RenRe Posts $105M NOI in 4thQ; $365M Operating Profit for 2002

Bermuda’s RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. posted $105 million in fourth quarter net operating income available to common shareholders (excluding realized investment gains and losses) compared to $46.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2001.

RenRe’s net operating income available to common shareholders (excluding realized gains and losses on investments and excluding the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle) for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002, was $365.2 million or $5.20 per share, compared to $146.3 million or $2.34 per share in 2001.

It also announced that “Net income available to common shareholders for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002 was $364.8 million or $5.20 per share, compared to $164.4 million or $2.63 per share in 2001.

Other highlights noted in the earnings report included:
*Managed Catastrophe Premium Increases by 67 percent for the Full Year 2002
*Individual Risk Premium Grows to $260 million in 2002 Compared to $50 million in 2001
*Specialty Reinsurance Premium Grows to $247 million in 2002 Compared to $77 million in 2001
*Records 35% Growth in Book Value per Share and 29 percent Operating ROE for the Full Year 2002

The property reinsurer estimates that operating earnings per share (EPS) will be between $5.30 to $5.70 for 2003, “an Increase of over 25 percent above Normalized 2002 Operating EPS.” Operating earnings per share grew to $1.49 in the fourth quarter, from $0.69 per share in the fourth quarter of the previous year, while net income available to common shareholders rose to $102.2 million or $1.45 per share in the quarter, compared to $49.2 million or $0.73 per share for the same quarter of 2001.

Ren Re’s chairman and CEO James Stanard noted, “2002 was an outstanding year for RenaissanceRe by any measure. Our premiums more than doubled, we had a record $365 million in operating profits, and our 29 percent return on equity enabled us to record a tenth consecutive year of industry-leading returns. We continued to expand our leadership in our core catastrophe reinsurance business and substantially grew in specialty reinsurance and individual risk.”

Stanard added that the projected operating earnings per share in 2003, “assuming normal loss activity,” would represent “over 25 percent earnings growth when compared to normalized results for 2002 of $4.20 per share, which is net of an estimated $1.00 per share of benefit from the low catastrophe loss activity of 2002. 2003 is already off to a strong start as we had a very successful January 1 renewal season in our reinsurance business and we are continuing to grow our Individual Risk business. We expect significant growth in written premium for the first quarter.”