Insurer subsidiary lifts Loews Corp. 3Q profit

NEW YORK (AP) ? Loews Corp. said on Monday that its third-quarter net income rose 9 percent as improving performance at the diversified holding company's CNA Financial insurance subsidiary offset lower earnings at deepwater driller Diamond Offshore Drilling.

Loews reported net income of $177 million, or 45 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That was up from earnings of $162 million, or 40 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Excluding a $166 million charge writing down the value of a subsidiary's natural gas properties because of declining natural gas prices, Loews earned $339 million, up from adjusted earnings of $177 million a year ago.

Revenue rose 8 percent to $3.72 billion from $3.44 billion.

Loews, which is controlled by New York's Tisch family, reported net income of $195 million at CNA Financial, more than double the $84 million that CNA reported in the year-ago period. That subsidiary, 90 percent owned by Loews, reported higher net investment income and lower catastrophe losses.

But at the Diamond Offshore Drilling unit, about half of which is owned by Loews, earnings fell 31 percent to $83 million from $121 million.

Loews also owns a 55 percent interest in Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, and HighMount Exploration & Production and Loews Hotels are wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insurer-subsidiary-lifts-loews-corp-3q-profit-125132217--finance.html

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