W.R. Berkley stock slips over 3% on Q3 top-line miss

Investing.com -- W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE: WRB) reported third quarter results that beat earnings expectations but missed on revenue, sending shares down 3.4% in after hours trading.

The commercial insurance company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.17, topping the analyst consensus of $1.15. However, revenue of $3.74 billion fell short of the $3.82 billion estimate. Revenue increased 1.8% YoY from $3.16 billion in the prior-year quarter. The company reported net income of $446.0 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, compared with $511.0 million, or $1.28 per share, a year earlier.

W.R. Berkley achieved an 18.4% return on equity and an 18.8% operating return on equity for the quarter. The Insurance segment’s pre-tax underwriting income grew 10.6% to $237.7 million. Net investment income rose to $383.5 million, driven by a 12.0% increase in the core portfolio. The company’s combined ratio improved to 90.8% from 90.9% in the year-ago period, with a current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 88.1%.

"The Company delivered another excellent quarter, generating an annualized 18.8% operating return on beginning-of-year stockholders’ equity," said W. Robert Berkley, Jr., chairman, chief executive officer, and president. "These results demonstrate the continuing strength in how we manage our specialty insurance underwriting, as well as our investment portfolio."

Gross premiums written increased 3.0% to $3.95 billion, while net premiums written rose 1.3% to $3.27 billion. Average rate increases excluding workers’ compensation were approximately 4.0%.

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