Yahoo Finance ProAssurance (PRA) Beats Q4 Estimates on Strong Retention
ProAssurance Corporation PRA reported fourth-quarter 2022 operating earnings of 6 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents. However, PRA’s bottom line deteriorated from earnings of 62 cents per share a year ago.
An increase in net investment income benefited fourth-quarter results. Also, strong policyholder retention and its ability to charge higher premiums supported the company. However, the ongoing inflationary pressure on expenses and lower net premiums earned partially offset the positives.
Quarterly operating revenues of ProAssurance decreased from the prior-year level of $294 million to $283.3 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.3%.
ProAssurance Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
ProAssurance Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ProAssurance Corporation Quote
Operational Update
Gross premiums written were up 2.9% year over year to $224.5 million. Net premiums earned were down 5.4% year over year to $258.2 million and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $259 million.
Net investment income rose 53.3% year over year to $28.8 million on increased profits from investments and rising interest rates. It also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $24.4 million.
Total expenses increased 1.7% year over year to $280 million due to higher SPC dividend expense and underwriting, policy acquisition and operating expenses. However, net losses and loss adjustment expenses and federal income tax expenses decreased 2.9% and 48.9%, respectively.
The combined ratio increased 720 basis points (bps) year over year to 104.2%. The operating ratio increased 290 bps to 93%. Non-GAAP return on equity plunged year over year to 1.3% for the fourth quarter.
As of Feb 22, 2023, PRA had $106.4 million left under its authorization for repurchases and debt retirement. It did not repurchase any shares in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Segmental Results
Specialty P&C Insurance Segment
Total revenues of $196.7 million were down 5.2% from the prior-year figure. Gross premiums written rose 4.2% year over year to $173.1 million, mainly owing to improved premium retention, pricing increases and the NORCAL acquisition.
The segment reported a loss of $6 million narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our estimate of $9.6 million but deteriorated from the year-ago profit of $14 million. Total expenses of $202.7 million rose 4.7% year over year. The combined ratio increased 1,010 bps year over year to 103.7%.
Workers' Compensation Segment
Total revenues of $42.4 million were up 0.4% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $41.4 million. Gross premiums written were $47.8 million, up 4.5% from the year-earlier number, reflecting increased audit premiums partially offset by competitive workers’ compensation market conditions.
The segment reported a profit of $0.3 million for the fourth quarter, improving from the year-ago loss of $1.1 million. However, it missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a profit of $0.4 million. Total expenses of $42 million were down 2.9% year over year. The combined ratio decreased 350 bps year over year to 100.2%.
Lloyd's Syndicate Segment
Gross premiums written were $3.5 million, down 44.3% from the figure recorded in the comparable quarter last year due to decreased participation in Syndicates. Loss from the segment amounted to $0.9 million for the quarter under review against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a profit of $0.4 million and deteriorated from the year-ago profit of $1.4 million.
This segment also missed our estimate for earnings of $0.3 million. Underwriting, policy acquisition and operating expenses improved 51.6% year over year to $1.3 million. The combined ratio increased 2,650 bps year over year to 116.4%.
Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance Segment
Gross premiums written were $16.1 million, up 4.3% from the year-earlier number. It reported a profit of $0.5 million for the fourth quarter, reflecting an upside of 36% year over year due to improved underwriting results for this segment. It also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our estimate of a loss of $2.6 million and $3.3 million, respectively. The combined ratio decreased 310 bps year over year to 74.5%.
Corporate Segment
Net investment income of $28.3 million was up 54.4% year over year. Improved performance on investments and other factors aided the segment. It generated $11 million in profits, down 48.3% from the year-ago reading but beat our estimate of $6.4 million. Operating expenses of $8.1 million increased 6.1% from the prior-year level. Interest expense of $5.5 million fell 0.3% year over year.
Financial Position (as of Dec 31, 2022)
ProAssurance’s total investments were $4,387.6 million, down from $4,828.3 million registered at 2021-end. At 2022-end, PRA’s total assets were $5,700 million, down from the 2021-end figure of $6,191.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents declined to $29.9 million in the fourth quarter from $143.6 million at 2021-end.
Debt-less unamortized debt issuance costs stood at $426.9 million, marginally up from $425 million at 2021-end.
The insurer’s shareholder equity declined to $1,104 million from $1,428.4 million as of Dec 31, 2021. Book value was $20.46 per share, down from $26.46 as of Dec 31, 2021.
Net cash used in operations in 2022 was $29.8 million, deteriorating from cash provided by operations of $74 million a year ago.
Zacks Rank
ProAssurance currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Industry Players
Some other P&C insurers that have reported their fourth-quarter earnings so far are The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV, RLI Corp. RLI and Chubb Limited CB. Let’s see how they’ve performed.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. reported a fourth-quarter 2022 core income of $3.40 per share, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line decreased 35% year over year. Total revenues increased 7.5% from the year-ago quarter to about $9.6 billion, primarily driven by higher premiums and fee income. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.2%.
Net written premiums increased 10% year over year to $8.8 billion. The figure was higher than our estimate of $8.6 billion. Catastrophe losses totaled $459 million pre-tax, wider than $36 million pre-tax in the prior-year quarter.
Travelers witnessed an underwriting gain of $449 million, down 51.5% year over year. The combined ratio deteriorated 650 bps year over year to 94.5.
RLI Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2022 operating earnings of $1.53 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 41.7%. The bottom line improved 26.4% from the prior-year quarter. Operating revenues for the reported quarter were $329.5 million, up 19.4% year over year. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%.
Gross premiums written increased 14% year over year to $383.8 million. Underwriting income of $54 million increased 8.7%, primarily driven by higher profitability in its property segment. The combined ratio deteriorated 140 bps year over year to 82.1.
Chubb Limited reported a fourth-quarter 2022 core operating income of $4.05 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4%. However, the bottom line improved 6.3% from the year-ago quarter. Net premiums written improved 11.9% year over year to $10.2 billion in the quarter. The figure was higher than our estimate of $10 billion. Net premiums earned rose 13.2% to $10.6 billion. The figure was higher than our estimate of $9.7 billion.
Net investment income was $1 billion, which increased 25%. The figure was higher than our estimate of $0.9 billion. Property and casualty underwriting income was $1.1 billion, down 11.4% from the year-ago quarter. Global P&C underwriting income, excluding Agriculture, was $1.2 billion, up 1.9%. Chubb incurred an after-tax catastrophe loss of $323 million in the fourth quarter, which increased 31.8% year over year.
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