RenaissanceRe Reports Net Income of $167.8 Million for the First Quarter of 2015 or $4.14 Per Diluted Common Share; Quarterly Operating Income of $126.1 Million or $3.10 Per Diluted Common Share

PEMBROKE, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR) (the “Company” or “RenaissanceRe”) today reported net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders of $167.8 million, or $4.14 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $151.0 million, or $3.56, respectively, in the first quarter of 2014. Operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders was $126.1 million, or $3.10 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $136.1 million, or $3.20, respectively, in the first quarter of 2014. The Company reported an annualized return on average common equity of 17.1% and an annualized operating return on average common equity of 12.9% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 17.6% and 15.9%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2014. Book value per common share increased $5.06, or 5.6%, in the first quarter of 2015 to $95.21, compared to a 2.5% increase in the first quarter of 2014. Tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends decreased 0.5% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to a 2.8% increase in the first quarter of 2014.

Kevin J. O'Donnell, CEO, commented: "We reported a solid first quarter, generating $167.8 million of net income and an annualized operating ROE of 12.9%. Our results were driven by strong underwriting profits and investment performance."

Mr. O'Donnell continued: "This has been a milestone quarter for RenaissanceRe as we closed on the Platinum acquisition. The integration has gone smoothly and we have received a very positive reception from our clients and brokers. Our ability to offer a broad suite of products and flexible capital options is stronger than ever."

Acquisition of Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (“Platinum”)

RenaissanceRe completed its acquisition of Platinum on March 2, 2015. As a result of the acquisition, the Company's consolidated results of operations for the first quarter of 2015 include those of Platinum from March 2, 2015 through March 31, 2015. During the first quarter of 2015, the Company recorded $40.4 million of corporate expenses associated with the acquisition of Platinum, comprised of $11.5 million of transaction-related expenses, $0.9 million of integration-related expenses and $28.0 million of compensation-related expenses. In addition, the Company recognized $83.6 million of identifiable intangible assets and $191.7 million of goodwill in connection with the acquisition of Platinum, or a total of $5.94 per common share at March 31, 2015. Also during the first quarter of 2015, the Company recognized an income tax benefit of $47.5 million related to a reduction in the Company’s deferred tax asset valuation allowance, principally due to the acquisition of Platinum.

FIRST QUARTER 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Company generated underwriting income of $130.9 million and a combined ratio of 55.9% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $151.3 million and 47.2%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2014. Underwriting income in the first quarter of 2015 was driven by a relatively light catastrophe loss quarter and $22.1 million of favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claims expenses, principally in the Company’s Catastrophe Reinsurance and Specialty Reinsurance segments.
• Gross premiums written of $643.6 million decreased $61.7 million, or 8.7%, in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the first quarter of 2014, with the Company’s Catastrophe Reinsurance and Specialty Reinsurance segments experiencing decreases of $78.5 million and $30.0 million, respectively, partially offset by a $46.9 million increase in the Company’s Lloyd’s segment, each as discussed below.
• The Company’s total investment result, which principally includes the sum of net investment income and net realized and unrealized gains on investments, was $81.3 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $53.7 million in the first quarter of 2014. The total investment result was primarily driven by higher net realized gains in the Company’s portfolio of fixed maturity investments and higher returns in the Company’s portfolio of public equity investments during the first quarter of 2015, compared to the first quarter of 2014.

Underwriting Results by Segment

Catastrophe Reinsurance Segment

Gross premiums written in the Catastrophe Reinsurance segment were $389.2 million in the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of $78.5 million, or 16.8%, compared to the first quarter of 2014, primarily driven by the continued softening of market conditions, including reduced risk-adjusted pricing for the January renewals, and the Company’s underwriting discipline given prevailing terms and conditions.

Managed catastrophe premiums decreased $72.9 million, or 14.7%, to $423.1 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $496.0 million in the first quarter of 2014.

The Catastrophe Reinsurance segment generated underwriting income of $108.2 million and a combined ratio of 24.8% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $130.6 million and 20.7% in the first quarter of 2014, respectively. The $22.4 million decrease in underwriting income in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the first quarter of 2014, was driven by a $20.8 million decrease in net premiums earned, primarily due to lower gross premiums written during the preceding twelve months, and an $11.6 million increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses driven by a number of winter storms in the U.S., partially offset by a $10.5 million increase in favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses.

The Catastrophe Reinsurance segment experienced $16.5 million of favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $6.1 million in the first quarter of 2014. The favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses in the first quarter of 2015 was principally driven by $5.3 million related to the April and May 2011 U.S. Tornadoes, $1.5 million related to the 2008 Hurricanes (Gustav and Ike) and $9.8 million related to a number of other relatively small catastrophe events, each principally the result of changes in the Company’s estimated ultimate loss for each respective event.

