Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. First Quarter Results March 31, 2007
biz.yahoo.com
Thursday April 26, 11:41 am ET
BALA CYNWYD, Pa., April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: PHLY) today reported net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 increased 31.2% to $66.0 million ($0.89 diluted earnings per share and $0.94 basic earnings per share) from $50.3 million ($0.70 diluted earnings per share and $0.73 basic earnings per share) for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. After-tax net realized investment gains (losses) were $1.1 million of gains for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 ($0.02 diluted income per share) versus $(0.3) million of losses ($0.00 diluted loss per share) for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. Gross written premiums increased 20.2% to $394.1 million from $328.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, and the combined ratio for the quarter was 77.6% versus 79.7% for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. The Company's book value per share at March 31, 2007 increased 6.7% to $17.58 from $16.48 at December 31, 2006.
Financial results for the first quarter of 2007 included:
-- A $12.9 million pre-tax ($8.4 million after-tax, or $0.11 diluted
earnings per share) benefit from a decrease in net unpaid loss and loss
adjustment expenses due to favorable trends in prior years' claims
emergence.
-- Weather-related case incurred property losses of $16.9 million pre-tax
($11.0 million after-tax, or $0.15 diluted loss per share), compared to
weather-related case incurred property losses of $6.6 million pre-tax
($4.3 million after-tax, or $0.06 diluted loss per share) for the
quarter ended March 31, 2006.
James J. Maguire, Jr., CEO, said: "As a result of our differentiated sales model, we continued to see ample new business opportunities during the quarter which met our pricing and underwriting standards. Our combined ratio of 77.6% is indicative of continued vigilance in our underwriting and risk selection process. In the face of more competition, we continued to keep most of our commercial renewal business, as retention levels exceeded 90% of quoted accounts. New products contributed approximately $15 million to premium growth in the quarter, an indication that we continue to successfully diversify and broaden our product offerings. I thank our talented employees for executing at a high level during the quarter, and I remain optimistic that we will achieve our targeted goals for the balance of the year." |
