Home and auto insurer Allstate Corp. said Tuesday its profit dropped 17
percent in the first quarter as severe winter weather drove up
catastrophe losses.
Net income available to common shareholders was $587 million, or $1.30 a share, compared with $709 million, or $1.47 a share, in the same period last year.
Operating earnings were also $1.30 per share, which, while down from the same period a year ago, beat the $1.20 per share that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News expected the Northbrook-based company to earn.
Catastrophe losses were $445 million, 24 percent higher than a year ago.
Allstate, which long had been losing customers, again grew the number of policies on its books. The count of Allstate-branded policies was up by 1.1 percent in the first quarter over the same period a year ago, driven by greater acceptance of its auto policies and a slowing in the decline of homeowners’ policies on its books.
Esurance, which Allstate acquired in 2011 to boost its online presence, experience policy count growth of 21 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period of 2013. But the unit continues to be unprofitable, partly due to “significantly” higher advertising spending on the brand. “The Esurance team continues to adjust pricing and underwriting to ensure growth generates long-term profitability,” Allstate said.
Revenue was $8.68 billion, compared with $8.46 billion in the same period a year ago.
“We continued providing strong cash returns to shareholders by authorizing a new $2.5 billion share repurchase program and raising the quarterly dividend by 12 percent for the first quarter,” Allstate Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Wilson said in a statement.
Net income available to common shareholders was $587 million, or $1.30 a share, compared with $709 million, or $1.47 a share, in the same period last year.
Operating earnings were also $1.30 per share, which, while down from the same period a year ago, beat the $1.20 per share that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News expected the Northbrook-based company to earn.
Catastrophe losses were $445 million, 24 percent higher than a year ago.
Allstate, which long had been losing customers, again grew the number of policies on its books. The count of Allstate-branded policies was up by 1.1 percent in the first quarter over the same period a year ago, driven by greater acceptance of its auto policies and a slowing in the decline of homeowners’ policies on its books.
Esurance, which Allstate acquired in 2011 to boost its online presence, experience policy count growth of 21 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period of 2013. But the unit continues to be unprofitable, partly due to “significantly” higher advertising spending on the brand. “The Esurance team continues to adjust pricing and underwriting to ensure growth generates long-term profitability,” Allstate said.
Revenue was $8.68 billion, compared with $8.46 billion in the same period a year ago.
“We continued providing strong cash returns to shareholders by authorizing a new $2.5 billion share repurchase program and raising the quarterly dividend by 12 percent for the first quarter,” Allstate Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Wilson said in a statement.
No comments:
Post a Comment