Voya Financial announces second-quarter 2024 results

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) announced today its second-quarter 2024 financial results:

• Second-quarter 2024 net income available to common shareholders of $201 million, or $1.96 per diluted share, and after-tax adjusted operating earnings¹ of $223 million, or $2.18 per diluted share.
• Results demonstrate the benefit of our diversified revenue streams as fee-based revenue growth offset lower underwriting gains. Results also reflect our continued diligence on spend.
• The focus on returning capital to shareholders and strength in excess capital generation continues:
  • Generated and returned approximately $0.2 billion of capital in second-quarter 2024, including $174 million in share repurchases and $40 million in common stock dividends.
  • Board of directors has authorized an increase to the common stock dividend of $0.05, or 12.5%, to $0.45 per share beginning in the third quarter of 2024.

"During the quarter, we executed on our strategic priorities, centered on the growing needs of employers, employees and intermediaries, which has enabled us to advance our growth plans and create positive outcomes for all of our stakeholders," said Heather Lavallee, chief executive officer, Voya Financial. "We continue to deliver strong fee-based revenues in Wealth and Investment Management, and remain confident in the leading market position of our Health business.

"We had strong net revenue growth and remained disciplined on our spend management while investing in the growth of our businesses. Our capital-light and high free-cash flow businesses generated approximately $200 million of excess capital in the quarter, and we returned more than that amount to shareholders in share repurchases and dividends.

"I'm proud of our substantial progress and the momentum we are building by executing on our strategy. We are taking the decisive actions necessary to address challenges and capitalize on growth opportunities. And we continue to be guided by our purpose, vision and a relentless focus on our customers to distinguish Voya in the marketplace."

Second-Quarter 2024 Consolidated Results

Second-quarter 2024 net income available to common shareholders was $201 million, or $1.96 per diluted share, compared with $154 million, or $1.41 per diluted share, in second-quarter 2023. The increase was primarily due to investment gains, lower acquisition and integration costs and the absence of a lease impairment recorded in the prior period related to a vacated leased building, partially offset by lower after-tax adjusted operating earnings and higher losses associated with exited businesses.

Second-quarter 2024 after-tax adjusted operating earnings were $223 million, or $2.18 per diluted share, compared with $243 million, or $2.21 per diluted share, in second-quarter 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower net underwriting gains in Health Solutions, partially offset by higher fee-based revenues in Wealth Solutions and Investment Management. Second-quarter 2024 earnings per share also reflect the benefit of a reduced share count as a result of share repurchases.

Business Segment Results

Wealth Solutions

Wealth Solutions second-quarter 2024 pre-tax adjusted operating earnings were $214 million, up from $174 million in the prior-year period. The increase was primarily due to fee-based revenue growth benefiting from both equity market appreciation and stable fee margins as well as lower administrative expenses.

Total client assets as of June 30, 2024 were $581 billion, up 12% compared with June 30, 2023, primarily due to higher equity market levels.

Net revenues for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended June 30, 2024 grew 8.1% compared with the prior-year TTM period due to increases in fee-based and spread-based revenues which reflect higher alternative investment income and actions to improve portfolio yield, partially offset by lower spread-based assets.

Adjusted operating margin for the TTM ended June 30, 2024 was 37.1% compared with 31.9% in the prior-year TTM period. The improvement reflects net revenue growth and expense diligence while investing in the business.

Excluding notable items, for the TTM ended June 30, 2024, net revenues grew 3.2% and Adjusted operating margin was 39.7%.

Health Solutions

Health Solutions second-quarter 2024 pre-tax adjusted operating earnings were $60 million, down from $124 million in the prior-year period. The decline was primarily attributable to lower Stop Loss net underwriting gains in the current period.

Health Solutions second-quarter 2024 annualized in-force premiums and fees grew 16% to $3.9 billion compared with the prior-year period. The increase reflects growth across all product lines due to strong sales and favorable retention.

Net revenues for the TTM ended June 30, 2024 declined 4.5% compared with the prior-year TTM period due to favorable loss ratios in the prior-year TTM period, including a favorable reserve adjustment related to our annual assumption update in the third quarter of 2022. This decline was partially offset by the positive impact of fee-based revenue diversification through acquired benefits administration capabilities and in-force premium growth.

Adjusted operating margin for the TTM ended June 30, 2024 was 19.1% compared with 38.0% in the prior-year TTM period. The decline reflects higher loss ratios, including a favorable reserve adjustment in the prior-year period, and the integration of Benefitfocus, which has a lower margin profile consistent with benefits administration peers. This decline was partially offset by in-force premium growth.

Excluding notable items, for the TTM ended June 30, 2024, net revenues grew 1.3% and Adjusted operating margin was 20.9%.

Investment Management

Investment Management second-quarter 2024 pre-tax adjusted operating earnings, excluding Allianz's noncontrolling interest, were $50 million, consistent with $50 million in the prior-year period. Higher net revenues due to positive capital markets and strong 2024 business momentum were offset by higher administrative expenses, a portion of which was not recurring.

Investment Management had net inflows of $4.8 billion (excluding divested businesses) during the three months ended June 30, 2024, driving organic growth of 1.6%. This growth was from Institutional US and Insurance channel flows and continued positive flows within Retail.

Net revenues for the TTM ended June 30, 2024 grew 7.8% compared with the prior-year TTM period due to an increase in fee-based revenues and higher investment capital returns reflecting positive capital markets.

Adjusted operating margin for the TTM ended June 30, 2024 was 25.6% compared with 24.7% in the prior-year TTM period. The improvement is due to higher net revenues and strong expense management, partially offset by reinvestments into the business.

