Prudential Financial Inc. posted a surprise jump in profit and said it’s ahead of schedule on an effort to cut expenses.

The life insurer’s net income rose to US$1.49 billion in the third quarter, compared with profit of US$1.42 billion a year earlier. The company said it had already achieved more than 95 per cent of the cost cuts it planned for 2020.

Key Insights

• Chief Executive Officer Charles Lowrey has been looking for ways to battle low interest rates, which have weighed on results. “We continued to reprice products and pivot to less rate-sensitive products,” Lowrey said in a statement Tuesday.
• The company’s asset-management unit PGIM, which has been a bright spot, posted record adjusted profit as clients assets jumped 11 per cent from a year earlier to the highest ever.
• Prudential said it now aims to cut US$250 million more in expenses by the end of 2023, bringing the total to US$750 million.

Market Reaction

• Shares rose 1.1 per cent to US$68.50 at 4:34 p.m. in late trading in New York. They’re down 28 per cent this year through Tuesday’s close.

Earnings per share beat forecasts. After-tax adjusted operating income was US$3.21 a share, surpassing the US$2.71 median estimate of 11 analysts.​