(Source: PRNewswire)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance, claims management services and information services, today reported operating results for the three- month period ended March 31, 2009.
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
March 31, 2009__ March 31, 2008
Total revenue__ $1.36 billion__ $1.13 billion
Net earnings (loss)
attributable to common
shareholders__ ($12.4 million)__ $27.2 million
Net earnings (loss) per
diluted share attributable
to common shareholders__ ($0.06)__ $0.13
Cash flow from (used in)
Operations__ $128.3 million__ ($74.9 million)__
The following are summary financial and operational results for the operating segments of FNF for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2009 and 2008:
Fidelity National Title Group ("FNT")
Three Months Ended__ Three Months Ended
March 31, 2009__ March 31, 2008
Total revenue__ $1.26 billion__ $1.01 billion
Pre-tax earnings__ $7.3 million__ $53.1 million
Pre-tax margin__ 0.6%__ 5.3%
Month__ Direct Orders Opened__ Direct Orders Closed
January 2009__ 279,700__ 120,500
February 2009__ 206,400__ 141,900
March 2009__ 260,300__ 166,200
First Quarter 2009__ 746,400__ 428,600
Month__ Direct Orders Opened__ Direct Orders Closed
January 2008__ 201,100__ 88,000
February 2008__ 188,900__ 108,000
March 2008__ 172,200__ 111,800
First Quarter 2008__ 562,200__ 307,800
Open__ Closed__ Commercial__ Commercial
Commercial Commercial Revenue__ Fee
Orders__ Orders__ (In thousands) Per File
1st Quarter 2009__ 21,300__ 11,300__ $49,700__ $4,400
1st Quarter 2008__ 16,100__ 9,600__ $72,400__ $7,500__
- The preceding table only includes commercial activity from FNF's commercial offices in the national commercial division and does not attempt to capture potential commercial activity in our local offices.
Specialty Insurance
Three Months Ended__ Three Months Ended
March 31, 2009__ March 31, 2008
Total revenue__ $86.8 million__ $88.5 million
Pre-tax earnings__ $13.2 million__ $9.4 million
Pre-tax margin__ 15.2%__ 10.6%__
"The highlight of the first quarter was the continuation of the strong open order volumes that began in very late 2008," said Chairman William P. Foley, II. "The significant strength in refinance volumes has, however, caused an increase in the time it takes to close an order, as we really only began to see an increase in closed order volumes during the later part of the quarter. We expect that trend in increased closed orders to continue as we head into the second quarter. Additionally, we saw a surge in open order volumes in the first three weeks of April, nearing their highest levels of 2009."
"We also made significant strides on the integration of the Lawyers and Commonwealth operations during the quarter, realizing run-rate cost savings of more than $231 million as of March 31, 2009, versus our original synergy estimate of $150 million and our revised synergy estimate of $225 million. Most importantly, the Lawyers and Commonwealth operations returned to profitability for the month of March, before the impact of the synergy bonus, and these underwriters are positioned to generate increasing profit margins as we enter the second quarter and beyond."
"As we discussed during our recent equity offering, operating performance in our title business began the quarter slowly, but picked up as we got into the month of March. In January, we recorded a pre-tax loss of approximately $11 million, as the legacy FNF business was profitable, but the Lawyers and Commonwealth operations lost more than $17 million on a pre-tax basis. In February we recorded a pre-tax loss of approximately $5 million, as legacy FNF was again slightly profitable and the Lawyers and Commonwealth operations improved to a pre-tax loss of only $5 million. In March, we recorded $15 million in pre-tax earnings, but those results included a $20 million synergy bonus and approximately $6 million in other than temporary impairments related to several equity securities.