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FedNat Holding Company Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

SUNRISE, Fla., May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FedNat Holding Company (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: FNHC) today reported results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Q1 2021 highlights (as measured against the same three-month period last year, except where noted):

Mr. Michael H. Braun, FedNat’s Chief Executive Officer, said “Our first quarter results were impacted by higher-than-expected catastrophe losses primarily from Winter Storm Uri which caused heavy residential damage in Texas in February. I want to thank our dedicated staff for continuing to demonstrate FedNat’s commitment to providing our policyholders and partner agents with the highest quality service in their time of need.”

Mr. Braun continued, “This winter storm was the sixth severe weather event to impact FedNat since July 1, which has resulted in challenging times for the Company financially. To meet these challenges, FedNat took action to conserve liquidity at the holding company and maintain appropriate capital positions at our insurance companies. FedNat recently completed two capital raising transactions which raised gross proceeds of $38 million and purchased additional reinsurance coverage to help provide more protection and statutory surplus relief for our insurance companies. We continue to execute on our initiatives to improve the profitability of our homeowners business and build long-term value, including implementation of rate increases in both our Florida and non-Florida markets and reducing our Florida book of business until rates are more adequate. Based on the in-force book as of the fourth quarter of 2020, these rate increases would contribute over $90 million in incremental gross earned premium in 2021 and over $230 million of cumulative incremental premium in 2021 and 2022, as compared to 2020, when fully earned out in the first quarter of 2022. However, these multiple rate increases afford us the opportunity to hold our total in-force premiums flat while reducing our total policy counts and total insured values.”

Mr. Braun further added, “Insurance legislation was recently passed in Florida and now awaits the governor’s signature. We are hopeful that this legislation will slow the persistently increasing cost of operating in Florida; however, we will remain cautious until we see evidence of potential benefits over the second half of 2021. In addition, as a result of our continued exposure management efforts to reduce our property exposures, we expect a reduction in the total spend on our catastrophe reinsurance program beginning July 1, 2021 due to our smaller portfolio of business. While we recognize there is pressure on reinsurance pricing, particularly on the working layers of our program, our lower anticipated total reinsurance spend beginning July 1 is a direct result of our smaller book of business, along with the cost of our recent subsequent purchases being fully recognized by June 30.”

Revenues

Expenses

Subsequent Events

Non-GAAP Performance Measures

Non United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures do not replace the most directly comparable GAAP measures and we have included detailed reconciliations thereof on page 10.

We exclude the after-tax (using our statutory income tax rate) effects of the following items from GAAP net income (loss) to arrive at adjusted operating income (loss):

We also exclude the pre-tax effect of the first bullet above from GAAP revenues to arrive at adjusted operating revenues.

Management believes these non-GAAP performance measures allow for a better understanding of the underlying trend in our business, as the excluded items are not necessarily indicative of our operating fundamentals or performance.

Similarly, we exclude accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“AOCI”) from book value per share to arrive at book value per share, excluding AOCI.

Conference Call Information

The Company will hold an investor conference call at 9:00 AM (ET) Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The Company’s CEO, Michael Braun and its CFO, Ronald Jordan will discuss the financial results and review the outlook for the Company. Messrs. Braun and Jordan invite interested parties to participate in the conference call.

Listeners interested in participating in the Q&A session may access the conference call as follows:

Toll-Free Dial-in: (877) 303-6913

Conference ID: 6396507

A live webcast of the call will be available online via the “Conference Calls” section of the Company’s website at FedNat.com or interested parties can click on the following link:

Conference Calls

Please call at least five minutes in advance to ensure that you are connected prior to the presentation. A webcast replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the live webcast is completed and may be accessed via the Company’s website.

About the Company

FedNat Holding Company is a regional insurance holding company that controls substantially all aspects of the insurance underwriting, distribution and claims processes through our subsidiaries and contractual relationships with independent agents and general agents. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries FedNat Insurance Company, Maison Insurance Company and Monarch National Insurance Company, is focused on providing homeowners insurance in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi. More information is available at https://www.fednat.com/investor-relations/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Safe harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those discussed herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “budget,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “envision,” “estimate,” “expect,” “guidance,” “indicate,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possibly,” “potential,” “predict,” “probably,” “pro-forma,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” or “will” or the negative or other variations thereof, and similar words or phrases or comparable terminology, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements might also include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

The risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to estimates, assumptions and projections generally; the nature of the Company’s business; the adequacy of its reserves for losses and loss adjustment expense; claims experience; weather conditions (including the severity and frequency of storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and hail) and other catastrophic losses; reinsurance costs and the ability of reinsurers to indemnify the Company; raising additional capital and our compliance with minimum capital and surplus requirements; potential assessments that support property and casualty insurance pools and associations; the effectiveness of internal financial controls; the effectiveness of our underwriting, pricing and related loss limitation methods; changes in loss trends, including as a result of insureds’ assignment of benefits; court decisions and trends in litigation; our potential failure to pay claims accurately; ability to obtain regulatory approval applications for requested rate increases, or to underwrite in additional jurisdictions, and the timing thereof; the impact that the results of our subsidiaries’ operations may have on our results of operations; inflation and other changes in economic conditions (including changes in interest rates and financial markets); pricing competition and other initiatives by competitors; legislative and regulatory developments; the outcome of litigation pending against the Company, and any settlement thereof; dependence on investment income and the composition of the Company’s investment portfolio; insurance agents; ratings by industry services; the reliability and security of our information technology systems; reliance on key personnel; acts of war and terrorist activities; and other matters described from time to time by the Company in releases and publications, and in periodic reports and other documents filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, investors should be aware that generally accepted accounting principles prescribe when a company may reserve for particular risks, including claims and litigation exposures. Accordingly, results for a given reporting period could be significantly affected if and when a reserve is established for a contingency. Reported results may therefore appear to be volatile in certain accounting periods.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.

Contacts

Michael H. Braun, CEO (954) 308-1322,
Ronald Jordan, CFO (954) 308-1363,
Bernard Kilkelly, Investor Relations (954) 308-1409,
or investorrelations@fednat.com

FEDNAT HOLDING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Financial Highlights
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

    As of or For the
    Three Months Ended March 31,
    2021   2020   % Change
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Shareholders            
Net income (loss)   $ (19,381 )     $ 2,133       (1,008.6 ) %
Adjusted operating income (loss)   (19,415 )     4,320       (549.4 ) %
             
Per Common Share            
Net income (loss) – diluted   $ (1.35 )     $ 0.15       (1,003.4 ) %
Adjusted operating income (loss) – diluted   (1.35 )     0.30       (546.8 ) %
Dividends declared         0.09       (100.0 ) %
Book value   8.50       17.15       (50.4 ) %
Book value, excluding AOCI   8.26       16.70       (50.6 ) %
             
Return to Shareholders            
Repurchases of common stock   $       $ 6,750       NCM
Dividends declared         1,302       (100.0 )   %
    $       $ 8,052       (100.0 )   %
             
Revenue            
Total revenues   $ 52,748       $ 115,699       (54.4 ) %
Adjusted operating revenues   52,656       118,524       (55.6 ) %
Gross premiums written   174,207       172,962       0.7   %
Gross premiums earned   179,002       175,574       2.0   %
Net premiums earned   39,745       105,910       (62.5 ) %
             
Ratios to Net Premiums Earned            
Net loss ratio   120.8   %   65.1   %    
Net expense ratio   68.2   %   40.2   %    
Combined ratio   189.0   %   105.3   %    
             
In-Force Homeowners Policies            
Florida   197,000       240,000       (17.9 ) %
Non-Florida   149,000       140,000       6.4   %
    346,000       380,000       (8.9 ) %

FEDNAT HOLDING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statement of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2021   2020
Revenues:        
Net premiums earned   $ 39,745       $ 105,910    
Net investment income   1,674       3,892    
Net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses)   92       (2,825 )  
Direct written policy fees   3,315       3,466    
Other income   7,922       5,256    
Total revenues   52,748       115,699    
         
Costs and expenses:        
Losses and loss adjustment expenses   48,016       68,930    
Commissions and other underwriting expenses   21,031       36,355    
General and administrative expenses   6,066       6,245    
Interest expense   1,926       1,915    
Total costs and expenses   77,039       113,445    
         
Income (loss) before income taxes   (24,291 )     2,254    
Income tax expense (benefit)   (4,910 )     121    
  Net income (loss)   $ (19,381 )     $ 2,133    
         
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share        
Basic   $ (1.35 )     $ 0.15    
Diluted   (1.35 )     0.15    
         
Weighted Average Number of Shares of Common Stock Outstanding        
Basic   14,395       14,249    
Diluted   14,395       14,312    
         
