CHARLOTTE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (“Brighthouse Financial” or the “company”) (Nasdaq: BHF) announced today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

First Quarter 2020 Results

The company reported net income available to shareholders of $4,950 million in the first quarter of 2020, or $47.11 per diluted share, compared with a net loss available to shareholders of $737 million in the first quarter of 2019. During the quarter, as a result of significantly lower equity markets and lower interest rates, the value of our hedges, which the company uses to protect its balance sheet against adverse market conditions, increased, as expected, while corresponding liabilities are not reflected at fair value under U.S. GAAP accounting, and thus are less sensitive to market movements. The company ended the first quarter of 2020 with common stockholders’ equity (“book value”) of $20.0 billion, or $198.62 per common share, and book value, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) of $17.3 billion, or $172.28 per common share.

For the first quarter of 2020, the company reported adjusted earnings* of $211 million, or $2.01 per diluted share.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter reflected $62 million after tax of the following unfavorable notable items, or $0.59 per diluted share:

• $48 million unfavorable impact to the Run-off segment related to a reinsurance recapture and a one-time adjustment related to the transition to a new vendor, and
• $14 million unfavorable impact to Corporate & Other as a result of establishment costs related to planned technology and other expenses associated with the company’s separation from its former parent company.

Corporate expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were $214 million, down from $283 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, both on a pre-tax basis.

Annuity sales increased 15 percent quarter-over-quarter and 5 percent sequentially. Life sales increased 33 percent sequentially.

The company repurchased approximately $316 million of its common stock year-to-date through May 8, 2020, representing over 12% of shares outstanding relative to year-end 2019. During the first quarter of 2020, the company repurchased approximately $142 million of its common stock, with an additional approximately $174 million of its common stock repurchased through May 8. Since the announcement of the company’s first stock repurchase authorization in August 2018, the company has repurchased a total of approximately $864 million of its common stock through May 8, 2020. The company has temporarily suspended repurchases while it continues to evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Brighthouse Financial’s top priority at this time remains the well-being and safety of our employees, their families, our partners and our customers,” said Eric Steigerwalt, president and CEO, Brighthouse Financial. “In March, we promptly implemented our business continuity plans and transitioned to a fully remote-work environment. Due to our employees’ outstanding adaptability and commitment, we are able to continue to support our customers and financial professionals as usual. We entered the current climate from a position of strength and our balance sheet and liquidity remain strong, our investment portfolio is well-diversified and we believe that we are well-positioned to weather the current downturn.

“Regarding our results in the first quarter of 2020, our sales were very strong, we continued to make necessary investments in our technology infrastructure and in our businesses, and our hedging program performed well. I am particularly pleased with our life insurance sales in the quarter. While the immediate future may be more difficult from a sales perspective, I am proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far since our introduction last year of Brighthouse SmartCare, our first life insurance product launched as an independent, public company,” Steigerwalt continued. “Although it is not possible to estimate the severity or duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain confident in our strategy and continue to believe it will generate long-term shareholder value.”

Annuities

Adjusted earnings in the Annuities segment were $316 million in the current quarter, compared with adjusted earnings of $295 million in the first quarter of 2019 and adjusted earnings of $265 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

There were no notable items in the current quarter or in the first quarter of 2019. The fourth quarter of 2019 included $42 million of favorable notable items.

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, adjusted earnings, less notable items, reflect lower amortization of deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), lower expenses, and higher net investment income, partially offset by higher reserves. On a sequential basis, adjusted earnings, less notable items, reflect lower DAC amortization and lower expenses, partially offset by higher reserves and lower fees.

As mentioned above, annuity sales increased 15 percent quarter-over-quarter and increased 5 percent sequentially.

Life

Adjusted earnings in the Life segment were $11 million in the current quarter, compared with adjusted earnings of $25 million in the first quarter of 2019 and adjusted earnings of $75 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

There were no notable items in the current quarter or the comparison quarters.

On a quarter-over-quarter and sequential basis, adjusted earnings reflect higher DAC amortization and a lower underwriting margin, partially offset by lower expenses and higher net investment income.

As mentioned above, life sales increased 33 percent sequentially.

Run-off

The Run-off segment had an adjusted loss of $70 million in the current quarter, compared with an adjusted loss of $36 million in the first quarter of 2019 and adjusted earnings of $6 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

There was $48 million of unfavorable notable items in the current quarter. There were no notable items in the comparison quarters.

