CNC losing insurance business:
=DJ Ceres Group CEO Sees 2Q EPS in 29-Cent To 33-Cent Range
04 Aug 15:29
By Ann Keeton
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Ceres Group Inc.(CERG), the Ohio insurance company,
expects to report second-quarter earnings in a range of 29 cents to 33 cents a
share, Peter Nauert, chairman, president and chief executive officer, told Dow
Jones Newswires. For the second half of 2000, he expects earnings to fall in a
range of 55 cents to 59 cents a share.
The company plans to report second-quarter results Tuesday before the market
opens.
Nauert said sales of annualized new premiums rose 10% in the second quarter,
to $81.7 million.
As reported earlier, Nauert said he expects third-quarter sales to be
"relatively level" with second-quarter results. He said fourth-quarter sales
should improve with the introduction of new products.
Currently, no analysts are following the two-year-old company, which in 1999
reported a loss of $5.01 a share.
Nauert said Ceres should get new business this year from agents looking to
replace their business with financially troubled Conseco Corp. (CNC) "We have
had a lot of calls from agents," Nauert said.
The company this month will roll out its new e-commerce venture, QQ Link.com.
to agents across the country. The business-to-business insurance exchange will
allow consumers to access insurance information and purchase insurance on the
Web site or through a local agent. The site will offer information about Ceres'
and, later, other insurance companies' products.
-By Ann Keeton, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4120
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 08-04-00 |
