Ameriprise Posts 3Q Profit As Sales Rise

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mutual fund manager Ameriprise Financial Inc. on Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit, reversing a year-ago loss, as sales grew.

Minneapolis-based Ameriprise provides financial planning, asset management and insurance services. The company last month agreed to purchase the long-term asset management business of Bank of America Corp.'s Columbia Management unit for up to $1.2 billion. Ameriprise will manage about $400 billion in assets after the deal is completed.

The company earned $260 million, or $1 per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That compares with a loss of $70 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted profit totaled $1.03, easily beating a 64-cent-per-share consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue rose 20 percent to $1.95 billion from $1.63 billion, helped by improved net investment income. Analysts had expected $2.09 billion, on average.

As of Sept. 30, the company's excess capital totaled more than $2 billion.

"The fundamentals of our business are improving slowly but steadily, with new client growth and improved asset levels and product flows," said Jim Cracchiolo, chairman and CEO, in a statement. "We also expect meaningful contributions from our pending acquisition."