Voya Financial reports higher operating earnings
Voya Financial Inc. reported first-quarter after-tax operating earnings of $197 million today, compared with $150 million in the first quarter of 2014. Net income available to common shareholders was $186 million, or 77 cents per share, compared with $258 million, or 98 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Included in the first-quarter 2015 result is an after-tax loss of $22 million from the company’s closed block of variable annuity business. Voya Financial reached an important milestone during the quarter as ING Group sold its remaining shares of Voya Financial. In connection with that transaction, Voya Financial repurchased $600 million of its common stock, “demonstrating both our strong capital position as well as our commitment to driving shareholder value,” CEO Rodney Martin said in a release.