Old Republic Has Higher Quarterly Profit
NU Online News Service, Jan. 30, 9:33 a.m. EST?Old Republic International Corp.'s 2003 fourth-quarter net profit rose 18 percent on a year-over-year basis to $113.9 million, from $93.5 million a year earlier, helped by improvement in its general property-and-liability insurance operations.[@@]
"The solid results achieved by Old Republic's consolidated operations continue to demonstrate the benefits of managing a balanced book of business in the interest of achieving reasonably consistent growth," said Old Republic's Chief Executive Al Zucaro.
The insurer's fourth-quarter net premiums and fees came in at $777 million, improving from the $673.2 million posted during the year-ago period. Net investment income for the quarter was $70.6 million, up 2.3 percent from the 2002 fourth quarter.
Old Republic's general property-and-liability insurance business, representing 48 percent of total revenues, saw its net premiums earned grow by 12.9 percent to $367.5 million in the fourth quarter compared to one year earlier. "The company's general insurance underwriting performance for 2003 continued to meet or exceed our expectations," Mr. Zucaro said. "The solid general insurance results posted for 2003 are a reflection of our continued emphasis on the basic underwriting function of our business."
The company's consolidated operating revenues for the 2003 fourth quarter grew by 13.5 percent to $856.9 million, from $755.3 million for the corresponding quarter of 2002. For the full-year 2003, consolidated operating revenues rose by 19.1 percent to $3.26 billion, from $2.74 billion reported for 2002.
Based in Chicago, Old Republic offers general insurance, including commercial property-casualty and auto insurance, general liability, and workers' compensation to transportation, construction, and energy services companies.
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