W R Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB) stock rose 2.03% (As on January 28, 11:23:51 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations. Net income for the quarter increased 45% YoY to $576 million, while operating income rose 15.5% to a record $453 million. The company reported a combined ratio of 90.2% for the quarter. Gross premiums written increased 8.2% YoY to $3.50 billion in Q4. For the full year 2024, gross premiums written grew 9.6% to a record $14.2 billion. The company noted that average rate increases excluding workers’ compensation were approximately 7.7% in the fourth quarter. W.R. Berkley returned $287.8 million to shareholders during the quarter through dividends and share repurchases. The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 2.6 loss ratio points was 87.7%, and the reported combined ratio was 90.2%. Average rate increases excluding workers’ compensation were approximately 7.7%. Operating cash flow increased 16.0% to $810.0 million. In fiscal 2024, the return on equity and operating return on equity of 23.6% and 22.4%, respectively and Book value per share grew 23.5%, before dividends and share repurchases.
Moreover, regarding investments, the core portfolio increased 9.4% to $313 million. And at the end of 2024 we had cash and cash equivalents of almost $2 billion. Net investment gains were primarily driven by favorable market value movements in common and preferred equity securities. Investments in the energy and certain financial services sectors led to the $163 million unrealized gain
WRB in the fourth quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.13, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 99 cents. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 35.9 percent to $3.01 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $2.98 billion. Net investment income also saw a significant increase of 26.6%, reaching a record $1.3 billion.
Looking ahead, management expressed confidence in delivering “superior long-term risk-adjusted returns and enhanced shareholder value in 2025 and beyond” given the favorable property and casualty insurance and investment environments.
The company has positioned the investment portfolio well for changes in the environment, which resulted in robust growth in net investment income from our fixed-maturity portfolio and a strong contribution to total return from net unrealized gains on our equity portfolio. Current reinvestment rates continue to exceed the annual book yield.