EX-99.1 2 d717778dex991.htm EX-99.1 EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Heritage Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2018 Results

Clearwater, FL – March 1, 2019: Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRTG) (“Heritage” or the “Company”), a property and casualty insurance holding company, today reported its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights

 

   

Fourth quarter 2018 net income of $3.9 million ($0.15 per diluted share); full year 2018 net income of $27.2 million ($1.04 per diluted share).

 

   

Retired $155.4 million of debt, while borrowing $114.2 million at a lower interest rate, resulting in over $7 million of annual pre-tax interest savings and lower financial leverage. Quarter-to-date in first quarter 2019, repurchased an incremental $5.8 million principal amount of convertible notes and paid down $10.0 million of revolving credit facility debt, further reducing interest expense and financial leverage; 83% of the convertible notes issued in 2017 have been repurchased, leaving only $23.4 million in principal amount outstanding held by third parties.

 

   

Expanded Commercial residential product to New Jersey, reflecting revenue synergy associated with NBIC acquisition.

 

   

Launched partnership with Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Company, to provide discounts for bundled coastal homeowners and auto policies with NBIC.

 

   

Focus on underwriting profitability drove a 2.0% year-over-year premiums-in-force reduction to $923.7 million at fourth quarter 2018.

 

   

$1.3 million of favorable prior year reserve development in the quarter.

 

   

Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, bringing total dividends declared to $6.4 million and total capital returned to shareholders to $8.4 million for the full year.

Bruce Lucas, the Company’s Chairman and CEO, said, “In the fourth quarter, we enhanced our capital structure, meaningfully reducing interest expense, our debt-to-capital ratio and short interest in our shares. We also received an investment grade issuer rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, reflecting our balance sheet strength and favorable operating results. These moves make us a stronger competitor in the markets we operate in, allowing us to more nimbly respond to new business opportunities as they arise, while reducing volatility for our shareholders. Overall, 2018 was an impressive year – we achieved solid profitability despite experiencing three hurricanes and substantial winter storm activity across our multi-state footprint, and incurring non-core charges related to our business acquisition, debt refinancing and NBIC headquarters relocation activities. Our vertically integrated structure continues to serve as an attractive hedge in storm years and our underwriting initiatives are bearing fruit. In 2018, we also became licensed in two new states and expanded Contractors’ Alliance Network and our commercial residential products to the northeast. Our underwriting efforts in areas prone to assignment of benefits (AoB) abuse are benefiting claims trends and we continue to pursue rate increases across our platform where necessary to achieve appropriate margins. I am pleased to report that we launched our much anticipated partnership with Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Company, in the Northeast where we will provide discounts for bundled home and auto policies in coastal zones. I believe we are well positioned to execute our organic growth strategy in 2019 and look forward to the year ahead.”


Results of Operations

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 (amounts in thousands, except percentages and per share amounts):

 

     Three Months Ended December 31,     Year Ended December 31,        
     2018           2017           Change           2018           2017           Change        

Revenue

   $ 124,879       $ 108,618         15       %     $ 480,171       $ 406,623         18       %  

Net (loss)/income

   $ 3,928       $ (5,048       NM       $ 27,155       $ (1,119       NM    

Per share

     0.15       $ (0.18       NM       $ 1.04       $ (0.04       NM    

Book value per share

   $ 14.43       $ 14.67         (2     %     $ 14.43       $ 14.67         (2     %  

Return on equity

     3.9       %       (1.5     %       5.4       pts       6.7       %       (0.3     %       7.0       pts  

Underwriting summary

                        

Gross premiums written

   $ 221,706       $ 169,720         31       %     $ 923,349       $ 625,565         48       %  

Gross premiums earned

   $ 234,028       $ 183,279         28       %     $ 926,326       $ 643,304         44       %  

Ceded premiums earned

   $ (115,396     $ (81,551       42       %     $ (472,144     $ (263,740       79       %  

Net premiums earned

     118,632       $ 101,728         17       %     $ 454,182       $ 379,564         20       %  

