A 46.6 Percent in Net Earnings for Optimum General Inc. in 1996.MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 1997--OPTIMUM GENERAL (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). ;ME OGI OGI Oregon Graduate Institute OGI Office of Geographic Information OGI Ola Grimsby Institute OGI Overlapping Global Interval .A) In its first fiscal year as a public company, Optimum General Inc. has announced that its net earnings reached a new high of $9.4 million, compared to $6.4 million in 1995, an increase of 46.6 percent. The earnings per share were $0.93, compared to $0.72 in 1995. Return on shareholders' equity Shareholders' Equity A firms' total assets minus its total liabilities. Equivalently, it is share capital plus retained earnings minus treasury shares. Shareholders' equity is the amount by which a company is financed through common and preferred shares. was at 29.5 percent in 1996. "Despite sluggish economic growth and a higher than average number of weather-related natural disasters in Canada This is a list of disasters (man-made and natural) in Canada arranged by date.
The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , adding that the Company's good performance is attributable in good part to its strategy of favouring market niches that offer a high level of profitability and potential for expansion. Investment income for 1996 stands at $9.7 million, compared to $4.6 million the previous year. On December 31, 1996, the Company's investment portfolio showed a book value of $108.8 million, an increase of $32.9 million over December 31, 1995. In addition, on December 31, 1996, the market value of the investment portfolio was $113.6 million, or $4.8 million more than its book value, which represents a potential gain of the same amount. Net earned premiums, which represent the Company's underwriting income Underwriting income For an insurance company, the difference between the premiums earned and the costs of settling claims. , increased by 19.7 percent, from $96.5 million to $115.5 million. However, this growth remains below forecast, since the increase in rates was lower than anticipated and the effect of 1995 acquisitions was less than expected. Gross written premiums rose to $165.7 million in 1996. The claims ratio was 58.5 percent in 1996, compared to 59.2 percent the year before. This improvement was achieved despite an unusually high number of natural disasters in Canada in 1996. The Company's combined ratio rose to 95.8 percent, an increase of 2 percent over 1995. The Company is therefore showing underwriting profit Underwriting profit is a term used in the insurance industry. It consists of the earned premium remaining after losses have been paid and administrative expenses have been deducted. It does not include any investment income earned on held premiums. from its insurance operations for the third year in a row. Optimum General Inc. is a Canadian company that underwrites property and casualty insurance in Canada through its four subsidiaries: The British Columbia Insurance Company in British Columbia and Alberta; National Frontier Insurance Company in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan; National Insurance Company Inc. in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and Optimum Farm Insurance Inc. in Quebec. Optimum General's shares trade on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges Montreal Stock Exchange See Bourse de Montreal, Inc. (Canadian Derivatives Exchange) , under the ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors OGI.A. -0-
Financial Highlights
in thousands of dollars, except for per-share data
Year ended December 31
12 months
1996 1996 1995
Forecast Actual Actual
________ ______ ______
Net earned premiums 132,300 115,500 96,500
Net earnings 10,900 9,400 6,400
Net earnings per share 1.08 0.93 0.72
Claims ratio (percent) 55.8 58.5 59.2
Expense ratio (percent) 36.0 37.3 34.6
Combined ratio (percent) 91.8 95.8 93.8
________ _______ _______
CONTACT: Optimum General Inc. Yvon Trepanier, 514/288-8725 or Optimum General Inc. Andre Nadon, 514/288-8725 REPEATS: New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of 212-752-9600 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-236-4266 or |
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