<div id="subtitle">Life insurer MetLife expected to turn profit in 4th quarter, could seek acquisition</div><div><p>MetLife Inc. is expected to continue to show that it's one of the strongest national life insurers when it reports fourth-quarter results Tuesday afternoon.</p><p>In December, the New York-based insurer projected fourth-quarter operating earnings mostly above analyst estimates.</p><p>The New York-based life insurer said it expects fourth-quarter operating earnings — which excludes one-time charges and investment gains and losses — to range between 90 cents and 95 cents per share.</p><p>Its results should be helped by an increase of roughly 7 percent in revenue from premiums and fees, MetLife said. That could amount to between $8.5 billion and $9.1 billion from money derived from writing new policies, fees and other revenues.</p><p>FBR Capital Markets analyst Randy Binner predicts MetLife will record a profit of 93 cents per share for the fourth quarter. Positive hedge fund returns and solid annuity and international segment results should contribute to favorable results, Binner said.</p><p>Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, estimate a profit of 95 cents per share and $12.56 billion in revenue during the last three months of the year.</p><p>Last month, MetLife was supposedly in talks with American International Group Inc. to purchase one of AIG's insurance units for between $14 billion and $15 billion, according to news reports citing people familiar with the matter. The two companies have been in discussions for months about a potential deal for AIG's American Life Insurance Co., known as Alico, the reports said.</p><p>Alico is an international life and health insurance business that operates in more than 50 countries.</p><p>Spokesmen for AIG and MetLife would not comment "on rumors and speculation," but MetLife spokesman Chris Breslin said in an e-mail: "MetLife does not need to enter into any M&A transaction to meet its business objectives."</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68305862&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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