John Strangfeld
Analyst · UBS Securities
Thank you, Eric. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. We had a strong and eventful first quarter. Our earnings per share for the quarter increased 17% from last year's first quarter based on after-tax adjusted operating income of the Financial Services business. We produced an annualized ROE of 11.4% for the quarter on the same basis. GAAP book value per share reached $63.50, up 16% from a year ago. In a few moments, Rich and Mark will review the quarter with you in detail. In brief, our financial results are solid and broadly based, and our sales and flows demonstrate excellent and continuing commercial momentum. In our Annuities business, our competitive position and expanding distribution have driven strong sales and flows, leading to substantial growth of business with attractive returns. In Asset Management, we are benefiting from higher fees driven by growth in Assets Under Management, as well as the absence of significant credit-related charges, which affected results a year ago. In our U.S. Protection businesses, results were down modestly from last year, reflecting less favorable group disability claims experienced in the current quarter. Our international businesses are producing sustained organic growth, including an increasing contribution from Life Insurance Protection business sold through the bank channel at Gibraltar Life. Current quarter results also include the first month of operations at the Star and Edison businesses we acquired in February. The addition of these companies will significantly strengthen our franchise in Japan, where we are already a market-leading farm life insurer. In spite of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, business integration is proceeding well, in line with expectations, and with no material surprises. We applaud our dedicated staff in Japan, as well as our associates in the U.S., who have kept us on track through this difficult period. Largely because of recent increases in Japanese and U.S. interest rates, our estimation of the earnings contribution over time of Star and Edison is modestly higher than our earlier expectations. In April, we reached agreement to sell our Global Commodities business in a transaction that is expected to close later this year. When completed, this transaction will free for redeployment approximately $400 million in capital. Broadly, on the subject of capital, we are at a very strong position, with both capacity and flexibility in capital deployment. We are highly focused on capital management, and we recognize the importance of capital deployment in the achievement of our 2013 ROE aspiration of 13% to 14%. We look forward to a fulsome discussion of capital and capital management at our Investor Day next month. And with that, I will turn it over to Rich.