United Fire Group Slips To Loss In Q4 - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - United Fire Group, Inc. (UFCS) on Wednesday reported that its fourth-quarter consolidated net loss, including net realized investment gains and losses, was $29.34 million or $1.17 per share, compared to consolidated net income of $45.99 million or $1.81 per share in the same period in 2017.

The company recognized net realized investment losses from continuing operations of $27.6 million in the quarter, compared to net realized investment gains of $0.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

The change in net realized investment gains and losses for the quarter compared to the same period in 2017 was primarily due to a decrease of $27.6 million in the fair value of the company's equity securities investments.

Consolidated adjusted operating loss for the quarter was $0.30 per share, compared to consolidated adjusted operating income of $1.78 per share in the year-ago period.

Total revenues for the quarter declined 16.5 percent to $252.06 million from $301.74 million a year ago.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.23 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net premiums written rose 1.2 percent to $253.55 million from $250.46 million in the same period last year.