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Business Wire 4-Feb-2019 4:30 PM
ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) today announced preliminary per share results for the fourth quarter of 2018. We expect to report a net loss of between $0.45 and $0.47 per basic and diluted share and positive Non-GAAP operating earnings of between $0.17 and $0.19 per diluted share when we release final fourth quarter results on February 21, 2019.
Net income in the quarter will be adversely impacted by mark-to-market losses on our equity trading portfolio which resulted in net realized losses of approximately $46 million, in line with the broader performance of the equity markets in the last quarter of the year. The performance of the financial markets in the quarter will also contribute to a decline in our equity in earnings of unconsolidated subsidiaries which we estimate will be approximately $3.3 million.
Our Lloyd's Syndicates segment is expected to report a net loss in a range of between $9 million to $10.5 million. We forecast losses of approximately $3.2 million during our third quarter conference call; however, we recently received loss estimates in connection with Hurricane Michael. We estimate our share of these net pre-tax losses will be approximately $6.8 million, net of reinstatement premiums. These losses would normally be reported in our first quarter 2019 results due to the quarter lag. However, given the availability and materiality of these estimated catastrophe losses, we are accelerating our reporting of these losses into the fourth quarter of 2018, consistent with our policy of disclosing significant losses in the quarter in which they become known to us.
ProAssurance's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stan Starnes said, "We are deeply disappointed in the performance of our investment at Lloyd's and we will be reviewing all our strategic options regarding this investment in the coming months."
Gross premiums written in the quarter will be in the range of $210 to $212 million and net earned premium for the quarter is expected to range from $201 million to $203 million.
We anticipate favorable loss development for the quarter will be in the range of $24 million to $26 million. We believe our consolidated net loss ratio will be between 76.0% and 77.0% for the quarter and our consolidated combined ratio is expected to be in a range between 105.5% and 106.5% for the quarter.
Announcement of Final Fourth Quarter Results and Conference Call InformationProAssurance will release final fourth quarter 2018 results, as previously announced, after the close of normal New York Stock Exchange trading on Thursday, February 21, 2019. ProAssurance will conduct a conference call at 9:30 AM ET on Friday, February 22, 2019 to discuss the results, and other items of interest to investors participating in the call. US-based investors are invited to participate by phone by dialing (888) 349-0134 (toll free), Canadian investors may dial (855) 669-9657 (toll free), and international investors may dial (412) 317-5145. The conference call will also be webcast through the Investor Relations section of ProAssurance.com. A telephone replay of the call will be available through at least December 31, 2019 using access code 10128025. Investors in the United States may dial (877) 344-7529 (toll free), Canadian investors may dial (855) 669-9658 (toll free), and international investors may dial (412) 317-0088. A replay will be available on the internet through at least December 31, 2019 at ProAssurance.com. ProAssurance will make a podcast of the call available on its website and on iTunes.
About ProAssuranceProAssurance Corporation is an industry-leading specialty insurer with extensive expertise in healthcare professional liability, products liability for medical technology and life sciences, legal professional liability, and workers' compensation insurance. The company is recognized as one of the top performing insurance companies in America by virtue of our inclusion in the Ward's 50 for the past twelve years. ProAssurance Group is rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best; ProAssurance and its operating subsidiaries are rated "A" (Strong) by Fitch Ratings.
For the latest on ProAssurance and its industry leading suite of products and services, cutting edge risk management and practice enhancement programs follow @ProAssurance on Twitter or LinkedIn. ProAssurance's YouTube channel regularly presents thought provoking, insightful videos that communicate effective practice management, patient safety and risk management strategies.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsAs of the date of this release, the Company has not completed its financial close process for the quarter. During the course of that process, the Company may identify items that would require it to make adjustments, which may be material, to the information presented above. As a result, the estimates above are specifically identified as forward-looking information and are subject to risks and uncertainties set forth below, including possible adjustments to preliminary operating results.
Statements in this news release that are not historical fact or that convey our view of future business, events or trends are specifically identified as forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon our estimates and anticipation of future events and highlight significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from our expected results. We expressly claim the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for any forward-looking statements in this news release. Forward-looking statements represent our outlook only as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law or regulation, we do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.
Forward-looking statements are generally identified by words such as, but not limited to, "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "hope," "hopeful," "intend," "likely," "may," "optimistic," "possible," "potential," "preliminary," "project," "should," "will," and other analogous expressions. When we address topics such as liquidity and capital requirements, the value of our investments, return on equity, financial ratios, net income, premiums, losses and loss reserves, premium rates and retention of current business, competition and market conditions, the expansion of product lines, the development or acquisition of business in new geographical areas, the availability of acceptable reinsurance, actions by regulators and rating agencies, court actions, legislative actions, payment or performance of obligations under indebtedness, payment of dividends, and other similar matters, we are making forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, among other things, the following factors that could affect the actual outcome of future events:
Additional risks that could arise from our membership in the Lloyd's of London market and our participation in Syndicate 1729 include, but are not limited to, the following:
Our results may differ materially from those we expect and discuss in any forward-looking statements. The principal risk factors that may cause these differences are described in "Item 1A, Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K and other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as our current reports on Form 8-K, and our regular reports on Form 10-Q. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which are based upon conditions existing only as of the date made, and advise readers that these factors could affect our financial performance and could cause actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. Except as required by law or regulations, we do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.
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