Endurance: $55 Million First Quarter Net Income
Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd, which is headed up by Bermudian David Cash, today reported net income of $55.8 million for the first quarter of 2010, a drop of over $20 million from last year’s first quarter.
The $55.8 million [$0.91 per diluted common share] for the first quarter of 2010 compares to net income of $78.3 million [$1.24 per diluted common share] in the first quarter of 2009.
Operating highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 were as follows:
- Gross premiums written of $818.9 million, an increase of $35.6 million or 4.5% over the same period in 2009;
- Net premiums written of $702.9 million, an increase of $120.0 million or 20.6% from the first quarter of 2009;
- Combined ratio of 97.3%, which included 10.6 percentage points of favorable prior year loss reserve development and 17.8 percentage points of catastrophe losses related to the earthquake in Chile and European Windstorm Xynthia;
- Net investment income of $56.5 million, a decline of 12.5% over the same period in 2009;
- Operating income, which excludes after-tax realized investment gains and losses and foreign exchange gains and losses, of $60.2 million or $0.98 per diluted common share;
- Operating return on average common equity for the quarter of 2.2%, or 8.6% on an annualized basis; and
- Book value of $45.89 per diluted common share, up 2.9% from December 31, 2009.
David Cash, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
Our first quarter results are indicative of the strong franchise that we continue to build at Endurance. We produced an underwriting profit in the quarter despite significant natural catastrophe losses affecting our industry – a testament to our diversified book of business and strong risk management.
In addition, we were able to meaningfully expand our portfolio of businesses in the quarter, which is attributable to numerous thoughtful client development and growth initiatives that we have undertaken over the past several years.
You can view the full report on Endurance’s website here, and more 2010 first quarter results from Bermuda based companies here.