Specialty Reinsurance Segment

Gross premiums written in the Specialty Reinsurance segment were $124.3 million in the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of $30.0 million, or 19.4%, compared to the first quarter of 2014, driven primarily by a decrease in certain credit related lines of business as a result of the non-renewal of a number of contracts during the first quarter of 2015, combined with continued underwriting discipline given prevailing terms and conditions, partially offset by increases in certain casualty lines of business. The Company’s specialty reinsurance premiums are prone to significant volatility as this business can be influenced by a relatively small number of relatively large transactions.

The Specialty Reinsurance segment generated underwriting income of $21.3 million and a combined ratio of 77.5% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $16.9 million and 75.7% in the first quarter of 2014, respectively. Impacting underwriting income in the Specialty Reinsurance segment for the first quarter of 2015, compared to the first quarter of 2014, was a $25.2 million increase in net premiums earned as a result of higher gross premiums written during the preceding twelve months; partially offset by a $7.3 million increase in underwriting expenses, a $7.3 million increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses and a $6.2 million decrease in favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses. The increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses was principally due to a higher level of attritional losses, primarily as a result of the increase in net premiums earned. The Specialty Reinsurance segment experienced $9.7 million of favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $15.8 million in the first quarter of 2014, principally as a result of better than expected claims emergence.

Lloyd’s Segment

Gross premiums written in the Lloyd’s segment were $130.1 million in the first quarter of 2015, an increase of $46.9 million, or 56.3%, compared to the first quarter of 2014, primarily due to Syndicate 1458 continuing to grow organically in the Lloyd’s marketplace, notwithstanding challenging market conditions.

The Lloyd’s segment generated underwriting income of $1.7 million and a combined ratio of 97.0% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $3.4 million and 93.5%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2014. Impacting underwriting income in the Lloyd’s segment during the first quarter of 2015 was a $5.9 million increase in net premiums earned as a result of the increase in gross premiums written; offset by a $4.1 million increase in acquisition expenses and a $3.6 million increase in net claims and claim expenses, each as discussed below. The increases in net premiums earned and acquisition expenses were primarily the result of the increase in gross premiums written noted above. Also impacting acquisition expenses was the increased proportion of quota share and delegated authority business written, which generally carry higher acquisition expenses, compared to non-proportional business.

The $3.6 million increase in net claims and claim expenses was principally due to a $4.5 million increase in attritional net claims and claim expenses as a result of the increase in net premiums earned, noted above, partially offset by a decrease in adverse development of prior accident years net claims and claim expenses of $0.9 million during the first quarter of 2015, with the adverse development principally due to reported claims activity coming in higher than expected on prior accident years events.

Other Items

• Subsequent to March 31, 2015 and through the period ended May 4, 2015, the Company repurchased 3 thousand common shares in open market transactions at an aggregate cost of $0.3 million and at an average share price of $99.91.
• Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in the first quarter of 2015 was $39.7 million and decreased from $42.8 million in the first quarter of 2014, principally due to a modest decrease in the profitability of DaVinciRe Holdings Ltd. (“DaVinciRe”). The Company’s ownership in DaVinciRe was 26.3% at March 31, 2015, compared to 26.5% at March 31, 2014.
• On May 4, 2015, DaVinciRe issued $150.0 million of its 4.750% Senior Notes due May 1, 2025, with interest on the notes payable on May 1 and November 1, commencing with November 1, 2015. The notes may be redeemed prior to maturity, subject to the payment of a “make-whole” premium if the notes are redeemed before February 1, 2025. The notes contain various covenants including, among others, limitations on mergers, amalgamations and consolidations, limitations on third party investor redemptions, a leverage covenant and maintenance of certain ratings. The net proceeds from this offering were used to repay, in full, $100.0 million outstanding under an existing loan agreement with RenaissanceRe, and the remainder of the net proceeds may be used to repurchase DaVinciRe shares or for general corporate purposes.
• On April 16, 2015, A.M. Best removed from under review with negative implications, and affirmed its respective ratings of, RenaissanceRe and RenaissanceRe’s existing operating subsidiaries. The outlook for Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd.’s and Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe’s issuer financial strength ratings is negative, while the outlook for RenaissanceRe’s other existing operating subsidiaries’ issuer financial strength ratings is stable. In addition, A.M. Best removed from under review with developing implications, affirmed its respective ratings of, and assigned an outlook of stable to, the issuer financial strength ratings of Platinum Underwriters Bermuda, Ltd. and Renaissance Reinsurance U.S. Inc., formerly known as Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance, Inc.

This Press Release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures including “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders”, “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted”, “operating return on average common equity - annualized”, “managed catastrophe premiums”, “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends.” A reconciliation of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures in accordance with Regulation G is presented in the attached supplemental financial data.

