Principal Financial profit rises on higher premiums, strength in retirement business

• Assets under management rose 7.3% to $808 billion from a year earlier.
• Premiums and fees from the specialty benefits business, which provides employee benefit plans to small and mid-sized businesses, increased nearly 4% to $873.3 million, while the retirement and income solutions business saw 10.7% growth in pre-tax operating earnings to $323.3 million in the quarter.
• Adjusted profit, excluding significant variances, came in at $2.42 per share for the three months ended June 30, versus $2.07 per share a year ago.
• The Des Moines, Iowa-headquartered company returned $427 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter.

July 27 (Reuters) - Insurance and asset management company Principal Financial PFG.O on Monday reported a rise in second-quarter adjusted profit, driven by higher premiums and strong performance in its retirement and income solutions business.

Higher assets under management have supported fee income for companies such as Principal Financial, while the company's retirement and workplace benefits businesses have remained key contributors to earnings despite periodic market volatility.