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the adjusted loss, less notable items, reflects higher net investment income, partially offset by a lower underwriting margin and higher expenses. On a sequential basis, the adjusted loss, less notable items, reflects a lower underwriting margin, partially offset by higher alternative investment income.

Corporate & Other

Corporate & Other had an adjusted loss of $46 million in the current quarter, compared with an adjusted loss of $52 million in the first quarter of 2019 and an adjusted loss of $64 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The current quarter included a $14 million unfavorable notable item related to establishment costs, as described above. The first quarter of 2019 included a $27 million unfavorable notable item and the fourth quarter of 2019 included a $25 million unfavorable notable item, both also related to establishment costs.

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the adjusted loss, less notable items, reflects the preferred stock dividends which the company began paying in the second quarter of 2019. On a sequential basis, the adjusted loss, less notable items, reflects lower expenses.

Net Investment Income

Net investment income was $916 million and adjusted net investment income* was $920 million for the first quarter of 2020. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, adjusted net investment income increased $109 million and on a sequential basis increased $16 million. The quarter-over-quarter and sequential results were primarily driven by higher alternative investment income and asset growth.

The net investment income yield was 4.30 percent during the quarter.

Capitalization

At March 31, 2020:

• Holding company liquid assets were approximately $1.0 billion

• Statutory combined total adjusted capital on a preliminary basis decreased to approximately $7.2 billion, driven primarily by equity market and interest rate declines, a $300 million ordinary subsidiary dividend paid to the holding company, and unfavorable non-variable annuity results

• Estimated combined RBC ratio between 515 and 535 percent, which includes the decline in statutory combined total adjusted capital noted above, mostly offset by a decline in required capital

Earnings Conference Call

Brighthouse Financial will hold a conference call and audio webcast to discuss its financial results for the first quarter 2020 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. In connection with this call, the company has prepared a presentation for use with investors and other members of the investment community. This presentation is available on the Brighthouse Financial Investor Relations web page at http://investor.brighthousefinancial.com.

To listen to the audio webcast via the internet and to access the related presentation, please visit the Brighthouse Financial Investor Relations web page at http://investor.brighthousefinancial.com. To join the conference call via telephone, please dial (844) 358-9117 (+1 (209) 905-5952 from outside the U.S.) and use conference ID 4360648.

A replay of the conference call will be made available until Friday, May 29, 2020, on the Brighthouse Financial Investor Relations web page at http://investor.brighthousefinancial.com.

About Brighthouse Financial, Inc.

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (Brighthouse Financial) (Nasdaq: BHF) is on a mission to help people achieve financial security. As one of the largest providers of annuities and life insurance in the U.S., we specialize in products designed to help people protect what they’ve earned and ensure it lasts. Learn more at brighthousefinancial.com.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release and other oral or written statements that we make from time to time may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify such statements using words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “intend,” “goal,” “target,” “guidance,” “forecast,” “preliminary,” “objective,” “continue,” “aim,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning, or that are tied to future periods, in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include, without limitation, statements relating to future actions, prospective services or products, financial projections, future performance or results of current and anticipated services or products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, as well as trends in operating and financial results.

Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining the actual future results of Brighthouse Financial. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Although it is not possible to identify all of these risks and factors, they include, among others: the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions and the effectiveness of our actuarial models; higher risk management costs and exposure to increased market risk due to guarantees within certain of our products; the effectiveness of our variable annuity exposure risk management strategy and the impact of such strategy on volatility in our profitability measures and negative effects on our statutory capital; the reserves we are required to hold against our variable annuities as a result of actuarial guidelines; the potential material adverse effect of changes in accounting standards, practices and/or policies applicable to us, including changes in the accounting for long-duration contracts; our degree of leverage due to indebtedness; the impact of adverse capital and credit market conditions, including with respect to our ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital; the impact of changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies on our insurance business or other operations; the availability of reinsurance and the ability of the counterparties to our reinsurance or indemnification arrangements to perform their obligations thereunder; the adverse impact to liabilities for policyholder claims as a result of extreme mortality events; heightened competition, including with respect to service, product features, scale, price, actual or perceived financial strength, claims-paying ratings, credit ratings, e-business capabilities and name recognition; any failure of third parties to provide services we need, any failure of the practices and procedures of such third parties and any inability to obtain information or assistance we need from third parties; the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends to us, and our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders and repurchase our common stock; the effectiveness of our policies and procedures in managing risk; our ability to market and distribute our products through distribution channels; whether all or any portion of the tax consequences of our separation from MetLife, Inc. (“MetLife”) are not as expected, leading to material additional taxes or material adverse consequences to tax attributes that impact us; the uncertainty of the outcome of any disputes with MetLife over tax-related or other matters and agreements or disagreements regarding MetLife’s or our obligations under our other agreements; the potential material negative tax impact of potential future tax legislation that could make some of our products less attractive to consumers; and other factors described from time to time in documents that we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

