Tom Watjen, UNUM GroupChattanoga-based Unum Group continued to rake in profits during the first quarter, beating analyst expectations by 3 cents per share.
The disability insurer reported after-tax operating income of $228.9 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, a significant gain from the $212.7 million, or 79 cents per diluted share, that the company earned in the first quarter of 2013.
“We are off to a strong start in 2014, as we continue to generate solid operating results in our core business lines and actively manage our capital through our share repurchase program,” said Tom Watjen, president and CEO of Unum. “As a result, we generated good growth in operating earnings and book value per share again this quarter.”
Though Unum continued to grow its profits, total revenue slid slightly to $2.6 billion from $2.61 billion in the first quarter of 2013.
However, the company overcame the soft economy by buying back its own stock, thereby dividing its income among a smaller number of shares, and by cutting costs. The insurer bought back $100 million of its own stock during the quarter, or almost 4 percent of its outstanding shares in the previous year.