Principal earnings per share up 31 percent in first quarter
April 28, 2017 by Business Record Staff
Principal Financial Group reported first-quarter net income of $348.9 million, compared with $368 million for the first quarter of 2016. Operating earnings were up 29 percent to $370.5 million for the first quarter. The company’s board approved a 46-cent-per-share dividend for the second quarter, an 18 percent increase from the year-ago dividend. “First quarter was a good start to the year for Principal, as we continued to deliver solid results and build additional momentum,” said Dan Houston, chairman, president and CEO. “We grew assets under management by $28 billion over the three-month period and by $72 billion over the trailing 12 months, reaching a record $620 billion at quarter end.” Deanna Strable, chief financial officer, said strong execution across all of Principal’s businesses, coupled with improving macroeconomic conditions and opportunistic share repurchases, helpeddrive a 31 percent increase in earnings per share over the year-ago quarter.