Please refer to the “Investor Information - Financial Reports - Financial Supplements” section of the Company’s website at www.renre.com for a copy of the Financial Supplement which includes additional information on the Company’s financial performance.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will host a conference call on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss this release. Live broadcast of the conference call will be available through the “Investor Information - Company Webcasts” section of RenaissanceRe’s website at www.renre.com.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance. The Company’s business consists of three reportable segments: (1) Catastrophe Reinsurance, which includes catastrophe reinsurance and certain property catastrophe joint ventures managed by the Company’s ventures unit; (2) Specialty Reinsurance, which includes specialty reinsurance and certain specialty joint ventures managed by the Company’s ventures unit; and (3) Lloyd’s, which includes reinsurance and insurance business written through RenaissanceRe Syndicate 1458.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Any forward-looking statements made in this Press Release reflect RenaissanceRe’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to numerous factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements, including the following: the ability to recognize the benefits of the acquisition; the frequency and severity of catastrophic and other events; uncertainties in RenaissanceRe’s reserving processes; the lowering or loss of any of the financial strength, claims paying or enterprise wide risk management ratings of RenaissanceRe, its subsidiaries or joint ventures; risks associated with appropriately modeling, pricing for, and contractually addressing new or potential factors in loss emergence; risks that RenaissanceRe or its subsidiaries might be bound to policyholder obligations beyond their underwriting intent; risks relating to RenaissanceRe’s acquisition of Platinum, including risks that RenaissanceRe’s future financial performance may differ from projections, risks relating to integration challenges and costs, and other risks that RenaissanceRe may not be able to effectively manage its expanded operations; risks due to RenaissanceRe’s reliance on a small and decreasing number of reinsurance brokers and other distribution services; risks relating to operating in a highly competitive environment; risks relating to deteriorating market conditions; the risk that customers may fail to make premium payments due to RenaissanceRe; the risk of failures of reinsurers, brokers or other counterparties to honor their obligations to RenaissanceRe; a contention by the United States Internal Revenue Service that Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd., Platinum Underwriters Bermuda, Ltd. or any of RenaissanceRe’s other Bermuda, or non-U.S., subsidiaries, is subject to U.S. taxation; other risks relating to potential adverse tax developments; risks relating to adverse legislative developments; risks associated with RenaissanceRe’s investment portfolios; changes in economic conditions or inflation; and other factors affecting future results disclosed in RenaissanceRe’s filings with the SEC, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus relating to the acquisition.

Comments on Regulation G

In addition to the GAAP financial measures set forth in this Press Release, the Company has included certain non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G. The Company has provided these financial measurements in previous investor communications and the Company’s management believes that these measurements are important to investors and other interested persons, and that investors and such other persons benefit from having a consistent basis for comparison between quarters and for the comparison with other companies within the industry. These measures may not, however, be comparable to similarly titled measures used by companies outside of the insurance industry. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these non-GAAP measures in assessing the Company’s overall financial performance.

The Company uses “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” as a measure to evaluate the underlying fundamentals of its operations and believes it to be a useful measure of its corporate performance. “Operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” as used herein differs from “net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders,” which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, by the exclusion of net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments from continuing and discontinued operations and net other-than-temporary impairments. The Company’s management believes that “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” is useful to investors because it more accurately measures and predicts the Company’s results of operations by removing the variability arising from fluctuations in the Company’s fixed maturity investment portfolio and equity investments trading. The Company also uses “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” to calculate “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted” and “operating return on average common equity - annualized”. The following is a reconciliation of: 1) net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders to operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders; 2) net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted to operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted; and 3) return on average common equity - annualized to operating return on average common equity - annualized:

The Company has also included in this Press Release “managed catastrophe premiums”. “Managed catastrophe premiums” is defined as gross catastrophe premiums written by the Company and its related joint ventures. “Managed catastrophe premiums” differs from total Catastrophe Reinsurance segment gross premiums written, which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, due to the inclusion of catastrophe premiums written on behalf of the Company’s joint venture Top Layer Re, which is accounted for under the equity method of accounting, and the inclusion of catastrophe premiums written on behalf of the Company’s Lloyd’s segment. The Company’s management believes “managed catastrophe premiums” is useful to investors and other interested parties because it provides a measure of total catastrophe premiums assumed by the Company through its consolidated subsidiaries and related joint ventures.

The Company has also included in this Press Release “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends”. “Tangible book value per common share” is defined as book value per common share excluding goodwill and intangible assets per share. “Tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends” is defined as book value per common share excluding goodwill and intangible assets per share, plus accumulated dividends. “Tangible book value per common share” differs from book value per common share, which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, due to the exclusion of goodwill and intangible assets per share. The Company’s management believes “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends” are useful to investors because they provide a more accurate measure of the realizable value of shareholder returns, excluding the impact of goodwill and intangible assets.

The following is a reconciliation of book value per common share to tangible book value per common share and tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends:

INVESTOR CONTACT:
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.
Rohan Pai
Director - Corporate Finance
441-295-4513
or
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kekst and Company
Peter Hill or Dawn Dover
212-521-4800

Source: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

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