DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s (AMP) fourth-quarter earnings slipped 22% as the financial-services provider reported lower revenue. The company's results have been boosted recently by its $1 billion acquisition of the Columbia Management business from Bank of America Corp. (BAC) in 2010, and by strong growth from the company's advice and wealth-management business. However, Ameriprise's third-quarter results fell as the company's annual review of insurance and annuity valuation assumptions and other impacts weighed heavily on the period. For the fourth quarter, Ameriprise reported a profit of $240 million, or $1.02 a share, down from $306 million, or $1.18 a share, a year earlier. Operating earnings, which exclude integration expenses and other items, rose to $1.33 a share from $1.31. Net revenue on the same basis fell 2.3% to $2.46 billion and was up 0.9% to $2.58 billion on a fully reported basis. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit of $1.39 on revenue of $2.53 billion. Assets under management and administration totaled $631 billion as of Dec. 31 down from $673 billion a year earlier. The advice and wealth-management business saw revenue rise 0.7% and pretax profit decrease 19%. Shares slipped by 1 cent to $54.77 after hours. The stock is up 24% in the past three months. -By Nathalie Tadena, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3287; nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com
