Platinum Underwriters Misses On Q3 Earnings & Revenues
Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd.(PTP - Snapshot Report) posted third-quarter 2014 operating earnings of $1.03 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.7%. Earnings also declined 23.7% year over year on lower premiums.
Behind the Headlines
Total revenue of Platinum Underwriters grossed $150 million in the reported quarter, down 2.6% year over year owing to decrease in premiums, net investment income and other income. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $155 million.
A year-over-year decline in net premiums across all segments – Property and Marine (down 2.9%), Casualty (down 4.2%) and Finite Risk (15.6%) – led to the overall decrease.
Net Investment Income fell 1.3% year over year to $17.5 million.
Total expense increased 16.6% to $117 million from the prior-year quarter owing to a 49.9% rise in net loss and loss adjustment expenses as well as net foreign currency exchange loss of $0.1 million against a gain of $0.5 million a year ago.
Underwriting income of Platinum Underwriters was $22.3 million in the third quarter, down 52.3% year over year. The decrease was due to a sharp year-over-year fall of 73.5% in underwriting income at the Casualty segment, which came in at $9.9 million.
The combined ratio of the property and casualty insurer deteriorated 1730 basis points to 82.8% due to deterioration in Casualty segments’ combined ratio.
Financial Update
Platinum Underwriters exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.3 billion, down 8.6% from 2013-end.
Total assets were $3.7 billion as of Sep 30, 2014, down 6.1% from Dec 31, 2013.
Shareholders’ equity was $1.7 billion as of Sep 30, 2014, down 2.9% from Dec 31, 2013.
Debt balance was $250 million at the quarter-end, flat with 2013-end.
Platinum Underwriters book value per common share was $68.34 as of Sep 30, 2014, down 10.10% from Dec 31, 2013.
Share Repurchase Update
Platinum Underwriters spent $104.9 million to buy back 1.7 million common shares in the third quarter. With this, the company repurchased a total of 3.6 billion shares worth $215.7 million in the first nine months of 2014.
Other Property and Casualty Insurers
Progressive Corp.’s (PGR - Analyst Report) operating earnings for the third quarter of 2014 came in at 46 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. Earnings improved about 28% year over year.
RLI Corp. (RLI - Analyst Report) reported third-quarter 2014 operating earnings 68 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.3%. However, operating earnings fell 2.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Meanwhile, United Insurance Holdings Corp. (UIHC - Snapshot Report) is slated to release third-quarter earnings by the end of Oct 2014.
Zacks Rank
Platinum Underwriters currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Get the latest research report on RLI - FREE
Get the latest research report on PGR - FREE
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. more
Comments
