Ohio Casualty's Quarterly Profit Down 16%
NU Online News Service, Aug. 8, 1:57 p.m. EDT?Big catastrophe losses, higher commission costs and the withdrawal from certain markets lead to Ohio Casualty Corp. posting a 16 percent drop in net income for the second quarter of this year.
The Fairfield, Ohio-based company reported a $2.1 million drop in its second-quarter net income, going from $13.1 million in 2002 to $11 million this year.
Revenue for the quarter fell 4 percent to $409.4 million from $424.9 million posted in 2002.
For the first six months of 2003, the carrier reported a decline in net income of $9 million from $39.9 million to $30.9 million. Overall revenue for the first half of the year dropped to $831.2 million from $859.6 million.
Commenting on the insurer's latest financial figures, Dan Carmichael, the company's chief executive officer, said, "Our reported operating results for the second quarter were affected by much larger catastrophe losses than the same period last year, by higher commission costs and by our withdrawal from certain markets beginning in 2002."
But on a positive note, Mr. Carmichael pointed out Ohio Casualty is continuing to make progress in its underwriting performance. The company's combined ratio was 106.2 percent for the last quarter, a 3.1 point improvement from one year ago despite higher cat losses.
Ohio Casualty provides personal and commercial lines property-casualty insurance in some 40 states through more than 5,000 independent agents.
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