Prudential 2005 Annual Report Download - page 5

Prudential Financial 2005 Annual Report 3
premiums in force, and provide more than $1 trillion of group
life insurance coverage to America’s workforce.
Our asset management segment posted strong results in 2005.
Before-tax adjusted operating income grew 74 percent, and we
increased overall assets under management by $28 billion. The
depth and breadth of our investment capabilities in equity,
fixed-income and real estate, both in the United States and
abroad, and the broad diversification of our asset sources give us
a robust platform on which to continue this growth.
Our International Insurance and Investments Division has been
a strong performer for years now, and it remained so in 2005.
Before-tax adjusted operating income for the division increased
42 percent over 2004 and, for the second year in a row,
accounted for 40 percent of Prudential’s overall before-tax
adjusted operating income.
In International Insurance, we had more than $1 billion in
annualized new business premium (on a constant currency basis)
in 2005 and more than 6 million total policies in force. Our
Life Planner business—which relies on a distribution force
composed of well-educated, highly trained life insurance sales
professionals in eight countries, most notably Japan and
Korea—continued to lead the way in many important business
drivers. From 1999 to 2005, our Life Planner force, annualized
new business premiums (on a constant currency basis) and
number of policies in force all grew annually at a double-digit
rate. In addition, strong policy persistency rates in our Life
Planner business point to the caliber of our field force and the
quality sales they make.
Gibraltar Life, our traditional insurance business in Japan, has
also been a success story for us. Before-tax adjusted operating
income for Gibraltar Life increased 25 percent in 2005, and our
Life Advisor force, which supports this business, surpassed
5,400, compared with just under 5,000 at year-end 2004. In
addition, the policy persistency rate for Gibraltar Life is among
the highest in the industry.
We also enjoyed solid results from the business of Aoba Life, the
Japanese life insurance business we acquired in November 2004,
and we took initial steps to expand our Life Planner business to
Mexico. Through a consortium of investors led by the Carlyle
Group, we acquired a minority stake in China Pacific Life
Insurance Co., the third-largest life insurer in China in terms of
premiums. This investment gives us a foothold in one of the
world’s fastest-growing markets.
International Investments also reported a double-digit increase in
before-tax adjusted operating income, up 28 percent from 2004.
Continued strong results from our Korean asset management
firm, Prudential Investment & Securities Company, were the
primary driver of the improved performance.
Supporting our employees
and our communities
We measure our success as a company on our ability to deliver
value to shareholders and to meet customers’ needs. Our strong
financial results show that we are delivering for our shareholders,
and our growth in both assets under management and policies
in force show that we are delivering smart solutions for our
clients to grow and protect their wealth. By these measures, we
had a successful year.
We also measure our success on our ability to offer a rewarding
and inclusive work environment for our employees and to give
back to the communities we serve. Here, too, we were successful.
We know that to win in the marketplace, we must first win in the
workplace. At Prudential, we recognize that each of our nearly
our earnings growth, they also took steps to improve
enhance our product offerings.