NEW YORK (Reuters) - Loews Corp said on Monday fourth-quarter profit fell 31 percent, hurt by subprime investment losses at its CNA Financial Corp insurance business and weaker results in its tobacco and drilling units.
Net income at New York-based Loews, a conglomerate run by the billionaire Tisch family, fell to $512 million from $746 million a year earlier.
Profit attributable to shareholders fell to $384 million, or 72 cents per share, from $609 million, or $1.11.
Excluding one-time items, profit was 81 cents per share, 26 cents below analysts' average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue fell 5 percent to $4.57 billion.
Results were hurt by a 50 percent decline in profit at Chicago-based CNA, the seventh-largest U.S. commercial insurer, to $164 million, or 60 cents per share.
CNA suffered net investment losses of $61 million, compared with a year-earlier gain of $108 million. It cited "a decline in credit market conditions, including credit spread widening and exposures to subprime collateral in our fixed-income securities." Loews said it owns 89 percent of CNA.
Loews' businesses include financial, tobacco, energy and hotel companies. It announced plans in December to spin off its Lorillard Inc cigarette unit, saying tobacco was not a key focus and that a spinoff would reduce risk. Loews sold its Bulova Corp watch-making unit on January 10 to Japan's Citizen Holdings Co <7762.T>.
In Friday trading, Loews shares closed at $44.73 and CNA at $32.23.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by John Wallace)
