Loews Corp. (L, Financial) released its second-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Aug. 3.
The New York-based conglomerate posted second-quarter net loss of $835 million, translating to a loss of $2.96 per share. That compares with net income of $249 million, or $0.82 per share, reported in the same period a year earlier. Revenue dropped to $2.31 billion from $3.62 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Segment performance
Income attributable to CNA Financial division decreased on a year-over-year basis to $135 million, reflecting higher net catastrophe losses, which includes coronavirus-related expenses. This was partially offset by positive net investment income coupled with higher investment gains.
Likewise, earnings in the Boardwalk Pipeline business fell to $34 million, down from $53 million, as the company received post-tax net proceeds of $19 million in 2019 due to contract cancellation resulting from customer bankruptcy.
In the Hotels segment, the company posted a loss of $72 million, which is down from a gain of $12 million reported last year. During the quarter, the company incurred $20 million pretax impairment charges, which was partially negated by $7 million after tax gains on sales of hotel property in 2020.
In the Corporate segment, the company attributed the net loss to an investment loss of $957 million as a result of a reduction in the book value of interest in Diamond Offshore Drilling. Diamond Offshore’s sales declined to $71 million from $224 million reported the year before. The net loss came in at $24 million, which was better than the $52 million loss witnessed in the prior year’s second quarter.
Share repurchases
For the quarter ended June 30, 2020, the company repurchased as many as 1 million shares. The company said that it would, at intervals, repurchase its shares as well as its subsidiaries’ outstanding common stock in the open market or otherwise.
Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stocks mentioned.
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