MetLife profit drops as economic worries hurt adjusted premiums

(Reuters) -MetLife Inc reported a drop in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as growing economic uncertainty hurt the insurer's adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues.

Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues fell 8% due to declines in the United States, Asia and EMEA regions, while that excluding pension risk transfers (PRT) rose 3%.

Net investment income rose 8% to $4.64 billion despite a quarter marred by a string of high-profile bank collapses that roiled financial stocks.

Chief Executive Michel Khalaf said that 2023 is shaping up to be another year of uncertainty.

"We remain focused on managing risk across economic cycles and controlling what we can to deliver for our shareholders and our stakeholders," Khalaf said in a statement.

U.S. adjusted earnings rose 7% in the quarter, while Latin America jumped 59% and EMEA rose 9% on a reported basis.

The company posted an adjusted profit of $1.18 billion, or $1.52 per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with $1.7 billion, or $2.04 per share, a year earlier.

Rival insurer Prudential Financial Inc had reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday due to a decline in its assets under management.

(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Arun Koyyur)