For the reasons described above, we caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements, which should also be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements included and the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, particularly in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” as well as in our other subsequent filings with the SEC. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as otherwise may be required by law.

Non-GAAP and Other Financial Disclosures

Our definitions of the non-GAAP and other financial measures may differ from those used by other companies.

Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures

We present certain measures of our performance that are not calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, also known as “GAAP.” We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures highlight our results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers of our business, as well as enhance the understanding of our performance by the investor community.

The following non-GAAP financial measures, previously referred to as operating measures, should not be viewed as substitutes for the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP:

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Reconciliations to the most directly comparable historical GAAP measures are included for those measures which are presented herein. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are not accessible on a forward-looking basis because we believe it is not possible without unreasonable efforts to provide other than a range of net investment gains and losses and net derivative gains and losses, which can fluctuate significantly within or outside the range and from period to period and may have a material impact on net income (loss) available to shareholders.

Adjusted Earnings, Adjusted Revenues and Adjusted Expenses

Adjusted earnings, which may be positive or negative, is used by management to evaluate performance, allocate resources and facilitate comparisons to industry results. This financial measure focuses on our primary businesses principally by excluding the impact of market volatility, which could distort trends.

Adjusted earnings reflects adjusted revenues less adjusted expenses, both net of income tax, and excludes net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends. Provided below are the adjustments to GAAP revenues and GAAP expenses used to calculate adjusted revenues and adjusted expenses, respectively.

The following are significant items excluded from total revenues, net of income tax, in calculating the adjusted revenues component of adjusted earnings:

• Net investment gains (losses);

• Net derivative gains (losses) (“NDGL”), except earned income and amortization of premium on derivatives that are hedges of investments or that are used to replicate certain investments, but do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment (“Investment Hedge Adjustments”); and

• Certain variable annuity GMIB fees (“GMIB Fees”).

The following are significant items excluded from total expenses, net of income tax, in calculating the adjusted expenses component of adjusted earnings:

• Amounts associated with benefits related to GMIBs (“GMIB Costs”);

• Amounts associated with periodic crediting rate adjustments based on the total return of a contractually referenced pool of assets and market value adjustments associated with surrenders or terminations of contracts (“Market Value Adjustments”); and

• Amortization of DAC and value of business acquired (“VOBA”) related to (i) net investment gains (losses), (ii) net derivative gains (losses), (iii) GMIB Fees and GMIB Costs and (iv) Market Value Adjustments.

The tax impact of the adjustments mentioned is calculated net of the statutory tax rate, which could differ from our effective tax rate.

Consistent with GAAP guidance for segment reporting, adjusted earnings is also our GAAP measure of segment performance.

Adjusted Earnings per Common Share and Adjusted Return on Common Equity

Adjusted earnings per common share and adjusted return on common equity are measures used by management to evaluate the execution of our business strategy and align such strategy with our shareholders’ interests.

Adjusted earnings per common share is defined as adjusted earnings for the period divided by the weighted average number of fully diluted shares of common stock outstanding for the period. The weighted average common shares outstanding used to calculate adjusted earnings per share will differ from such shares used to calculate diluted net income (loss) available to shareholders per common share when the inclusion of dilutive shares has an anti-dilutive effect for one calculation but not for the other.

Adjusted return on common equity is defined as total annual adjusted earnings on a four quarter trailing basis, divided by the simple average of the most recent five quarters of total Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common stockholders’ equity, excluding AOCI.

Adjusted Net Investment Income

We present adjusted net investment income to measure our performance for management purposes, and we believe it enhances the understanding of our investment portfolio results. Adjusted net investment income represents net investment income including investment hedge adjustments.

