Net income increases 74% and net premiums written increase 4.2% over the comparable year-earlier results
FARMINGTON, Conn., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Darwin Professional
Underwriters, Inc. ('Darwin,' the 'Company,' or 'Our') (NYSE: DR) today
announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008.
Highlights include:
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060829/NETU014LOGO )
-- Gross premiums written for the second quarter are $64.0 million.
Second quarter gross premiums written are 2.9% below our gross premiums for
the same period a year ago. Net premiums written for the quarter of $51.1
million are up 4.2% over the second quarter of 2007.
-- Net income of $13.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2008
represents a 73.7% increase over the $7.8 million for the quarter ended June
30, 2007.
-- Overall, the combined ratio is 67.9% for the second quarter 2008, which
compares favorably to the second quarter 2007 combined ratio of 82.7%. The
combined ratio excludes certain aspects of the Company's long-term incentive
plan which is included in other expenses. The improvement in the Company's
results is primarily driven by a decrease in the loss ratio (16.9% improvement
to 37.6%). The second quarter results include approximately $13.2 million
($8.6 million, net of tax) in favorable loss reserve development and the
corresponding ceded premiums, net of incentive compensation and profit sharing
expenses stemming from the favorable development of the 2003 through 2007
accident years.
-- Earnings per diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2008 are
$0.79 compared to $0.45 per share for the same period in 2007.
-- Annualized return on average equity is 21.3% for the quarter ended June
30, 2008, while shareholders' equity grew $23.8 million, or 9.4% for the six
months ended June 30, 2008, from $254.2 million at December 31, 2007 to $278.0
million at June 30, 2008. Book value per share grew 9.4% to $16.33 at June 30,
2008 from $14.93 at December 31, 2007.
Stephen Sills, Darwin's Chief Executive Officer commented, 'Darwin
recorded a significant increase in net income in the current quarter as
compared to the second quarter of 2007, and we demonstrated our commitment to
underwriting profitability with a second-quarter combined ratio of 67.9
percent. We are gratified that we have built an organization that has
delivered strong earnings and solid returns for our shareholders. We are
pleased that this quarter, perhaps one of our last as a stand-alone public
company, continues this trend. As Darwin becomes part of the Allied World
family, I believe that the franchise we have built, the people who have helped
us build it, and the business relationships we have forged will enable
continued success as part of the new combined organization.'
Jack Sennott, Darwin's Executive Vice President, added, 'We are focused on
completing the remaining items needed to close the merger with Allied World,
and we look forward to a successful integration in what we see as a very
complementary merger of capabilities. With significant expertise across all of
our lines, we believe we're well positioned to take advantage of the continued
opportunities we see in specialty insurance. We have cleared one regulatory
hurdle related to the merger already.
