Travelers Corp. and Aetna Life & Casualty...

Travelers Corp. and Aetna Life & Casualty reported sharp declines in fourth-quarter profits as the insurance giants continued to struggle against real estate losses.

Travelers said its net totaled $69 million, or 64 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down 46% from $128 million, or $1.23 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue of $2.6 billion was off 7% from $2.8 billion for the 1990 quarter.

The company added $56 million to its reserves for potential losses on real estate investments. The quarterly results also reflected a net loss of $34 million on the sale of Dillon, Read Inc., the investment bank.

For the year, Travelers said profit totaled $318 million, or $2.97 a share, on revenue of $11.4 billion. That contrasted with a loss of $178 million, the equivalent of $1.85 a share, on revenue of $11.3 billion in 1990.

In 1990, Travelers posted a loss of $566 million from the addition of $591 million to reserves to cover bad mortgage loans and real estate investments.

Aetna reported net income of $93 million, or 84 cents a share, down 35% from $142 million, or $1.29 a share, in the fourth quarter of 1990.

Revenue during the period was $4.6 billion, off 4% from $4.8 billion for the same quarter in 1990.

Aetna added $154 million to its reserves to cover mortgage loan and real estate write-downs in the quarter, compared to $102 million in the fourth quarter of 1990.

For the year, Aetna said its profit fell 18% to $505 million, or $4.59 a share, on revenue of $19.2 billion. That compared to $614 million, or $5.52 a share, on revenue of $19.7 billion a year ago.