PEMBROKE, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2014-- RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) today reported net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders of $67.8 million, or $1.70 per diluted common share, in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $179.7 million, or $4.01, respectively, in the third quarter of 2013. Operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders was $98.9 million, or $2.49 per diluted common share, for the third quarter of 2014, compared to $151.3 million or $3.36, respectively, in the third quarter of 2013. The Company reported an annualized return on average common equity of 8.0% and an annualized operating return on average common equity of 11.7% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to 22.2% and 18.7%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2013. Book value per common share increased $0.99, or 1.2%, in the third quarter of 2014 to $85.78, compared to a 4.5% increase in the third quarter of 2013. Tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends increased 1.5% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to a 4.9% increase in the third quarter of 2013.

Kevin J. O’Donnell, CEO, commented: “For the third quarter we generated an annualized operating ROE of 11.7% and 1.5% growth in tangible book value per share, plus accumulated dividends. Our results reflect our actions to reduce risk and optimize risk-adjusted returns in a difficult market.”

Mr. O’Donnell continued: “In a market that looks set to remain challenging absent a major event, we will continue to provide the capacity, flexibility and scope our clients and partners seek. At the same time, we will maintain the same discipline and focus they have come to appreciate. The investments we have made over the years to develop the platforms and the breadth of products sought by our clients positions us particularly well in this environment.”

THIRD QUARTER 2014 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Company generated underwriting income of $104.8 million and a combined ratio of 59.5% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $151.4 million and 48.6%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2013. The $46.6 million decrease in underwriting income was principally driven by a $35.7 million decrease in net premiums earned, primarily as a result of reduced gross premiums written during the first nine months of 2014, and an $8.7 million increase in net claims and claim expenses.
• Gross premiums written of $201.0 million increased $18.3 million, or 10.0%, in the third quarter of 2014, compared to the third quarter of 2013, with the increase principally driven by the Company’s Lloyd’s and Specialty Reinsurance segments, which experienced an increase of $23.9 million, or 59.8%, and $8.7 million, or 14.5%, respectively, as discussed below. Offsetting the increases in the Company’s Lloyd’s and Specialty Reinsurance segments’ gross premiums written, was a decrease of $14.3 million, or 17.3%, in the Company’s Catastrophe Reinsurance segment.
• The total investment result in the third quarter of 2014 was negative $6.5 million, which includes the sum of net investment income, net realized and unrealized gains on investments and the change in net unrealized gains on fixed maturity investments available for sale, compared to positive $88.2 million in the third quarter of 2013. The negative total investment result was primarily driven by rising interest rates and widening credit spreads in the Company’s fixed maturity investment portfolio which resulted in net unrealized losses, combined with lower returns in the Company’s portfolio of private equity investments, principally driven by weaker returns in the public equity markets during the third quarter of 2014, compared to the third quarter of 2013, partially offset by higher average invested assets during the third quarter of 2014, compared to the third quarter of 2013.
• Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in the third quarter of 2014 was $30.5 million and decreased from $44.3 million in the third quarter of 2013, principally due to a decrease in the profitability of DaVinciRe Holdings Ltd. (“DaVinciRe”), partially offset by a decrease in the Company’s ownership in DaVinciRe to 23.4% at September 30, 2014, compared to 32.9% at September 30, 2013.
• During the third quarter of 2014, the Company repurchased an aggregate of 1.6 million common shares in open market transactions at an aggregate cost of $164.0 million and at an average share price of $100.44.

Underwriting Results by Segment

Catastrophe Reinsurance Segment

Gross premiums written in the Catastrophe Reinsurance segment were $68.3 million in the third quarter of 2014, a decrease of $14.3 million compared to the third quarter of 2013, primarily driven by the continued softening of market conditions and the Company’s underwriting discipline given prevailing terms and conditions.

Managed catastrophe premiums decreased $12.3 million, or 14.0%, to $75.6 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $87.9 million in the third quarter of 2013.

Gross premiums written in the Catastrophe Reinsurance segment were $924.0 million in the first nine months of 2014, a decrease of $214.2 million compared to the first nine months of 2013. For the first nine months of 2014, managed catastrophe premiums totaled $1,009.5 million, a decrease of $216.5 million, or 17.7%, compared to the first nine months of 2013, net of $9.8 million of reinstatement premiums written in the first nine months of 2013, and principally driven by the continued softening of market conditions, including reduced risk-adjusted pricing and reduced participation on certain specific quota share deals.

