AIG reports 2Q results as investors look for news about spin-offs

Earnings Preview: AIG to report 2Q results

American International Group Inc. is scheduled to report its second-quarter results Friday before the market opens. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: AIG was one of the world’s largest insurers before last fall’s financial panic. Now the government owns about 80 percent of the company, in exchange for aid that totals some $182.5 billion. The company has been selling assets, cutting costs and is planning to spin off several operations to help repay the government loan.

In short, it’s been a busy quarter for the New York-based insurer.

Last week it renamed its property casualty and general insurance business from AIU Holdings to Chartis and placed it into a business entity that will make it easier to sell. AIG said in April that it had planned to spin off the unit, which includes commercial insurance, foreign general insurance and private client group businesses. AIG has also said it hopes to spin off life-insurance subsidiaries American International Assurance Co. and American Life Insurance Co.

The insurer’s problems last fall came mostly from its insurance of securities based on mortgages and other risky debt. But its traditional insurance subsidiaries have been seen as much safer. The company owns insurance and financial services businesses ranging from property, casualty, auto and life insurance to annuity and investment services. It also owns a one of the major aircraft leasing firms, which provides planes to major airlines around the world.

On Monday, AIG named former MetLife Inc. Chairman and CEO Robert Benmosche as president and chief executive. Benmosche, 65, replaces Edward Liddy, who took over AIG after the government bailout.

BY THE NUMBERS: Most analysts have given up predicting AIG results. It has lost $103.65 billion since the beginning of 2008.

ANALYST TAKE: Bill Bergman, a senior stock analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago, said it’s tough to know where the company stands today.

“We don’t know the extent of the losses that are still there on the derivatives books,” he said.

He said there’s been a loss of confidence.

AIG’s announcement last fall of plans to sell assets raised expectations, but there’s been a “loss of confidence since,” Bergman said. He said it started with the financial products division and has spread to the rest of the company, affecting customers and potential buyers of those assets.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Investors — Uncle Sam and the rest — will be looking for updates on AIG’s asset sales. AIG also has yet to name a new chairman.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: AIG shares have surged in the past two days from the $13 range to close on Thursday at $22.53. Looking strictly at the second quarter, AIG shares rose 16 percent, from $1 at the end of the first quarter to $1.16 at the end of the second, on June 30. The next day a 20-1 reverse stock split boosted share prices. Adjusting for the reverse split, Thursday’s closing price would be $1.13.