EX-99.8 2 c92208exv99w8.htm EXHIBIT 99.8 Exhibit 99.8
Exhibit 99.8
(CITIZENS INC. LOGO)
For further information contact:
Randall H. Riley
Vice President, Investor Relations
PR@citizensinc.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CITIZENS, INC. RELEASES THIRD QUARTER RESULTS
Austin, Texas — November 5, 2009 — For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, Citizens, Inc. (NYSE: CIA) reported net income of $9.3 million or $0.14 basic earnings per share of Class A common stock and $0.09 diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock compared to net income of $4.9 million or $0.07 per basic and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock for the same period in 2008. For the three months ended September 30, 2009, the Company earned $2.2 million or $0.04 basic and diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock compared to a net loss of $814,000 or ($0.04) basic and diluted earnings per share for the same period in 2008. The increase in net income was due primarily to realized gains on investments, the decrease in the fair value of the Company’s warrants and no hurricane-related casualty claims in 2009. Total revenues increased to $134.9 million for the nine months of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008 when revenues were $123.4 million, and increased to $44.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 from $40.2 million for the same period in 2008.
Life Insurance: Total revenues from our Life Insurance segment increased to $89.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 compared to $85.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, and increased to $30.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 from $28.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. Premium income was $75.6 million for the first nine months of 2009, a 4.1% increase over the same period of 2008 when premiums were $72.6 million. Premiums in the third quarter of 2009 increased to $25.8 million compared to $24.6 million in the third quarter of 2008. The increase resulted primarily from strong renewal business in the international market. Net investment income decreased slightly to $12.2 million from $12.5 million in the prior year as a result of lower interest yielding investments available during 2009 due to the drop in overall market interest rates. Net investment income for the three months decreased from $4.3 million in 2008 to $4.2 million in 2009. Claims and surrenders increased to $30.3 million in the third quarter of 2009 compared to $26.5 million for the same period of 2008 and increased to $10.0 million from $8.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. These amounts fluctuate from period to period but were within the Company’s expected range.
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Home Service: Total revenues from our Home Service segment increased to $42.1 million in 2009 compared to $38.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, and also increased in the three months ended September 30, 2009 to $13.9 million from $12.5 million during the same period in 2008. Premium income increased primarily due to the acquisition of Ozark National Life Insurance Company (ONLIC) which is included in the 2009 results but is not in 2008. Net investment income was flat at $3.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008. However, net investment income increased to $9.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 from $9.3 million in 2008, which was primarily due to the increased invested assets resulting from the acquisition of ONLIC. Claims and surrenders decreased to $14.0 million from $15.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 compared to 2008. For the three months ended September 30, 2009, claims and surrenders decreased to $4.5 million from $5.2 million during the same period in 2008, resulting from a decrease in death benefits and casualty claims.
Assets increased to $919.8 million at September 30, 2009, compared to $832.3 million at December 31, 2008. Stockholders’ equity also increased 25.6% from $171.5 million at December 31, 2008 to $215.5 million at September 30, 2009.
When asked about life insurance industry growth projections, LIMRA senior analyst Ashley Durham is quoted in the Insurance News Net October 2009 magazine as saying “We forecast a double-digit decline overall for all of 2009.” According to the magazine, so far this year individual annualized life insurance premium has dropped 23 percent. “In contrast, Citizens, Inc. has seen its individual life insurance premiums increase by 4.8% during 2009,” commented Rick Riley, Vice Chairman and President, Citizens, Inc.
Citizens, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss its 2009 third quarter operating results at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 6, 2009, hosted by Rick D. Riley, Vice Chairman and President, Kay Osbourn, Chief Financial Officer and other members of the Citizens, Inc. management team. To participate, please dial (888) 742-8686 and when prompted enter confirmation code #8442219. It is recommended you dial in 3-5 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. A recording of the conference call will be available on Citizens’ website at www.citizensinc.com in the Investor Information section under News Release & Publications, immediately following the call.
About Citizens, Inc.
Citizens, Inc. is a financial services company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CIA. The Company expects to achieve its goal, established nearly a decade ago, to reach $1 billion in assets by the end of 2010, via the worldwide sale of U.S. Dollar-denominated whole life cash value insurance policies, coupled with the acquisition of other life insurance companies. Citizens’ Class A common stock closed at $6.13 on November 5, 2009.
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Information herein contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate” or “continue” or comparable words. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to read the SEC reports of the Company, particularly its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its current reports on Form 8-K, for the meaningful cautionary language disclosing why actual results may vary materially from those anticipated by management. The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in the Company’s expectations. The Company also disclaims any duty to comment upon or correct information that may be contained in reports published by the investment community.

 

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CITIZENS, INC.
COMPARATIVE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
OPERATING STATEMENTS
                                 
    (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)  
    Nine Months Ended     Three Months Ended  
    September 30,     September 30,  
    2009     2008     2009     2008  
Revenues
                                
Premiums
   $ 106,494       101,915       36,152       34,041  
Net investment income
     21,733       22,487       7,413       7,543  
Realized gains (losses), net
     2,827       (210 )     1,006       (226 )
Decrease (increase) in fair value of warrants
     3,081       (1,674 )     —       (1,483 )
Other income
      796        852       273        288  
 
                        
Total revenues
     134,931       123,370       44,844       40,163  
 
                        
 
                                
Benefits and Expenses
                                
Insurance benefits paid or provided:
                                
Claims and surrenders
     44,254       41,663       14,494       13,855  
Increase in future policy benefit reserves
     28,021       24,944       10,305       10,214  
Policyholders’ dividends
     4,742       4,590       1,827       1,636  
 
                        
Total insurance benefits paid or provided
     77,017       71,197       26,626       25,705  
 
                                
Commissions
     25,462       25,906       8,435       8,819  
Other underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses
     21,889       21,243       6,772       7,312  
Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
     (16,257 )     (16,876 )     (5,306 )     (5,712 )
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs
     11,715       11,529       4,303       3,861  
Amortization of cost of customer relationships acquired and other intangibles
     2,630       2,155        946        676  
 
                        
Total benefits and expenses
     122,456       115,154       41,776       40,661  
 
                        
 
                                
Income (loss) before Federal income tax
     12,475       8,216       3,068       (498 )
Federal income tax expense
     3,134       3,303        820        316  
 
                        
 
                                
Net income (loss)
   $ 9,341       4,913       2,248       (814 )
 
                        
 
                                
Net income (loss) applicable to common stock
   $ 6,836       3,112       2,091       (1,604 )
 
                        
 
                                
Basic earnings (loss) per share of Class A common stock
   $ 0.14       0.07       0.04       (0.04 )
 
                        
 
                                
Basic earnings (loss) per share of Class B common stock
   $ 0.07       0.04       0.02       (0.02 )
 
                        
 
                                
Diluted earnings (loss) per share of Class A common stock
   $ 0.09       0.07       0.04       (0.04 )
 
                        
 
                                
Diluted earnings (loss) per share of Class B common stock
   $ 0.04       0.04       0.02       (0.02 )
 
                        
 
                                
Weighted average shares of Class A outstanding - basic and diluted
     47,177       43,121       48,441       43,198  
 
                        
 
                                
Book value per share
   $ 4.34       3.68       4.34       3.68  
 
                        
BALANCE SHEETS
                 
    (Unaudited)        
    September 30, 2009     December 31, 2008  
Total assets
   $ 919,820       832,276  
Total invested assets
     639,518       569,252  
Stockholders’ equity
     215,455       171,541  

 

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