Mercury General Reports Net Income of $46.2 Million

Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp. has reported net income of $46.2 million or $0.84 per share-diluted in the fourth quarter of 2005 compared with $74.1 million or $1.36 per share-diluted for the same period in 2004. For the year, net income was $253.3 million compared to net income of $286.2 million for the same period in 2004.

Company-wide net premiums written were $728 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, an 8 percent increase over fourth quarter 2004 net premiums written of $674.2 million, and were approximately $3 billion for the year, an 11.5 percent increase over the same period in 2004. California net premiums written were $529.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, an increase of 7 percent over the same period in 2004, and were approximately $2.1 billion for the year, a 6 percent increase over the same period in 2004.

The company’s combined ratio was 96 percent in the fourth quarter and 92.4 percent for the year compared with 88.6 percent and 89.2 percent, respectively, for the same periods in 2004. During the fourth quarter of 2005, the loss ratio increased by 3.3 points for losses caused by Hurricane Wilma.

Topics Profit Loss