Excluding notable items, for the TTM ended June 30, 2024 net revenues grew 5.2% and Adjusted operating margin was 26.2%.

Corporate

Corporate second-quarter 2024 pre-tax adjusted operating losses, excluding Allianz's noncontrolling interest, were $53 million, consistent with $53 million of losses in the prior-year period.

Capital

For the second-quarter 2024, the company generated approximately $0.2 billion of excess capital reflecting capital generation of over 90% of after-tax adjusted operating earnings. The company also deployed approximately $0.2 billion of excess capital in the second quarter, including $174 million in share repurchases and $40 million in common stock dividends. As of June 30, 2024, Voya had approximately $0.4 billion of excess capital and remaining share repurchase authorization of $551 million.

Additional Financial Information and Earnings Call

More detailed financial information can be found in the company's quarterly investor supplement, which is available on Voya's investor relations website, investors.voya.com. In addition, Voya will host a conference call on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at 10 a.m. ET, to discuss the company's second-quarter 2024 results. The call and slide presentation can be accessed via the company's investor relations website at investors.voya.com. A replay of the call will be available on the company's investor relations website, investors.voya.com, starting at 1 p.m. ET on August 1, 2024.

About Voya Financial

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) is a leading health, wealth and investment company with over 9,000 employees who are focused on achieving Voya's aspirational vision: "Clearing your path to financial confidence and a more fulfilling life." Through products, solutions and technologies, Voya helps its 15.2 million individual, workplace and institutional clients become well planned, well invested and well protected. Benefitfocus, a Voya company and a leading benefits administration provider, extends the reach of Voya's workplace benefits and savings offerings by engaging directly with over 12 million employees in the U.S. Certified as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work^® Institute, Voya is purpose-driven and committed to conducting business in a way that is economically, ethically, socially and environmentally responsible. Voya has earned recognition as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies^® by Ethisphere; a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index; and a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We believe that Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes is a meaningful measure used by management to evaluate our business and segment performance. We use the same accounting policies and procedures to measure segment Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes as we do for the directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure Income (loss) before income taxes. Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes does not replace Income (loss) before income taxes as a measure of our consolidated results of operations. Therefore, we believe that it is useful to evaluate both measures when reviewing our financial and operating performance. Each segment's Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes is calculated by adjusting Income (loss) before income taxes for the following items:

• Net investment gains (losses), which are significantly influenced by economic and market conditions, including interest rates and credit spreads, and are not indicative of normal operations;
• Income (loss) related to businesses exited or to be exited through reinsurance or divestment;
• Income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests to which we are not economically entitled;
• Dividend payments made to preferred shareholders are included as reductions to reflect the Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes that are available to common shareholders;
• Other adjustments include items which are not indicative of normal operations, performance of our segments, current Operating expense fundamentals, or do not reflect cash-settled expenses. These items vary widely in timing, scope and frequency between periods as well as among companies to which we are compared. Accordingly, we adjust for these items as we believe that these items distort the ability to make a meaningful evaluation of the current and future performance of our segments. These may include:
  • Income (loss) related to early extinguishment of debt;
  • Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets;
  • Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets as well as contingent consideration fair value adjustments;
  • Expected return on plan assets net of interest costs associated with our qualified defined benefit pension plan and immediate recognition of net actuarial gains (losses) related to all of our pension and other postretirement benefit obligations and gains (losses) from plan amendments and curtailments; and
  • Other items such as capital or organizational restructurings, acquisition / merger integration expenses, severance and other third-party expenses associated with such activities, and expenses attributable to vacant real estate.

Sources of Earnings

We analyze our segment performance based on the sources of earnings. We believe that this supplemental information is useful because we use it to analyze our business and it can help investors understand the main drivers of Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes. The sources of earnings are defined as such:

• Investment spread and other investment income.
• Fee-based margin.
• Net underwriting gain (loss).
• Administrative expenses.
• Net commissions.
• DAC/VOBA and other intangibles amortization.

Net Revenue and Adjusted Operating Margin

• Adjusted operating margin is defined as Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes divided by net revenue.
• Net revenue is the sum of investment spread and other investment income, fee-based margin, and net underwriting gain (loss).
• We also report net revenue and adjusted operating margin excluding notable items, such as alternative investment income above or below our long-term expectations.
• We report net revenue and adjusted operating margin excluding notable items since they provide the main drivers for Adjusted operating earnings before income taxes excluding the effects of items that are not expected to recur at the same level.

Forward-Looking and Other Cautionary Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company does not assume any obligation to revise or update these statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or changes in strategy. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to future developments in our business or expectations for our future financial performance and any statement not involving a historical fact. Forward-looking statements use words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement due to, among other things, (i) global market risks, including general economic conditions, our ability to manage such risks, and interest rates; (ii) liquidity and credit risks, including financial strength or credit ratings downgrades, requirements to post collateral, and availability of funds through dividends from our subsidiaries or lending programs; (iii) strategic and business risks, including our ability to maintain market share, achieve desired results from our acquisitions and dispositions, or otherwise manage our third-party relationships; (iv) investment risks, including the ability to achieve desired returns or liquidate certain assets; (v) operational risks, including cybersecurity and privacy failures and our dependence on third parties; and (vi) tax, regulatory and legal risks, including limits on our ability to use deferred tax assets, changes in law, regulation or accounting standards, and our ability to comply with regulations. Factors that may cause actual results to differ from those in any forward-looking statement also include those described under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") – Trends and Uncertainties" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on February 23, 2024, and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2024, to be filed with the SEC on or before August 9, 2024.

VOYA-IR VOYA-CF

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730959702/en/