The Catastrophe Reinsurance segment generated underwriting income of $104.1 million and a combined ratio of 23.9% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $128.9 million and 30.1% in the third quarter of 2013, respectively. The $24.8 million decrease in underwriting income in the third quarter of 2014, compared to the third quarter of 2013, was driven by a $47.7 million decrease in net premiums earned, primarily driven by the decrease in gross premiums written, noted above, partially offset by a $13.4 million decrease in current accident year net claims as a result of the relatively light catastrophe loss quarter, and a $4.2 million increase in favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses.

The Catastrophe Reinsurance segment experienced $10.3 million of favorable development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $6.1 million in the third quarter of 2013.

Specialty Reinsurance Segment

Gross premiums written in the Specialty Reinsurance segment were $68.9 million in the third quarter of 2014, an increase of $8.7 million, or 14.5%, compared to the third quarter of 2013, driven primarily by increases in certain casualty related lines of business.

Gross premiums written in the Specialty Reinsurance segment were $274.7 million in the first nine months of 2014, an increase of $73.7 million, or 36.7%, compared to the first nine months of 2013, driven by the items noted above. Our specialty reinsurance premiums are prone to significant volatility as this business can be influenced by a small number of relatively large transactions.

The Specialty Reinsurance segment generated underwriting income of $5.7 million and a combined ratio of 91.1% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $23.5 million and 62.7% in the third quarter of 2013, respectively. The $17.9 million decrease in underwriting income in the third quarter of 2014, compared to the third quarter of 2013, was driven by a $26.2 million increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses, partially offset by a $12.0 million increase in favorable development on prior accident year net claims and claim expenses. The increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses is due to a higher level of attritional losses primarily due to the increase in net earned premiums. The Specialty Reinsurance segment experienced $14.7 million of favorable development on prior years reserves in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2013, principally due to reported claims activity coming in lower than expected on prior accident years events.

The underwriting expense ratio in the Specialty Reinsurance segment increased 6.2 percentage points to 41.1% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to 34.9% in the third quarter of 2013, primarily due to the relative increase in the percentage of quota share reinsurance premiums, compared to excess of loss reinsurance premiums, as a percentage of total gross premiums written within the Specialty Reinsurance segment, as quota share reinsurance premiums typically carries a higher acquisition expense ratio compared to excess of loss reinsurance, as well as an increase in operational expenses.

Lloyd’s Segment

Gross premiums written in the Lloyd’s segment were $63.9 million in the third quarter of 2014, an increase of $23.9 million, or 59.8%, compared to the third quarter of 2013, primarily due to Syndicate 1458 continuing to grow organically in the Lloyd’s marketplace, principally in its property lines of business, notwithstanding challenging market conditions.

Gross premiums written in the Lloyd’s segment increased $36.0 million, or 19.7%, to $219.0 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared to $183.0 million in the first nine months of 2013, primarily driven by the items noted above.

The Lloyd’s segment incurred an underwriting loss of $5.3 million and a combined ratio of 109.1% in the third quarter of 2014, compared to an underwriting loss of $2.5 million and a combined ratio of 105.3% in the third quarter of 2013, respectively. Impacting the underwriting loss was a $10.9 million increase in net claims and claim expenses driven primarily by attritional net claims and claim expenses and a $3.7 million increase in acquisition expenses, partially offset by an $11.6 million increase in net premiums earned, with the increase in attritional net claims and claim expenses, acquisition expenses and net premiums earned primarily the result of the increase in gross premiums written noted above.

The Lloyd’s segment experienced current accident year net claims and claim expenses of $38.9 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared to $24.9 million in the third quarter of 2013, which increase was principally due to attritional loss activity driven by the increase in net premiums earned noted above.

The adverse development of prior accident years net claims and claim expenses within the Lloyd’s segment of $0.1 million during the third quarter of 2014, compared to $3.3 million of adverse development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses in the third quarter of 2013.