Ceded premium ratio

     49.3       %       44.5       %       4.8       pts       51.0       %       41.0       %       10.0       pts  

Ratios to Net Premiums Earned:

                        

Loss ratio

     50.3       %       44.0       %       6.3       pts       52.3       %       53.1       %       (0.8     pts  

Expense ratio

     36.1       %       40.0       %       (3.9     pts       38.1       %       41.0       %       (2.9     pts  

Combined ratio

     86.4       %       84.0       %       2.4       pts       90.4       %       94.1       %       (3.7     pts  

*NM stands for not meaningful

Ratios

Ceded premium ratio. Our ceded premium ratio represents ceded premiums as a percentage of gross premiums earned.

Gross loss ratio. Our gross loss ratio represents net losses and loss adjustment expenses as a percentage of gross premiums earned.

Net loss ratio. Our net loss ratio represents net losses and loss adjustment expenses as a percentage of net premiums earned.

Gross expense ratio. Our gross expense ratio represents policy acquisition costs and general and administrative expenses (“G&A”) as a percentage of gross premiums earned. Ceding commission income is reported as a reduction of policy acquisition costs and G&A expenses.

Net expense ratio. Our net expense ratio represents policy acquisition costs and G&A expenses as a percentage of net premiums earned. Ceding commission income is reported as a reduction of policy acquisition costs and G&A expenses.

Combined ratios. Our gross combined ratio represents the sum of ceded premiums, net losses and loss adjustment expenses, policy acquisition costs and G&A expenses as a percentage of gross premiums earned. Our net combined ratio represents the

sum of net losses and loss adjustment expenses, policy acquisition costs and G&A expenses as a percentage of net premiums

earned. The combined ratio is the key measure of underwriting performance traditionally used in the property and casualty industry. A combined ratio under 100% generally reflects profitable underwriting results.


Quarterly Financial Results

Net income (loss) for fourth quarter 2018 was $3.9 million compared to $(5.0) million for the prior year quarter. The increase primarily reflects a $34.1 million non-cash, non-deductible charge associated with convertible debt in the prior year quarter and income from hurricane mitigation activity in the current year quarter, partly offset by higher retained catastrophe losses ($17.7 million pre-tax in fourth quarter 2018 vs. $0.4 million in the prior year quarter) and $11.3 million of previously disclosed pre-tax non-core expenses in the current year quarter.

Gross premiums written were $221.7 million in fourth quarter 2018, up 30.6% from $169.7 million in the prior year quarter. The increase stems from inclusion of a full quarter of Narragansett Bay Insurance Company (“NBIC”), acquired on November 30, 2017, partly offset by a decrease in Florida premiums related to exposure management efforts aimed largely at the Tri-County region.

Gross premiums earned were $234.0 million in fourth quarter 2018, up 27.7% from $183.3 million in the prior year quarter. This increase stems from the same items impacting gross premiums written.

The ceded premium ratio was 49.3% in fourth quarter 2018, up 4.8 points from 44.5% in the prior year quarter. The increase is attributable to inclusion of a full quarter of NBIC, which has a higher ceded premium ratio than the legacy Heritage entities due to its quota share reinsurance agreements. Excluding NBIC, the Company’s ceded premium ratio would have improved by 2.6 points year-over-year in fourth quarter 2018, reflecting reinsurance synergies and exposure management efforts.

The net loss ratio was 50.3% in fourth quarter 2018, up 6.3 points from 44.0% in the prior year quarter. The increase relates primarily to a higher ceded premium ratio in the current year quarter due to inclusion of a full quarter of the NBIC quota share reinsurance program, higher retained catastrophe losses and a more conservative initial accident quarter loss pick, partially offset by better reserve development and higher hurricane mitigation income.

The net expense ratio was 36.1% in fourth quarter 2018, down 3.9 points from 40.0% in the prior year quarter. The decrease relates primarily to the benefit of a full quarter of ceding commission income related to the NBIC quota share reinsurance program and lower incurred expenses in the current year quarter.

