UPDATE 2-Assured Guaranty sees Q3 loss, shares fall

Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:42pm GMT
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* Sees $35 mln Q3 loss * FSA deal expenses of $0.30/shr hurts Q3

* Sees Q3 oper EPS $0.44 vs est. $0.46

* Stock falls 6 pct after the bell (Adds details from news release, background, updates share movement)

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd (AGO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to post a quarterly net loss despite a significant jump in net premiums earned as a recent acquisition and loss adjustments took a toll on its expenses, sending its shares down 6 percent.

Assured Guaranty bought Belgian-French financial group Dexia's (DEXI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research) loss-making U.S. insurance unit Financial Security Assurance (FSA) for $817 million in July. Dexia is the world's largest municipal lender and the recipient of a 6.4 billion euro ($8 billion) public bailout.

In a non-timely quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said it expects to post a consolidated net loss of about $35 million, or 22 cents per share, for the third quarter.

Assured Guaranty expects operating income of 44 cents a share.

Analysts on average expected operating income of 46 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Assured said it expects to report total expenses of about $313.6 million, compared with $129.3 million a year ago.  Continued...

 
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