Other Items

• Subsequent to September 30, 2014 and through the period ended November 3, 2014, the Company repurchased 358 thousand common shares in open market transactions at an aggregate cost of $35.7 million and at an average share price of $99.54.

This Press Release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures including “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders”, “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted”, “operating return on average common equity - annualized”, “managed catastrophe premiums”, “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends.” A reconciliation of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures in accordance with Regulation G is presented in the attached supplemental financial data.

Please refer to the “Investor Information - Financial Reports - Financial Supplements” section of the Company’s website at www.renre.com for a copy of the Financial Supplement which includes additional information on the Company’s financial performance.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will host a conference call on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 at 9:00 am (ET) to discuss this release. Live broadcast of the conference call will be available through the “Investor Information - Company Webcasts” section of RenaissanceRe’s website at www.renre.com.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance. The Company’s business consists of three reportable segments: (1) Catastrophe Reinsurance, which includes catastrophe reinsurance and certain property catastrophe joint ventures managed by the Company’s ventures unit; (2) Specialty Reinsurance, which includes specialty reinsurance and certain specialty joint ventures managed by the Company’s ventures unit; and (3) Lloyd’s, which includes reinsurance and insurance business written through RenaissanceRe Syndicate 1458.

Cautionary Statement under “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements made in this earnings release contain information about the Company’s future business prospects. These statements may be considered “forward-looking.” These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. For further information regarding cautionary statements and factors affecting future results, please refer to RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Comments on Regulation G

In addition to the GAAP financial measures set forth in this Press Release, the Company has included certain non-GAAP financial measures in this Press Release within the meaning of Regulation G. The Company has provided these financial measurements in previous investor communications and the Company’s management believes that these measurements are important to investors and other interested persons, and that investors and such other persons benefit from having a consistent basis for comparison between quarters and for the comparison with other companies within the industry. These measures may not, however, be comparable to similarly titled measures used by companies outside of the insurance industry. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these non-GAAP measures in assessing the Company’s overall financial performance.

The Company uses “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” as a measure to evaluate the underlying fundamentals of its operations and believes it to be a useful measure of its corporate performance. “Operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” as used herein differs from “net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders,” which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, by the exclusion of net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments from continuing and discontinued operations and net other-than-temporary impairments. The Company’s management believes that “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” is useful to investors because it more accurately measures and predicts the Company’s results of operations by removing the variability arising from fluctuations in the Company’s fixed maturity investment portfolio and equity investments trading. The Company also uses “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders” to calculate “operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted” and “operating return on average common equity - annualized”. The following is a reconciliation of: 1) net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders to operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders; 2) net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted to operating income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders per common share - diluted; and 3) return on average common equity - annualized to operating return on average common equity - annualized:

The Company has also included in this Press Release “managed catastrophe premiums”. “Managed catastrophe premiums” is defined as gross catastrophe premiums written by the Company and its related joint ventures. “Managed catastrophe premiums” differs from total Catastrophe Reinsurance segment gross premiums written, which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, due to the inclusion of catastrophe premiums written on behalf of the Company’s joint venture Top Layer Re, which is accounted for under the equity method of accounting, and the inclusion of catastrophe premiums written on behalf of the Company’s Lloyd’s segment. The Company’s management believes “managed catastrophe premiums” is useful to investors and other interested parties because it provides a measure of total catastrophe premiums assumed by the Company through its consolidated subsidiaries and related joint ventures.

The Company has also included in this Press Release “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends”. “Tangible book value per common share” is defined as book value per common share excluding goodwill and intangible assets per share. “Tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends” is defined as book value per common share excluding goodwill and intangible assets per share, plus accumulated dividends. “Tangible book value per common share” differs from book value per common share, which the Company believes is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, due to the exclusion of goodwill and intangible assets per share. The Company’s management believes “tangible book value per common share” and “tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends” are useful to investors because they provide a more accurate measure of the realizable value of shareholder returns, excluding the impact of goodwill and intangible assets.

The following is a reconciliation of book value per common share to tangible book value per common share and tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends:

Source: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

INVESTOR:
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.
Rohan Pai
Director - Corporate Finance
441-295-4513
or
MEDIA:
Kekst and Company
Peter Hill or Dawn Dover
212-521-4800