The net combined ratio was 86.4% in fourth quarter 2018, up 2.4 points from 84.0% in fourth quarter 2017. The increase stems from a higher net loss ratio, partly offset by a lower net expense ratio, as described above.

The 41.4% fourth quarter 2018 effective tax rate is above prevailing statutory tax rates in our operating jurisdictions due to the combined impact of permanent differences and limited pre-tax income.

Full Year Financial Results

Net income (loss) was $27.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $(1.0) million for the prior year. The increase primarily reflects net income associated with inclusion of a full year of NBIC, income from hurricane mitigation activity and the prior year’s inclusion of a $42.2 million non-cash, non-deductible charge related to convertible debt, partly offset by $17.9 million of non-core pre-tax charges and higher retained weather losses in the current year. Gross premiums earned were $926.3 million in 2018 compared to $643.3 million in 2017. The net combined ratio was 90.4% for 2018 compared to 94.1% in 2017.


Book Value Analysis

Book value per share decreased 1.6% to $14.43 at December 31, 2018 compared to the prior year.

 

     As Of  
Book Value Per Share    December 31,
2018
     December 31,
2017
     December 31,
2016
 

Numerator:

        

Common stockholders’ equity

   $ 425,333      $ 379,816      $ 357,959  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Denominator:

        

Total Shares Outstanding

     29,477,756        25,885,004        28,840,443  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Book Value Per Common Share

   $ 14.43      $ 14.67      $ 12.41  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Conference Call Details:

Monday, March 4, 2019 – 8:30 a.m. ET

Participant Dial-in Numbers Toll Free: 1-888-346-3095

Participant International Dial In: 1-412-902-4258

Canada Toll Free: 1-855-669-9657

Webcast:

To listen to the live webcast, please go to http://investors.heritagepci.com/. This webcast will be archived and accessible on the Company’s website.


HERITAGE INSURANCE HOLDINGS, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Amounts in thousands, except share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

     December 31,  
     2018     2017  

ASSETS

    

Fixed maturity securities, available for sale, at fair value

   $ 509,649     $ 549,796  

Equity securities, available for sale, at fair value

     16,456       17,217  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total investments

     526,105       567,013  

Cash and cash equivalents

     250,117       153,697  

Restricted cash

     12,253       20,833  

Accrued investment income

     4,468       5,057  

Premiums receivable, net

     57,000       67,757  

Reinsurance recoverable on paid and unpaid claims

     317,930       357,357  

Prepaid reinsurance premiums

     233,071       227,764  

Income taxes receivable

     35,586       37,338  

Deferred policy acquisition costs, net

     73,055       41,678  

Property and equipment, net

     17,998       18,748  

Intangibles, net

     76,850       101,626  

Goodwill

     152,459       152,459  

Other assets

     11,821       19,883  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Assets

   $ 1,768,713     $ 1,771,210  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

    

Unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses

   $ 432,359     $ 470,083  

Unearned premiums

     472,357       475,334  

Reinsurance payable

     166,975       17,577  

Long-term debt, net

     148,794       184,405  

Deferred income tax

     7,705       34,333  

Advance premiums

     20,000       23,648  

Accrued compensation

     9,226       16,477  

Accounts payable and other liabilities

     85,964       169,537  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Liabilities

   $ 1,343,380     $ 1,391,394  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Stockholders’ Equity:

    

Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, 30,083,559 shares issued and 29,477,756 outstanding at December 31, 2018 and 26,560,004 shares issued and 25,885,004 outstanding at December 31, 2017

     3       3  

Additional paid-in capital

     325,292       294,836  

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (6,527     (3,064

Treasury stock, at cost, 7,214,797 shares at December 31, 2018 and 7,099,597 sharesat December 31, 2017

     (89,185     (87,185

Retained earnings

     195,750       175,226  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Stockholders’ Equity

     425,333       379,816  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

   $ 1,768,713     $ 1,771,210  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 


