Ambac (AMBC) Reports Q1 EPS of $0.21

Ambac (NASDAQ: AMBC) reported Q1 EPS of $0.21 and operating EPS of $4.82.

Commenting on the first quarter 2016 results, Nader Tavakoli, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The substantial momentum we generated in 2015 across our strategies continued in the first quarter of 2016 with post-emergence records in quarterly purchases of Ambac distressed securities and adjusted book value per share, and a further 7% reduction in our insured portfolio. Operating earnings in the quarter were $218 million, bringing our adjusted book value to more than $29 per share. Moreover, during the quarter we purchased $512 million in market value of Ambac's distressed obligations, including $325 million of insured residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”) and $168 million of insured Local Insight Media ("LIM") bonds. We now own 40% of our Deferred Amounts and have defeased 93% of our insured LIM bonds. We also commuted $387 million net par of our student loan exposures bringing our overall student loan book to $1.7 billion, an 88% reduction since the Segregated Account was established. In aggregate, we estimate that our first quarter investments in Ambac insured obligations, commutations and cancellations were effected at a blended internal rate of return of 8.7%. The successful execution of our asset allocation program has made Ambac a significantly stronger company and substantially enhanced the company’s value for our shareholders.”

Mr. Tavakoli continued, "As previously discussed, we achieved a very favorable RMBS litigation settlement with JP Morgan, resulting in a cash payment to Ambac of $995 million in the first quarter. We are continuing to aggressively pursue our remaining RMBS law suits, as well as pursuing other legal matters where we believe we can create shareholder value."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ambac (AMBC) click here.

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