US insurer Allstate has reported a sharp fall in fourth-quarter net income thanks mainly to the previously announced costs of settling a lawsuit and restructuring its claims operation.
The company said earnings fell to $264m (£187m) from $547m (£387m) in the fourth quarter of 2000.
At the earnings per share level, that worked out at 37 cents per share, down 54% from the 80 cents per share recorded in 2000. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had expected the company to earn 60 cents per share, on average.
Allstate, the second largest insurer of cars and homes in the US, said revenues rose 2% to $7.4bn (£5.2bn).
In January, the company said its results would be hit by its agreement to pay $59m (£41m) to a group of policyholders to settle a class-action lawsuit. At the time, it also confirmed that restructuring charges would be $107m (£76m).
Chairman and chief executive Edward Liddy said: "We are not pleased with our financial results in what was an uneven quarter.
"We saw very good results from Allstate Financial, and continued progress toward our pricing targets. However, we continue to experience significant challenges in our property-liability business."
Allstate's exposure to the 11 September terrorist attacks was negligible. It estimated that its losses related to the event totalled $32m (£23m) on an after-tax basis.
Allstate is among the underwriters to remain largely unscathed because it concentrates on insuring individuals and families, rather than companies.
Net income for the year was $1.16bn (£820mn), or 160 cents per share, down from $2.21bn (£1.6bn), or 295 cents per share, for the year 2000.
Revenues for the year dipped slightly to $28.9bn (£20.4bn) from $29.1bn (£20.6bn) in 2000.
