NEWARK, N.J. (AP)—Prudential Financial Inc. said Wednesday that its net income jumped nearly threefold in the second quarter, as the life insurer recorded a one-time gain of nearly $2 billion as a stronger Japanese yen drove up the value of the company's derivatives.
Even so, the company's earnings adjusted to exclude one-time items fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Derivatives are assets tied to the value of commodities like petroleum or fluctuating economic variables like interest rates or currencies.
A stronger Japanese yen relative to the dollar swelled the market value of Prudential derivatives in the April-June quarter, resulting in a $1.9 billion pre-tax gain, the company said.
That led to net income of $2.2 billion, or $4.64 per share, compared with net income of $779 million, or $1.58 per share, in the same quarter last year.
The company said its operating income, excluding the derivatives gains and other items, was $1.34 per share.
