Nov. 5, 2009 (PR Newswire) --
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, Citizens, Inc. (NYSE: CIA) reported net income of $9.3 million or $0.14 basic earnings per share of Class A common stock and $0.09 diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock compared to net income of $4.9 million or $0.07 per basic and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock for the same period in 2008. For the three months ended September 30, 2009, the Company earned $2.2 million or $0.04 basic and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock compared to a net loss of $814,000 or ($0.04) basic and diluted earnings per share for the same period in 2008. The increase in net income was due primarily to realized gains on investments, the decrease in the fair value of the Company's warrants and no hurricane-related casualty claims in 2009. Total revenues increased to $134.9 million for the nine months of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008 when revenues were $123.4 million, and increased to $44.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 from $40.2 million for the same period in 2008.
Life Insurance: Total revenues from our Life Insurance segment increased to $89.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 compared to $85.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, and increased to $30.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 from $28.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. Premium income was $75.6 million for the first nine months of 2009, a 4.1% increase over the same period of 2008 when premiums were $72.6 million. Premiums in the third quarter of 2009 increased to $25.8 million compared to $24.6 million in the third quarter of 2008. The increase resulted primarily from strong renewal business in the international market. Net investment income decreased slightly to $12.2 million from $12.5 million in the prior year as a result of lower interest yielding investments available during 2009 due to the drop in overall market interest rates. Net investment income for the three months decreased from $4.3 million in 2008 to $4.2 million in 2009. Claims and surrenders increased to $30.3 million in the third quarter of 2009 compared to $26.5 million for the same period of 2008 and increased to $10.0 million from $8.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. These amounts fluctuate from period to period but were within the Company's expected range.
Home Service: Total revenues from our Home Service segment increased to $42.1 million in 2009 compared to $38.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, and also increased in the three months ended September 30, 2009 to $13.9 million from $12.5 million during the same period in 2008. Premium income increased primarily due to the acquisition of Ozark National Life Insurance Company (ONLIC) which is included in the 2009 results but is not in 2008. Net investment income was flat at $3.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008. However, net investment income increased to $9.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 from $9.3 million in 2008, which was primarily due to the increased invested assets resulting from the acquisition of ONLIC. Claims and surrenders decreased to $14.0 million from $15.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 compared to 2008.
