BROOKFIELD, NEWS, May 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Reinsurance ((NYSE, TSX:BNRE, BNRE.A)) today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Sachin Shah, CEO of Brookfield Reinsurance, stated, "Our business continued to deliver strong financial results for the first quarter of 2024. With our recent acquisition of American Equity Life now complete, we've reached a significant milestone as one of the largest providers of annuities in North America. We are well positioned to scale our existing platform and offerings, diversify our retirement services capabilities, and lay the groundwork for the next phase of growth for our company." UnauditedAs at and for the periods endedMarch 31(US$ millions, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended   2024     2023   Total assets $ 63,113   $ 44,951   Adjusted equity1   9,300     4,688   Distributable operating earnings1   279     145   Net income (loss)   337     (93 ) Net income per each class A and A-1 share $ 0.08   $ 0.07   See Non-GAAP and Performance Measures on page 7 and a reconciliation from net income and reconciliation from equity on page 6. Highlights Completed the acquisition of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company ("AEL") on May 2, 2024, contributing over $50 billion of incremental deployable insurance portfolio assets Originated $1.6 billion of annuity sales, including approximately $900 million of retail annuity sales at our existing businesses and over $700 million of pension risk transfer ("PRT") premiums. Total annuity sales inclusive of AEL's first quarter sales were over $4 billion Originated approximately $1 billion in proprietary investment strategies at returns in excess of 11%, increasing our gross portfolio wide yield to near 6% Operating Update We recognized $279 million of distributable operating earnings ("DOE") for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $145 million in the prior year period. The increase in earnings for the current period reflects strong annuity sales and other premium growth over the last twelve months, as well as higher spread earnings on our existing business, driven by higher net investment income resulting from the progress made repositioning assets into higher yielding investment strategies. Our first quarter earnings also benefited from strong performance in our property and casualty ("P&C") businesses, which included a full quarter of earnings contribution from Argo Group, the U.S. specialty P&C platform we acquired in late 2023. We recorded net income of $337 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to a net loss of $93 million in the prior year period. The increase in net income is the result of strong operating performance and contributions from our DOE, as noted above, as well as favorable mark-to-market movement on our derivatives and funds withheld insurance reserves. Today, we are in a strong liquidity position across the portfolio, with over $25 billion of cash and short-term liquid investments across our investment portfolios, and another $25 billion of long-term liquid investments, inclusive of our recently acquired assets with the acquisition of AEL. These liquid assets will facilitate the ongoing rotation of our investment portfolio into higher yielding investment strategies, while also continuing to ensure we have sufficient liquidity coverage for our liabilities in the case of any stress events across the broader market. Update on Growth Initiatives On May 2, 2024, we closed our previously announced acquisition of AEL. With the close of the acquisition, Brookfield Reinsurance is positioned as one of the largest providers of annuities in North America, with a float of over $100 billion. AEL's strong franchise and track record of servicing its policyholders and distribution partners is very complementary to our existing business, and we expect to grow meaningfully as we leverage the synergies of our existing annuity platform, held through American National, to grow to $20 billion of annual annuity writing capabilities in the near term. Today our combined businesses generate annualized cashflows of approximately $1.4 billion, and as we reposition the investment portfolio, we are on track to achieve $2 billion of cash flows annually in the next 18 to 24 months. Regular Distribution Declaration The Board declared a quarterly distribution of $0.08 per Class A, A-1 and B share, payable on June 28, 2024 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on June 13, 2024. This distribution is identical in amount per share and has the same payment date as the quarterly distribution announced today by Brookfield Corporation on the Brookfield Class A Shares. Brookfield Corporation Operating Results An investment in Class A and A-1 shares of our company is intended to be, as nearly as practicable, functionally and economically, equivalent to an investment in the Brookfield Class A Shares. A summary of Brookfield Corporation's first quarter operating results is provided below: UnauditedAs at and for the periods ended March 31(US$ millions, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended   Last Twelve Months Ended   2024     2023     2024     2023 Net income $ 519   $ 424   $ 5,200   $ 2,659 Distributable earnings before realizations   1,001     945     4,279     4,312 - Adjusted for the special distribution   1,001     945     4,279     3,946 - Per Brookfield share   0.63     0.59     2.70     2.46 Distributable earnings   1,216     1,157     4,865     5,204 - Per Brookfield share   0.77     0.72     3.07     3.25 Brookfield Corporation net income above is presented under IFRS. Given the economic equivalence, we expect that the market price of the Class A and A-1 Shares of our company will be impacted significantly by the market price of the Brookfield Class A Shares and the business performance of Brookfield as a whole. In addition to carefully considering the disclosure made in this news release in its entirety, shareholders are strongly encouraged to carefully review Brookfield's letter to shareholders, supplemental information and its other continuous disclosure filings. Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield Corporation's disclosure on its website under the Reports & Filings section at bn.brookfield.com. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS               Unaudited     March 31     December 31 (US$ millions)       2024       2023 Assets             Cash and cash equivalents     $ 2,574     $ 4,308 Investments       42,565       39,838 Reinsurance funds withheld             Cash and short-term investments       256       1,482 Investments       7,018       5,766 Accrued investment income       323       280         52,736       51,674               Reinsurance recoverables