Other Financial Disclosures

Corporate Expenses

Corporate expenses includes functional department expenses, public company expenses, certain investment expenses, retirement funding and incentive compensation; and excludes establishment costs.

Notable items

Certain of the non-GAAP measures described above may be presented further adjusted to exclude notable items. Notable items reflect the impact on our results of certain unanticipated items and events, as well as certain items and events that were anticipated, such as establishment costs. The presentation of notable items and non-GAAP measures, less notable items is intended to help investors better understand our results and to evaluate and forecast those results.

Book Value per Common Share and Book Value per Common Share, excluding AOCI

Brighthouse uses the term “book value” to refer to “Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common stockholders’ equity, including AOCI.” Book value per common share is defined as ending Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common stockholders’ equity, including AOCI, divided by ending common shares outstanding. Book value per common share, excluding AOCI, is defined as ending Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common stockholders’ equity, excluding AOCI, divided by ending common shares outstanding.

CTE95

CTE95 is defined as the amount of assets required to satisfy contract holder obligations across market environments in the average of the worst five percent of a set of capital market scenarios over the life of the contracts.

CTE98

CTE98 is defined as the amount of assets required to satisfy contract holder obligations across market environments in the average of the worst two percent of a set of capital market scenarios over the life of the contracts.

Holding Company Liquid Assets

Holding company liquid assets include liquid assets in Brighthouse Financial, Inc., Brighthouse Holdings, LLC, and Brighthouse Services, LLC. Liquid assets include cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and publicly traded securities excluding assets that are pledged or otherwise committed. Assets pledged or otherwise committed include amounts received in connection with derivatives and collateral financing arrangements.

Total Adjusted Capital

Total adjusted capital primarily consists of statutory capital and surplus, as well as the statutory asset valuation reserve. When referred to as “combined,” represents that of our insurance subsidiaries as a whole.

Sales

Life insurance sales consist of 100 percent of annualized new premium for term life, first-year paid premium for whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, and total paid premium for indexed universal life. We exclude company-sponsored internal exchanges, corporate-owned life insurance, bank-owned life insurance, and private placement variable universal life.

Annuity sales consist of 100 percent of direct statutory premiums, except for fixed indexed annuity sales distributed through MassMutual that consist of 90 percent of gross sales. Annuity sales exclude company sponsored internal exchanges. These sales statistics do not correspond to revenues under GAAP, but are used as relevant measures of business activity.

Net Investment Income Yield

Similar to adjusted net investment income, we present net investment income yields as a performance measure we believe enhances the understanding of our investment portfolio results. Net investment income yields are calculated on adjusted net investment income as a percent of average quarterly asset carrying values. Asset carrying values exclude unrealized gains (losses), collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties. Investment fee and expense yields are calculated as investment fees and expenses as a percent of average quarterly asset estimated fair values. Asset estimated fair values exclude collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties.

Normalized Statutory Earnings (Loss)

Normalized statutory earnings (loss) is used by management to measure our insurance companies’ ability to pay future distributions and is reflective of whether our hedging program functions as intended. Normalized statutory earnings (loss) is calculated as statutory pre-tax net gain from operations adjusted for the favorable or unfavorable impacts of (i) net realized capital gains (losses), (ii) the change in both the reserve-based and capital methodology-based CTE95 calculation, net of the change in our variable annuity reserves, and (iii) unrealized gains (losses) associated with our variable annuities risk management strategy. Normalized statutory earnings (loss) may be further adjusted for certain unanticipated items that impacted our results in order to help management and investors better understand, evaluate and forecast those results.

Risk-Based Capital Ratio

The risk-based capital ratio is a method of measuring an insurance company’s capital, taking into consideration its relative size and risk profile, in order to ensure compliance with minimum regulatory capital requirements set by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. When referred to as “combined,” represents that of our insurance subsidiaries as a whole. The reporting of our combined risk-based capital ratio is not intended for the purpose of ranking any insurance company or for use in connection with any marketing, advertising or promotional activities.

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Available to Shareholders to Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted Earnings, Less Notable Items, and Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Available to Shareholders per Common Share to Adjusted Earnings per Common Share and Adjusted Earnings, Less Notable Items per Common Share (Unaudited, in millions except per share data)