Dividends Declared Per Common Share   $       $ 0.09    

FEDNAT HOLDING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Operating Metrics
(Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2021   2020
     
    (In thousands)
Gross premiums written:        
Homeowners Florida   $ 111,969       $ 111,547    
Homeowners non-Florida   57,909       57,942    
Federal flood   4,389       3,660    
Non-core   (60 )     (187 )  
Total gross premiums written   $ 174,207       $ 172,962    
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2021   2020
     
    (In thousands)
Gross premiums earned:        
Homeowners Florida   $ 109,426       $ 116,100    
Homeowners non-Florida   64,923       55,525    
Federal flood   4,713       4,136    
Non-core   (60 )     (187 )  
Total gross premiums earned   $ 179,002       $ 175,574    
   Three Months Ended
   March 31,
   2021   2020
     
   (In thousands)
Net premiums earned:        
Homeowners Florida   $ 23,091       $ 68,054    
Homeowners non-Florida   16,714       38,043    
Non-core   (60 )     (187 )  
Total net premiums earned   $ 39,745       $ 105,910    

FEDNAT HOLDING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Operating Metrics (continued)
(Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended
   March 31,
   2021   2020
     
   (In thousands)
Commissions and other underwriting expenses:        
Homeowners Florida   $ 12,399       $ 13,827    
All others   11,691       11,618    
Ceding commissions   (19,460 )     (2,899 )  
Total commissions   4,630       22,546    
         
Fees   1,335       1,114    
Salaries and wages   3,572       3,598    
Other underwriting expenses   11,494       9,097    
Total commissions and other underwriting expenses   $ 21,031       $ 36,355    
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2021   2020
         
Net loss ratio   120.8 %   65.1 %
Net expense ratio   68.2 %   40.2 %
Combined ratio   189.0 %   105.3 %
Gross loss ratio   96.3 %   113.1 %
Gross expense ratio   26.0 %   25.9 %

FEDNAT HOLDING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Balance Sheet
(Unaudited)

    March 31,   December 31,
    2021   2020
     
ASSETS   (In thousands)
Investments:        
Debt securities, available-for-sale, at fair value   $ 411,718       $ 488,210    
Equity securities, at fair value   3,106       3,157    
Total investments   414,824       491,367    
Cash and cash equivalents   69,694       102,367    
Prepaid reinsurance premiums   217,068       278,272    
Premiums receivable, net of allowance   40,762       50,803    
Reinsurance recoverable, net   439,544       413,026    
Deferred acquisition costs, net   23,976       25,405    
Current and deferred income taxes, net   38,666       35,035    
Other assets   41,191       32,262    
Total assets   $ 1,285,725       $ 1,428,537    
        
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
Liabilities        
Loss and loss adjustment expense reserves   $ 486,713       $ 540,367    
Unearned premiums   361,995       366,789    
Reinsurance payable and funds withheld liabilities   136,795       202,827    
Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs   98,724       98,683    
Deferred revenue   6,909       7,187    
Other liabilities   47,480       54,524    
Total liabilities   1,138,616       1,270,377    
Shareholders’ Equity        
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value: 1,000,000 shares authorized            
Common stock, $0.01 par value: 25,000,000 shares authorized; 17,313,461 and 13,717,908 shares issued and outstanding, respectively   173       137    
Additional paid-in capital   184,792       169,298    
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)   4,186       11,386    
Retained earnings (deficit)   (42,042 )     (22,661 )  
Total shareholders’ equity   147,109       158,160    
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 1,285,725       $ 1,428,537    

FEDNAT HOLDING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

    As of or For the
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2021   2020
Revenue        
Total revenues   $ 52,748       $ 115,699    
Less:        
Net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses)   92       (2,825 )  
Adjusted operating revenues   $ 52,656       $ 118,524    
         
Net Income (Loss)        
Net income (loss)   $ (19,381 )     $ 2,133    
Less:        
Net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses)   73       (2,132 )  
Acquisition and strategic costs   (9 )     (27 )  
Amortization of identifiable intangibles   (30 )     (28 )  
Adjusted operating income (loss)   $ (19,415 )     $ 4,320    
         
Income tax rate assumed for reconciling items above   21.00   %   24.52   %
         
Per Common Share        
Book value   $ 8.50       $ 17.15    
Less:        
AOCI   0.24       0.45    
Book value, excluding AOCI   $ 8.26       $ 16.70    

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