Ohio Casualty Corp. reported lower quarterly profit as it took lower gains from investments, but it beat analysts’ forecasts as premium prices rose.
The Fairfield, Ohio-based property/casualty insurer reported fourth-quarter profit of $29.1 million, or 48 cents a share. That’s compared with $41.8 million, or 69 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2001.
Excluding realized gains, it reported 28 cents a share operating profit. Wall Street expected 20 cents a share, according to analysts polled by research firm Thomson First Call.
Ohio Casualty shares rose 87 cents, or 7 percent, to $12.95 in Nasdaq trading.
Net fourth-quarter premiums for all lines were $347.8 million, 1.2 percent better than the $343.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. But for the year, premiums were down 1.6 percent from about $1.47 billion in 2001 to about $1.45 billion in 2002.
In other news, Howard L. Sloneker III will not seek re-election as a member of the company’s board of directors. He’ll step down at the corporation’s annual shareholders meeting April 16.
Topics Profit Loss Ohio Casualty
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