HERITAGE INSURANCE HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Income and Other Comprehensive Income

(Amounts in thousands, except per share and share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

     Three Months Ended
December 31,
    Year Ended December 31,  
     2018     2017     2018     2017  

REVENUE:

        

Gross premiums written

   $ 221,706     $ 169,720     $ 923,349     $ 625,565  

Change in gross unearned premiums

     12,322       13,559       2,977       17,739  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross premiums earned

     234,028       183,279       926,326       643,304  

Ceded premiums

     (115,396     (81,551     (472,144     (263,740
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net premiums earned

     118,632       101,728       454,182       379,564  

Net investment income

     3,576       3,122       13,280       11,332  

Net realized (losses) gains

     (1,242     (447     (2,477     564  

Other revenue

     3,912       4,215       15,186       15,163  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

     124,878       108,618       480,171       406,623  

EXPENSES:

        

Losses and loss adjustment expenses

     59,650       44,754       237,425       201,482  

Policy acquisition costs

     26,499       17,806       84,666       83,892  

General and administrative expenses

     16,377       22,887       88,544       71,714  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses

     102,526       85,447       410,635       357,088  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

   $ 22,352     $ 23,171     $ 69,536     $ 49,535  

Interest expense, net

     4,584       5,047       20,015       13,210  

Other non-operating loss, net

     11,069       35,334       10,527       42,217  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) before taxes

   $ 6,699     $ (17,210   $ 38,994     $ (5,892
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Provision for income taxes

     2,771       (12,162     11,839       (4,773
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   $ 3,928     $ (5,048   $ 27,155     $ (1,119
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME:

        

Change in net unrealized gains (losses) on investments

     1,904       (2,633     (8,014     5,688  

Reclassification adjustment for net realized investment losses (gains)

     2,170       447       2,477       (564

Income tax benefit (expense) related to items of other comprehensive income

     (1,017     (456     2,232       (3,170
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive (loss) income

   $ 6,985     $ (7,690   $ 23,850     $ 835  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding

        

Basic

     26,350,098       24,280,095       25,941,253       26,798,465  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

     26,363,457       24,280,095       26,095,874       26,798,465  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Earnings per share

        

Basic

   $ 0.15     $ (0.18   $ 1.05     $ (0.04

Diluted

   $ 0.15     $ (0.18   $ 1.04     $ (0.04


About Heritage

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a super-regional property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Clearwater, Florida. Through its insurance subsidiaries and a large network of experienced agents, the Company writes over $900 million of gross personal and commercial residential premium across its multi-state footprint.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those discussed herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “or “continue” or the other negative variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. This release includes forward-looking statements relating to (i) our ability to execute our organic growth strategy for 2019; (ii) our expectations related to our business strategy; (iii) our beliefs regarding our underwiting guidelines; (iv) our expectations regarding the benefits of our debt restructuring; and (v) our diversification expectations. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied herein include, without limitation: the success of the Company’s marketing initiatives; inflation and other changes in economic conditions (including changes in interest rates and financial markets); the impact of new federal and state regulations that affect the property and casualty insurance market; the costs of reinsurance and the collectability of reinsurance; assessments charged by various governmental agencies; pricing competition and other initiatives by competitors; our ability to obtain regulatory approval for requested rate changes, and the timing thereof; legislative and regulatory developments; the outcome of litigation pending against us, including the terms of any settlements; risks related to the nature of our business; dependence on investment income and the composition of our investment portfolio; the adequacy of our liability for losses and loss adjustment expense; our ability to build and maintain relationships with insurance agents; claims experience; ratings by industry services; catastrophe losses; reliance on key personnel; weather conditions (including the severity and frequency of storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and hail); changes in loss trends; acts of war and terrorist activities; court decisions and trends in litigation; and other matters described from time to time by us in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2018. The Company undertakes no obligations to update, change or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.

Investor Contact:

Arash Soleimani, CFA, CPA

Executive Vice President

727.871.0206

Email: asoleimani@heritagepci.com