009 salaries for its executives. These measures are expected to save $7 million pre-tax.

FBL will post its fourth-quarter results on its Web site, www.fblfinancial.com. Investors and interested parties who wish to listen to the call on the Internet may do so on the company’s Web site or by dialing (888) 724-9520. An audio replay will also be available through Feb. 27 by calling (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820 and inputting code 4052563.